Throughout history the tanned skin has been in and out of fashion. Remember Scarlett O’hara in Gone With The Wind? She did everything she could to avoid the sun – pale skin was the fashion. Today, there are mixed reports. Look at the Jersey Shore. Too much tan, I think. It is easy to tan now, you can head over to a tanning salon, or find cheap tanning lotions to do the trick. At one point, women used lead based cosmetics to give a tan look. Of course, this resulted in lead poisoning.

The 1940s saw the era of advertising that encouraged women to sun bathe. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize the full dangers of sun exposure at the time. Too much exposure to UVA and UVB rays from the sun can lead to skin cancer.