I’m in the anti-aging business, so I would be remiss if I didn’t harp on you about the dangers of tanning….one of the bigger lifestyle choices that contribute to aging.  But did you know that up until the 1920’s sun-tanned skin suggested social class?  Yep!  Once-upon-a-time if someone had a suntan it was assumed that they were an outdoor laborer.  Those who had pale skin were assumed to be upper-crust socialites enjoying high tea indoors every day.

Then suddenly that attitude changed overnight.

Coco Chanel

In 1923 world-famous fashion designer Coco Chanel vacationed on a yacht in Cannes.  After unintentionally spending too much time in the sun, she returned home from her Mediterranean cruise sporting bronzed skin.  The world went nuts!  And just like that, with the snap of the fingers, sun tanning was fashionable.  No longer a symbol of lower social class working folks, but the image of wealth and leisure and jet-setting off to exotic lands to frolic and play at beaches and extravagant resorts.  Pale skin then became associated with working class folks who toiled away indoors in factories or mines.

Chanel found the sun-tanned look to be so glamourous, that she hired suntanned models for one of her runway shows just a few years before Vogue featured a sun-tanned model on one of its 1927 covers.  And in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1934 “Tender is the night”, he makes reference to “soaking in rays on the beaches of the French Riviera”, further painting the image of sun-tanning being reserved for the wealthy few who could afford vacations in the sun.

But What About Us Commoners?!

Since then, many of us “commoners” have gone to great lengths in trying to achieve the perfect tan.  For some reason we feel slimmer, more attractive, and confident when tanned.  I, myself, like countless others, have “laid out” for HOURS at the beach…the pool…the backyard.  Gosh!  I can’t believe I ever did that!  Sounds so BORING now!

I even once applied a sunless suntan cream that turned my skin orange!  Not to mention staining everything it touched!  I’m far from alone in THAT experience!

Millions of you have frequented tanning beds and booths and have gotten spray tans.  I was over it all by the time I was exposed to those options.  Dermatologists tell us that tanned skin is damaged skin, and damaged skin ages us, so I “embrace the pale”!

In the Quest for Younger Looking Skin

Take care of your skin!  Opt for shade, wear sunscreen when you’re outside and drink lots of water.  Oh, and keep up with your Endermologie Body and Face treatments!

Cindy Baumann, Sleek Physique LLC

Masters Degreed, Expert Certified Endermologie Practitioner

In continuous specialized practice since 2005

913-339-8011