I’ve written before about why I don’t tan, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you know that tanning carries with it some pretty serious risks. Still, up to 80 percent of people under 25 are convinced that they look better with a tan, and every single day, more than one million Americans visit tanning salons. As dangerous as natural sun exposure can be, it seems that tanning beds may be even worse. People who have used indoor tanning beds are at a 75% higher risk for melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.

So why do people take the risk? Because they want to look good. And, according to a new study, they may be addicted. In 2005, scientists showed that many sunbathers met the medical definition of substance abuse disorder. This inspired researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to dig a little deeper. Their results, which were published over the summer, found that brain scans of frequent tanners showed activity that was similar to the patterns of drug addiction.

The subjects of the study were people who reported tanning at least three times a week, and said that maintaining a tan was important to them. Researchers suspected that the tanners were addicted to the UV light they were exposed to in the tanning beds. So they gave participants a normal tanning experience sometimes, but at other times used a special filter to block out the UV rays. And even though the tanners were unaware of the change, they subconsciously knew that something was off. Participants enjoyed the normal sessions, but after the fake sessions, subjects said that they still felt like they needed to tan. Researchers say that these people really do appear to be addicted to tanning.

And now, if there are similar tanning addicts who are under 18, they’re about to have a problem. Just a few weeks ago, the Governor of California signed a law making the use of tanning beds illegal for all minors. A few states already ban tanning beds for people under 16 or under 14, and now 17 states are considering laws similar to California’s. Many medical organizations and skin cancer advocates say this is a great step, and have voiced support for these laws. But owners of tanning salons worry that this will hurt business and cause people to lose jobs. Most of all, frequent tanners complain that tanning is a choice, and one that they have a right to make.

What do you think? Should people be able to make their own choices about tanning despite its risks? Or is it important to pass these laws in order to protect people, especially teens?

This year, I’m gonna be Snooki for Halloween. Leopard minidress, butterfly “tramp clamp” hairclip, ten bottles of bronzing lotion and go-go boots. Add a can of hairspray in one hand and a drink in the other and I’m good to go! (Note: currently casting for my other half. You can choose from Vinny, Gionni or JWoww.)

In case you haven’t bought all the parts of your Snooki costume yet, don’t worry—she’s got you covered. Nicole Polizzi has already put her name and face on almost everything you need to dress up like a slutty meatball this Halloween. And she just launched a line of tanning lotions with Supre Tan earlier this week. Three leopard print bottles, rhinestones and all.

To be honest, the product is hilarious. But the fact that she can make fun of herself with all of these business partnerships is pretty smart, considering that the cast just finished filming Season 5 of Jersey Shore and are rumored to have left the Seaside Heights house for good (a new cast of gorillas and guidettes will be way cheaper, MTV says). But even though the little 4-foot-9 personality won’t showing her “kooka” to all of Italy anymore, she’ll still be making BIG money.

Fashion designer? Questionable taste. Author? Thanks, ghostwriter. Businesswoman? Definitely. Check out her sources of income—you know, when she’s not getting paid $100,000 per episode—and a preview of Snooki’s new show, without the rest of her housemates:

initiating the gallery...

What else is her “celebrity empire” missing—dresses? Trucker hats? Underwear? Wait a minute…doesn’t she need to at least wear it in order to design a line?

Living in South Florida means I’ve seen my fair share of beach-goers. The beaches down here are filled with beautiful people with beautiful bodies and perfect tans. However, they aren’t always filled with people who are easy on the eyes. Nor is every beach day an episode of Baywatch. As summer approaches, more and more people are heading off to the beach to catch some rays and waves — which mean you’re going to do a lot of people watching. For better or worse.

Here are the 10 people you’ll definitely see at the beach this summer.

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The fool proof method to tanning

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Ever wanted to know what the cute stranger was listening to?

5 Reasons it pays to be single in the summer

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Billy Bob’s Daughter found guilty of manslaughter

With summer coming, I’ve been quite focused on pumping you all with information about practicing safe sun. Well, get excited, because I have some more!  A lot of you love tanning, I get it, but there’s a way to do it safely. If you’re gonna be soaking up the rays, you should make sure you do everything in your power to protect yourself from skin cancer. (No matter how young we are, we’re not invincible!)  I’m not trying to lecture (okay, just a smidge) but I care about my viewers, and I don’t want anything to happen to you!

