Jackie Meretsky

If excessive usage of MAC bronzer (in Golden) makes me a tanorexic, then I am the first to admit that I suffer from tanorexia. A trip to the cosmetics mecca Sephora yesterday told me that I am not alone in my quest to achieve the perfect golden shade from head to toe.

PHOTOS: Tanorexic Celebrities

From liquid self tanners to powdered bronzers to the new airbrush spray guns, clearly the George Hamilton hue has not gone out of style DESPITE the sun’s notorious reputation for causing skin damage. The sun has become the new junk food that you know you shouldn’t be consuming too much of, but you can’t quite get it out of your diet. Sunscreen has become the new treadmill – 40 minutes in the sun requires a high SPF – just like a 400 calorie doughnut requires a 45 minute run on an incline of 15%.

Every once in a while, a study comes out boasting about the merits of Vitamin D. Hooray! Break out the Hawaiian tropic oil and let’s start baking! Not. The vitamin D studies are similar to the very infrequent but always popular studies that boast a high carb diet. It sounds good, but common sense tells you not to get attached to the idea. It’s hard not to associate a suntan with good health and vitality given the beautiful glow your skin emits with the right amount of exposure. In fact, just a small amount of sunlight is needed for the body to produce vitamin D – but by the time you have gotten a suntan – you’ve probably gotten more Vitamin D than you need.

Here’s the ominous truth: more than 1 million new skin cancer cases are likely to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Yikes. The sun is also playing a trick on youth because the visable effects of skin damage can show up years after the exposure. It’s like a sugary diet that you blindly consume for years and then all of the sudden your teeth start decaying and (gasp) falling out.

Fortunately, for tanorexics like me, there are a plethora of alternatives that give you stunning flaxen golden color without harming your skin. Decleor self tanner has become a staple in my medicine cabinet and I go through more MAC bronzer than the make-up artists here at Weather Plus headquarters. Once in a while, I cheat in my diet and my sun exposure, in fact sometimes at the same time. I’ll lie in the sun for 20 minutes and devilishly drink a Frappucino with whipped cream – I know, I’m such a rebel. But I can’t say that I’m happy with myself afterwards!