Sophomore Lacie Dillard walks into the tanning salon looking at her pale skin. With her tanning lotion and eye protection in hand she knows she will soon be tan.

An estimated 30 million North Americans prefer to tan indoor rather than outdoor according to tanningtruth.com

Dillard tans in a superbed everyday when it is not hot out, and she can do it at a friend’s house for free. She started because of her sister.

“I was like ‘Hey you are pretty. I want to try’, and then I got addicted,” Dillard said.

Tanning in a bed comes with a lot of medical risks, which Dillard has experienced herself. Dillard found a dark mole and had to get it checked out by a dermatologist.

“I was really scared because I really thought it was skin cancer,” Dillard said. “I am really worried about getting skin cancer.”

Dillard does wear sunblock in the summer and while she is in the tanning bed, but she never tans her face because she fears wrinkles. Dillard now gets her skin checked every six months for anything suspicious.

“The first time I tanned I was really scared,” Dillard said. “I thought it was going to blow up or something like in the Final Destinations. That worries me the most. I think about it every time I am in there.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Knight has tanned for the past two years. Knight prefers to use the non-solar bed, which allegedly mitigates chances of skin cancer. Knight usually tans for 15 minutes and prefers the beds over other methods.

“Tanning in a bed feels like when you are at the point where it is so hot that you want to jump in the pool. Well it feels like that but you can’t jump in the pool,” Knight said.

She always makes sure to wear eye protection, since she might suffer damage otherwise.

“I am the person where if someone tells me not to touch the stove, I will touch the stove. So, since they tell you to not open my eyes, I would,” Knight said.

Both Dillard and Knight would recommend tanning to all their friends.

“I would recommend it because sometimes people can just not tan,” Dillard said.