If you’re not clued in on the ABCDEs of moles, I’m here to tell you what they are and why they’re important!  I’ve had a mole removed, and it is not fun.  In fact, it’s scary and it hurts. Obviously, your best bet is to take care of your skin to prevent moles, but if you do get them, it’s important to know how to handle them. Let’s get to it:

Be safe and make sure you’re going to the dermatologist to get your moles checked, especially if they changed!  And remember, if Snooki can spray tan, so can you!

Got something you want me to cover? Post it in the comments below. And don’t forget to follow us on YouTube and check out my other videos right here! And for more beauty related tips, check out my websiteand follow me on Twitter!

You CAN recover from this!

Last week, I gave you all some tips on how to prevent sunburn and recommendations for sunscreen. While I’m sure every one of you went out and bought sunscreen to wear every day and not just for SBXI, I bet there’s a few who didn’t.  Or there are those stragglers who are wearing SPF 5 thinking it will work.  And that’s okay.  Except now you’re all “Why didn’t I listen to Caitlin?! Now I’m sunburnt and having a horrible time!”

Don’t worry, this video is all about treating sunburn!  I rarely burn, but I’ve had a few cases of awful sunburn where I had to stay inside and lay on the floor because my down comforter felt like a bed of nails against my skin.  I’ve blistered and picked and even had sun poisoning.  So trust me, I feel your pain.

If you look like a lobster or want to know what to do just in case, then watch below for some great tips on treating your burn!  And next time, wear your SPF!!

Got something you want me to cover? Post it in the comments below. And don’t forget to follow us on YouTube and check out my other videos right here! And for more beauty related tips, check out my website and follow me on Twitter!

23 is a young age for a lot of things.  It is a young age to be a mother, to be on your own, to lose a friend, or to have cancer.  Yet, all of these things and more happen to young people every day.

It was a cold day in November when I got the phone call from the dermatologist telling me my results were back and I needed to come into the office the same day.  As I put down the phone, I looked at my boyfriend and nervously laughed and said, “Well that can’t be good.”  Since I am a full time student, I had to go to class before I could even think about heading to a doctor.  I sat through the hour and fifteen minute class thinking that maybe I was being silly and everything was going to be fine.  Surely a girl who is 23 years old, outgoing, determined, and full of life could not have cancer.  It had to be something else.

The drive to the office took too long and I called my mom on the way to deter some thoughts.  She immediately went into full panic mode and I couldn’t understand why.  By the time I arrived at the doctor, she had called five times to find out what was wrong but they wouldn’t tell her because I am an adult.  I sat alone in the room and waited for the nurse practitioner.  She was the only that would see me that day because the doctor was too busy.  She sat down and said, “Katie, you have level four Melanoma and the next step is for you to go see a surgeon in St. Louis to have the tumor removed.”

It’s hard to explain what I was feeling at the moment I was processing everything she was saying.  I don’t really know if I was feeling anything but disbelief.  I’m not sure that I was even processing it.  I just shook my head like I was some kind of bobble head so she knew I was still listening.  The strangest thing, after looking back on it all, is the feeling that I just wanted to please her or that I couldn’t cry because I needed to be strong.  I asked her different questions about what the biopsy meant and she couldn’t tell me.  At this point the hardest thing was that she didn’t know the details or the main question everyone wanted to know:

Was I going to die?

As I waited for my mom in the room, I went numb.  I thought back to all the years I laid in tanning beds and knew it was bad but didn’t trust my instincts.  Most fake-bakers out there will know what feeling I’m talking about; that gnawing feeling that this is bad for you.  This is bad for you like any other bad habit, but you’re young and healthy and nothing could ever hurt you.  You’ve seen the little sign on the side of the tanning bed but you still step in with the certainty that those signs are just for legalities and don’t pertain to you.

I started to cry and was slightly embarrassed.  I was embarrassed because I didn’t even know what I was crying for.  I didn’t even know if this was serious or not.  I was just like any other person, and didn’t really know what Melanoma was or how deadly it can be.  But I had the “Big C” and so I cried.  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be feeling.  I knew they had probably diagnosed a lot of people who had lived full lives with Melanoma, but I was different.  How is a 23 year old who just found she has cancer supposed to act?

