Picture a chicken slathered with oil, rotating slowly on a spit, roasting to a crispy brown perfection. Now replace that chicken with a picture of yourself, slathered in suntan oil, turning over on a beach towel, roasting to a crispy brown perfection. Sound good? Hopefully not, but many people are abusing their bodies just this way.

There’s no such thing as a healthy tan. If you have any tan, caused by the rays of the sun or a tanning bed, it isn’t healthy. And even using an SPF 50 isn’t going to totally prevent the sun from stealthily attacking your fragile epidermis.

Why all the hoo-hah about this topic? Because thousands are dying every year from skin cancer -- a preventable disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 8,000 people die each year from melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer. Even higher is the number of skin cancer incidents, topping 62,000 each year.

Decades ago women used to seek fair white skin, using wide-brimmed hats and parasols to keep the sun’s harsh rays off delicate skin. Tanned hides were for the side of a barn and people with tans were usually field workers who toiled all day in the blazing heat. That changed when smaller swimsuits and outdoor sports became the rage. The darker the tan, the healthier you looked. Decades later we’ve learned the error of those ways. And while we can’t or shouldn’t give up the great outdoors, we can be sensible about being in it.

In Utah our winters consist of endless days of freezing temperatures, choking inversions and gray, cloudy skies. It’s inevitable that when the sun comes out, we want out too.

The problem is, no one wants to cover up with wide-brimmed hats and parasols. Shorts and sandals are the uniform of summer, especially for students. And many apartments have swimming pools that entice people to wear even less and expose even more to the sun’s deadly rays.

Many fads come and go but the “white skin is beautiful fad” hasn’t ever really reappeared in society. People just like the look of tan skin. And it can be accomplished in safe ways, if people are willing to forego the heat and rays and use new products formulated for “tan” skin.

Tanning lotions of the past left skin orange and palms carrot-colored. But there are new businesses and products that achieve what a sun worshipper wants, in less time and with healthier results.

Some businesses offer spray-on or paint-on tans, where a person stands in a booth and is sprayed with tanning color mist. The color lasts 5-10 days, but there is no sunscreen in it so going out in the sun still requires sense with sunscreen and clothing that covers.

Many people also think they are taking protective measures using sunscreen while they are out in the sun. Suntan lotions and sunscreens block come UV rays but still allow some through. If you don’t use enough, it’s like not using any at all. One application equals at least three tablespoons, and should be reapplied at least every hour, especially after swimming.

Sunscreens only reduce the risk of sunburn and therefore, cancer. The only real way to beat the odds of getting melanoma is by removing the predator itself - the sun. Avoid the sun between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., stay in the shade or use an umbrella, wear sunglasses to protect your eyes, wear protective clothing and a large-brimmed hat and apply sunscreen to exposed skin.

That rotisserie chicken might look tasty brown and tender, but your skin needs to last much longer.

This editorial represents the opinion of The Daily Universe editorial board. Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of BYU, its administration or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Copyright Brigham Young University 22 May 2007