With 41 tanning facilities, Jackson, MI has become a hotbed of tanners

[Editor-in-Chief]

With 41 tanning facilities, Jackson has become a hotbed of tanners



Sunday, May 06, 2007


By Kristin Longley
klongley@citpat.com -- 768-4917

Jackson's heat wave began 27 years ago.

There's some debate about how and where it started. And people aren't certain which indoor tanning salon opened its doors first -- several of today's largest facilities started out in back rooms in the city's residential neighborhoods.

But one thing is certain: Jackson County has become a hotbed of tanning.

With 41 facilities that offer indoor tanning, the county has more than three times the concentration of tanning salons than the United States and twice the concentration of Michigan as a whole.

That's one salon for every 3,730 county residents, according to the latest U.S. Census population data.

Jackson resident Heather Holmes, 36, has been tanning three or four times each week for more than 20 years. She said tanning is one of Jackson's guilty pleasures.

"It seems like there's either a tanning salon, church or a party store on every corner," she said. "We like to have fun. Then we go to church. Tanner, of course."

So what makes Jackson attractive to "fake bakers"?

Experts say it's a combination of factors: the dreary Michigan weather, profitability and the proximity to a national trade organization for tanning facilities around the world.

And, of course, there are more superficial reasons.

"It boils down to the fact that it makes people look good and feel good," said John Overstreet, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Indoor Tanning Association. "That's a pretty powerful combination."

The 'Tanning Belt'

Michigan ranks 49th out of all 50 states for days of natural sunlight -- only Alaska gets less sun, according to Smart Tan Network, an international industry association that was founded in Jackson 15 years ago.

That could be one reason why Michigan is in the top 10 for states that have the highest number of indoor tanning facilities, Smart Tan spokesman Joe Levy said.

Other top 10 states include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana.

"I like to call the Midwest the 'Tanning Belt,' " Levy said. "The weather makes it a prime candidate for the benefits of tanning facilities."

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends limited exposure to the sun and artificial ultraviolet light sources, citing the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' recognition of UV radiation as a known carcinogen.

The recommendation has tanning advocates seeing red. For years Americans have been warned to stay out of the sun, but new research shows that many people -- especially those in the northern U.S. and Canada -- suffer from vitamin D deficiencies.

The natural way people get the nutrient is from UV light striking the skin. American Cancer Society research says vitamin D protects against certain cancers, particularly colon cancer.

"Dermatologists are trying to turn tanning into smoking, but this is not a vice and it should not be treated like one," Levy said. "Our bodies were made to absorb light."

The nonprofit Mental Health America says many people who live in sunlight-deprived areas suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, commonly referred to as the "winter blues." Researchers there say controlled exposure to UV light has reduced depression symptoms in 85 percent of cases.

"People enjoy sunshine. The body craves it," Levy said. "Indoor tanning is about more than the tan. It's about relaxation and a therapeutic escape."

Indeed, it seems as if most people enjoy tanning for that reason. Every salon patron interviewed for this story had the same response: "It just feels good."

"It's a nice, peaceful feeling to lay in a heated bed," Holmes said. "You feel better and you feel like you look better."

As for the threat of skin cancer, Parma resident Crystal Nowery said her glowing skin is worth the risk.

"It worries me a little," said Nowery, 28. "I just watch my skin and make sure nothing changes."

A glowing industry

Drive north on N. West Avenue, past Wildwood Avenue. Just before Ganson Street there's a billboard on the left side of the road advertising Tan-Fastic Sun Tanner salons.

"Boost your self esteem!" the sign reads, next to a photo of a bikini-clad, tan model.

Tanning, it seems, is everywhere in Jackson County.

"Every time you turn around there's another (tanning salon)," said Barb Sibson, an employee at Bronze Villa Tanning Salon, 615 N. West Ave.

The tanning industry arrived on the Jackson scene in 1980, two years after it became mainstream in the United States. It crossed over from Europe, where tanning was used as a therapeutic exercise.

"It fills a demand that's been out there for a long time," Tan-Fastic owner Kevin Commet said. "There wouldn't be so many if it wasn't in demand."

Tanning was considered a cosmetic process, and the overwhelming majority of tanning salons were owned by women. That's still true today.

But a growing population of men are using the salons' services. About 35 percent of indoor tanners are men, Levy said.

In an hour at the Bronze Villa during a recent visit, three male patrons walked in.

"There's not the stigma that there used to be," Levy said.

The tanning industry employs about 4,000 people in Michigan and generates about $122 million annually.

Sibson, 63, has been tanning for about 25 years. Aside from its cosmetic appeal, spending 20 minutes in a tanning bed is more convenient than spending an entire day out in the sun, she said.

"It hides my flaws and gives me a boost of self-confidence," she said. "What's not to love about that?"



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