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In the 90s, I, like many others, enjoyed the use of indoor tanning beds and booths. Always very fair skinned, my body would hold a warm glow when I tanned. Living in Michigan, I found it extremely relaxing to walk into a warm tanning salon on a cold and rainy Midwest night. And of course, I enjoyed the golden colored skin. I can almost remember the smell of the accelerating lotions and scents of the salon that I inhaled as I entered the front door. But that is not the final memory that I have of indoor tanning.
About nine years ago was the very last time I used a tanning bed. I was getting ready for my wedding and wanted everything to be perfect, especially for me to have a tan to show off my dream dress. I decided to tan at the health club that I belonged to and bought an unlimited pass. I was happy and excited as an employee behind the front desk handed me a towel and a small packet of Hemp Accelerator lotion. I moved into my room, undressed, applied the lotion all over my skin and proceeded to lie on the tanning bed. Within minutes of the bulbs heating up, I felt like my skin was on fire. I quickly got up and looked in the full length mirror. My skin seemed to be transforming to burnt shade of pink. I immediately got dressed and tried to figure out what happened.
It didn’t make any sense to me. I had been tanning many times before and never had a reaction like this. I hadn’t even been in there that long. Even out of the bed, my skin still felt like it was burning. I walked back up to the front desk and told them that there was a problem. The staff seemed confused and as I explained, I began to feel very light headed. I asked for some water and somewhere that I could sit down. Before anyone could answer me, I passed out and dropped to the floor. When I awoke, I found health club staff crowding around me.
Passing out is a frightening thing and it is worse to have happen in public. I was brought a cold, wet towel for my forehead and a glass of water to drink. My hand shook uncontrollably as I lifted the plastic cup to my mouth. The club staff helped me move to their cozy back office and insisted that I stay for a bit. I just wanted to go home. The manager didn’t want me to drive and asked if I could call someone to pick me up. My biggest problem was that I didn’t have anyone to help. My fiancé and I had just bought a house and the phone line wasn’t hooked up yet. We had a single cell phone and I had it with me. There was no way for me to reach him as he drove home from work or arrived at our house. I was on my own.
I stayed just long enough to gain the strength to pick myself up and walk out to my car. The fresh night air offered me little relief. I still felt a little shaky but desperately wanted to be home. The bright street lights seemed blinding against the dark sky. I drove carefully and even more consciously than usual during my short drive home. Once I finally pulled into the familiar garage and turned off the engine, my body relaxed in the driver’s seat. I exhaled a great sigh. I was thankful to be home.
My skin remained that strange burnt pink color even after I showered that night but faded after the following day. The only thing that made sense to me is that I may have had an allergic reaction to the Hemp Accelerator lotion. Whatever the reason, that experience spooked me enough to never want to tan in a tanning bed again. Never. Where I was once the girl that enjoyed tanning, I now slather on the 45 SPF (or higher), I wear hats to shade my face, and I never leave the house without a SPF lotion on my face and hands. For me, a bad thing happening resulted in something positive. Ever since that day, I take great care of my skin.
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Susan,
July 16, 2010 - 9:48amWhat a horrific thing! So sorry that happened, but like you said, it had a positive result in you never wanting to tan again. I too am "blessed" with fair, super-sensitive skin. I have to be careful for lotions that will cause me to break out all over. I also have a strange thing where I will break out in prickly-heat-type bumps on my arms if I'm in the sun without SPF. It definitely helps to know "how you are" so you can act accordingly, and work to protect your boys from any inherited reactions as well. Thanks for sharing your uncomfortable and scary fainting experience.
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