00:00A decade ago, the death of tanning was a success story for public health.
00:04Now people are tracking the exact hour the sun will burn them the fastest
00:07and chasing that burn on purpose.
00:10So what is tan maxing and why are young people racing to get as tan as possible?
00:14Here's what's happening.
00:15For years, the public health community was clear on its stance.
00:18Tanning beds are out, sunscreen is in,
00:20and the 2010s decline in indoor tanning was seen as a genuine success.
00:24Then the algorithm changed its mind.
00:26A trend called tan maxing is now flooding social media.
00:30The goal?
00:31Get as dark as possible, as fast as possible.
00:34That statement alone is enough to make a dermatologist wince.
00:36These tanfluencers are using the UV index,
00:40a tool designed to warn people about dangerous sun exposure, as a scheduling app.
00:44They track the windows when the UV is the highest,
00:47then go outside specifically during those windows.
00:49And if you thought that's as far as it goes, brace yourself.
00:53There's now a spinoff called contour tanning,
00:55where people apply sunscreen unevenly to sculpt their face with sunburn,
01:00almost like a bronzer made of UV damage.
01:02Then there's the nasal spray.
01:04A synthetic peptide called Melanotan 2, nicknamed the Barbie drug,
01:08gets inhaled to trigger melanin from the inside.
01:11No sun required.
01:12It's also illegal to sell in all 50 states.
01:15The Cleveland Clinic warns melanotan sprays can enter the bloodstream
01:19with links to nausea, brain swelling, and melanoma.
01:22Tan maxers offer a pretty straightforward defense.
01:25They know the risk and accept it anyway.
01:27Tan skin has been a beauty standard forever,
01:29and they would rather look good this weekend
01:31than worry about consequences decades away.
01:33Bella, a pre-med student quoted by Marie Claire,
01:36says self-tanner just doesn't hit the same in the summer.
01:38Dr. Shireen Taymor, a New York dermatologist,
01:41told USA Today the trend is terrifying,
01:43a tanning culture rebrand for a new generation.
01:46So which camp do you fall in?
01:48Is tan maxing pure genius or a half-baked idea?
01:51Drop your take in the comments and follow us here for more.
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