Two weeks later, I had MOHS surgery to have the tumor removed and I had some lymph nodes removed as well.  When I woke up from the surgery, I was in a lot of pain and I needed a month’s worth of physical therapy to get my arm back to working right.  The next time I saw the surgeon, he was unsure whether they had found more cancer further up my arm.  It was all very confusing and I thought I would have to go on chemotherapy.  This is when it all became too real.  I started to wonder if I was going to be a statistic for Melanoma deaths rather than for Melanoma survivors.

After weeks of research, I found a Melanoma clinic in the area that examined my slides and they didn’t believe I still had Melanoma.  I wonder everyday who it is I should be listening to and how I can save myself.  After having all different kinds of scans, it is still unclear if I still have cancer and all I can really do is to check my skin and lymph nodes every three months with a specialist.  Since I am on a full-ride scholarship and can’t risk losing it by missing classes, I have left chemo out of the equation until someone can give me a definite answer.  Some people may think this is a risky choice but this has been a big financial burden for me, so the last thing I need to do is lose my scholarship and make it worse.

Melanoma is a very sneaky cancer because, like my mole, it does not always look like the typical Melanoma.  The only reason I was concerned about it was because it itched.  Melanoma diagnosis increase by 3.1 percent each year and it is being found more and more in young Caucasian females.  Melanoma is the most common form of skin cancer in young adults 25-29 years old, and the second most common form of cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old. The scariest facts on Melanoma are that 75 percent of skin cancer deaths are related to Melanoma and someone dies from Melanoma every 61 minutes.  This is obviously something that needs to be taken seriously because young adults are being diagnosed at an increasingly alarming rate.  Still, no one my age understands or believe that it could happen to them.  Young adults never believe they are invincible.  I am here to tell you, you are not. It can happen to you and it is completely preventable.

At this point, if you are a tanner, it is time to quit. Bronze skin is not worth it. Believe me, it took me a long time to get used to being pale, but now I love my natural, healthy color.

Right now, I’m just trying to live my life as normally as possible. I’m trying not to think about my disease or what it might mean for me down the road. I want to go to school and when summer comes, I want to spend it at the beach.  I don’t know which one but I am just going to hop in the car and start driving towards the coast.  After I get there and I lay out my towel, I’m going to slather on the sunscreen, open up a cold-one,  and be young again.

[A very special thanks to reader Kathleen for sharing her story with us. She and her friends are working tirelessly to fight against tanning beds and warn college students of the dangers associated with them. Honor her struggle and protect yourself.]

I live for the summer.  In the spring, I count down the days until my last final and I miss it terribly during the fall.  I love the way the sun‘s rays touch my skin, I love reading novels lazily on the beach, my morning outdoor runs, and enjoying picnics and BBQs.  I love the skin-exposing, brightly colored fashions I get to wear.  I want nothing more than to be carefree during my favorite season, but unhappily I cannot be. There are two frightening words that come to mind whenever I’m wanting to bask in the sun and they are a constant reminder to apply sunscreen and limit my beloved time in the sun: skin cancer.

With that in mind it certainly is important to apply sunscreen, avoid tanning beds, and limit hours in the sunlight. But obvious these steps are not all that we can do to protect oneself from the sun’s damaging rays. It turns out that the foods we eat can have a protective effect!

The deal is this (and I am going to get a bit scientific here, so bare with me):  Cancer can only flourish in the body when cells that undergo free radical damage and the subsequent DNA damage (which happens when we spend too much time in the sun!) are unable to be repaired by the cell’s DNA monitoring and repair tools. Natural, plant based foods are rich in antioxidants and other cool, skin protecting chemicals, substances that are needed for these repair mechanisms to function most optimally.  Vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds and other “bright colored” foods are loaded with these protective substances. If one’s diet is low in vegetables and fruits, the body will not be supplied with enough nutrients for its cells to defend itself from oxidative damaged caused by UV radiation.  Studies have pointed to green vegetables especially, as skin cancer (and most cancers for that matter) fighting foods.

