Whitney was a devoted sun worshiper until a bad burn and premature wrinkles set her straight.
Whitney's Story
"Being tan made me feel beautiful."
It made me feel a lot prettier than when I was pale. I felt like I looked more alive. My cheeks were rosy. My teeth looked whiter. I just thought I looked a lot better than when I wasn't tan.
I lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., growing up, and in the summertime I would lie on a towel on the roof of my building and just scorch myself. People would tell me how dark I was, and the more I heard that, the happier I was. I didn't really care about getting wrinkles or skin cancer. I figured that since I have olive skin and it doesn't run in my family, I don't need to worry about skin cancer.
"It all changed when I went to Peru."
It was right after winter when I went to Peru with my boyfriend and his family, and I wanted to go out without sunscreen the first day and tan quickly because I felt really pasty. I wasn't thinking about what a high altitude we were at. After only a few hours of walking around, my skin was red and a little painful, but I thought it looked good.
The next day it started hurting more, but I still didn't think much of it. By the third day, the skin on my shoulders had wrinkled up to look like an old woman's skin. My forehead above my hair line started peeling in a sheet, as if it was all connected. If I touched my head, a piece of my skin would come off. The skin on my shoulders started coming off in sheets. I started crying because I looked like a burn victim, and I didn't want to leave the hotel room. To this day, my shoulders are really sensitive to the sun, so I must've done a lot of damage that day. It was the most intense, painful burn I've had ever had, and at that point, the danger of being in the sun kind of hit me.
"The lady at the makeup counter noticed wrinkles under my eyes."
I went to a makeup store with my sister recently, and the woman who was consulting with me looked at the lines around my eyes and asked how old I was. When I told her I was only 24, she predicted right away that I was a sun worshiper and started recommending eye creams.
All of a sudden, all of my vanities and insecurities came rushing out. I started freaking out because I am only 24, and if I continued like this, what would I look like when I turned 30? I didn't want wrinkles, and I definitely didn't want skin cancer. From that point on, I really changed my ways.
"Life is short, and I'm not invincible."
I've decided that I want to live a long time and preserve my youth. The instant gratification of getting tan right now, in the moment, is not worth the wrinkles I will develop. It's silly when you think about how easy it is to make little changes. It takes two seconds in the morning to put sunscreen on. It takes two seconds to put your sunglasses on. Those little, easy changes will probably make a big difference in your future. Your skin is worth it and, more importantly, your health is worth it.