The concept of consuming a high-nutrient, plant based diet has been supported in an enlightening study conducted in Australia. Researches analyzed the diet, skin color, and sunlight exposure of 1,360 adults, aged 25-75, who participated in a community-based skin cancer study from 1992-2002. Two main eating patterns were identified: a meat and fat pattern and a vegetable and fruit pattern. Interestingly, the meat and fat pattern diet was positively associated with development of skin cancer, and even more strongly associated in participants with a skin cancer history. Increased consumption of the vegetable and fruit dietary pattern reduced skin cancer occurrence by 54%, with the protective effect mostly attributed to the consumption of green, leafy vegetables. In conclusion, the researchers deemed that a dietary pattern characterized by high meat and fat intakes increases skin cancer odds, while a dietary pattern characterized by higher consumption of green vegetables decreases it.

If you are thinking, “I don’t eat many fruits and veggies, or man oh man, I totally fit into the “meat and fat” group,” don’t sweat it.  Summer is the perfect time to try including more fruits and veggies in your diet. Cook a vegetable shish kabob or corn on the cob on the grill at your next BBQ, try a tossed salad for lunch or pack some fresh berries or watermelon with you on a picnic or at the beach.  Being away from icky dining hall foods and stressful school assignments that leave you with little time to prepare your own meals leaves you with more freedom to explore other eating options.

Added bonus? Eating more bright colored foods will help you stay slim and look great in a bikini!

But what’s an over-worked, underpaid and grumpy girl to do (besides wallow in self-pity and take out her frustration on her poor parents)?

Have no fear. The ladies here at CollegeCandy know how you feel (because we’re feeling it right now) and we want to share our tried and true pick-me-up tricks that won’t burn a hole in that pretty wallet of yours. It’s summer time and you deserve a little love.

Dive in, pamper yourself and thank us later:

Jump into a hot bubble bath.
Since it’s nearly impossible to get a good bubble bath in in college (like you’re gonna lay down in that nasty tub), we often forget what a good bubble bath can do for a girl. It’s luxurious and relaxing, and it won’t cost you a dime. Toss a little Epsom salt in there, light up some candles, turn off the cell phone and turn up the Guster, and you’ve got the whole afternoon to unwind.

Turn off the cell phone and prop open a book.
Yes, the mere thought of going off the cellphone grid for an hour may leave you shaking, but sometimes you just gotta disconnect. And there’s no better way to do that than with a book.  Reading a book will give your mind a rest, free from all that mundane work and life stuff that bogs you down daily. Need a book suggestion? We’ve got plenty.

Go for a stroll at the park
Working in an office all day will put a damper on anybody’s spirits. And what will lift that haze? A little time outdoors. Put on your cutest sundress and hat and step your cute wedges out the door. Nothing will calm you down more than nature, and, let’s be honest, a little Vitamin D never hurt anybody.

Dress up and look great, for no reason!
I do this anytime I’m feeling down. I hop into my closet, grab my favorite dress and go about my day. Who cares if I’m just going to Starbucks to drink coffee and stare at the cute boys studying for the LSAT? Dressing up makes me feel confident and sexy – two things that will make anyone feel good.

Indulge
There’s something to be said about digging into an ice cream sundae/Sonic Blast/DQ Blizzard. Somehow those little cups of goodness make everything else melt away. Should you make this a daily habit? Not unless you want to add cellulite-stress to the list of things you’re already worrying about. But giving in and treating yourself once in awhile will do wonders to your mood.

Get a manicure ($12 or less!)
This is honestly my go-to whenever I’m feeling less than stellar. No matter what I do, getting a manicure is the cherry on top. It’s the easiest way to feel a little more fabulous, a little more posh, and that massage chair will run even Mel Gibson’s bad mood right outta town.

Get a tan
I don’t know what it is, but a sun-kissed glow is like Red Bull for your mood. You feel fresher, more vibrant and more beautiful than ever. Grab your iPod and some magazines, slather on the SPF (let’s do this safely, ladies!) and give yourself a few hours in the sun. Hell, even a spray tan will do the trick and leave you feeling fabulous about yourself.

Got anymore tips on giving yourself a little love? Share them below!

And we’ve got proof.

The best self-tanning products of 2010.

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