The newest stupid "trend" is tanmaxxing. Which is exactly what it sounds like: people not using sunblock or sunscreen and roasting themselves in the sun until they get as dark as possible.<\/p>\n
And at the same time, these people are out there smoking cigarettes.<\/p>\n
Yes. CIGARETTES have made a comeback. It’s so fucking stupid.<\/p>\n
I’m the only person in my family that has never smoked cigarettes. I took a puff on one when I was a kid, and that was enough for me. It was gross and unpleasant. I never picked up the very expensive habit. My mom died of lung cancer caused by her addiction to cigarettes.<\/p>\n
So yeah. Cigarettes are deadly. And right now THEY ARE EXPENSIVE<\/em>. It’s not someone with a "harmless" bad habit where they spend $5 on a pack of cigarettes a week. They’re like $30 now.<\/p>\n People can spend their money how they want to spend it. And I will judge them, but I try to keep it in my head where those thoughts belong. But I do have<\/em> to say something right now: Tanmaxxing in conjunction with cigarettemaxxing? WTF are you people doing<\/em>?!?<\/p>\n I see the commentary videos about it, and it’s all these white kids burning<\/em> their skin to shit. Spreading that old timey misinformation that "You need to get a base tan to prevent sunburn." And I’m just like "Please cite your sources. You sound dumb as shit."<\/p>\n I’m old enough that I lived through the time of tanning beds and people dying from skin cancer. I’ve lived in Nevada and experienced the visual horror of skin that looks like the red and orange vinyl of the booth seating in diners. Like seeing a woman’s chest and neck that looks like the skin has been so severely burnt that it’s pulled tight and looks like individual scales rather than one smooth surface.<\/p>\n I’ve seen<\/em> sun damaged skin, and it’s not pleasant to look at.<\/p>\n So the idea of these young people slathering on oils and purposefully going out to bake themselves in the sun during the hottest times of day? That they are using their weather apps not to protect themselves but to find the most skin damaging times to roast themselves? It’s not ignorance. They know better. It’s just stupidity.<\/p>\n Their parents spent their whole childhoods slathering them with SPF 70 and making them wear hats and sun protective clothing, and they’re spending their early to mid 20s throwing that all away. And they can’t even give a coherent explanation why<\/em>.<\/p>\n We have fake tan lotions, creams, and sprays. You can buy a product that will give you a natural looking fake tan where no one can tell that you are naturally melanin deficient. You don’t have to inject yourself with peptides or rub yourself with carrot oil to get that visibly unnatural hue. It’s dumb.<\/p>\n I’m not even touching on the fact that if you smoke cigarettes, you need to avoid ingesting vitamin A supplements for like 20 YEARS afterward to avoid giving yourself cancer.<\/p>\n People are currently making ridiculous lifestyle choices because of shit weird people on the Internet are telling them. They are following life ruining advice from what amounts to self-motivated QVC hosts.<\/p>\n I’m tired.<\/p>\n Y’all are making me tired.<\/p>\n Like, you really can’t see the scam and grift that’s happening around you? These people who make A LOT of money selling anti-wrinkle creams and injections telling you not to wear sunblock and to tan as much as possible?<\/p>\n My dear: You are white. You already have less melanin and collagen in your skin. You might look great in your teens and early 20s, but you are in the demographic that has a more than good chance to age like curdled milk in your mid-30s and onwards. Why? Because of a lack of natural melanin and collagen.<\/p>\n There’s a reason why everyone was looking on in horror at the buccal fat removal trend. And now we’ve got these celebrities who are in their early 30s and they’re looking like Yzma from "The Emperor’s New Groove." I mean, she was lovely, but her character was like 60, so…<\/p>\n You’re burning your skin to shit, and you’re so young that you’re looking in the mirror and saying "Damn. I look good<\/em>."<\/p>\n No, ma’am. You’re young enough that you’ve tanned up, so for a short while you get to look a bit darker, and that’s whatever. But sun exposure is cumulative. There’s less ozone layer than existed in the 1970s, so you’re getting more<\/em> "bad sun" than old timey sun worshippers were getting–most of whom experienced the joys of melanomas and became big proponents of sunblock for themselves and their children (your parents or you)–and you’re not going to like the long-term effects your short-term suntan are going to bring you.<\/p>\n Tanmaxxing is stupid.<\/p>\n If you’re not already addicted to cigarettes, don’t get addicted to them. And if you are smoking, it is very difficult to stop, but you should try your best to stop smoking.<\/p>\n The best advice I can give you is: Don’t put your life in the hands of an Internet guru, grifter, influencer, scammer–anyone that is profiting off of you ruining your health, is not really looking out for your wellbeing. They are making money off of your misery and helplessness.<\/p>\n If someone makes their fortune off of selling you "health" supplements or cosmetics or cosmetic procedures… Their medical advice is not coming from a good place. They are seeking customers, and if that means making a problem for their products to solve… They are going to recommend that you tan your butthole so you’ll buy their butthole cancer cream.<\/p>\n It’s the nature of the beast. And the beast is hungry.<\/p>\n ~Harper Kingsley<\/p>\n https:\/\/paypal.me\/harperkingsley<\/a>.<\/p>\n https:\/\/patreon.com\/harperkingsley<\/a>.<\/p>\n https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/harperwck<\/a>.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/HarperKingsley<\/a>.<\/p>\n https:\/\/amazon.com\/shop\/harperkingsley0<\/a>. https:\/\/harperkingsley.bsky.social<\/a>. https:\/\/www.everand.com\/author\/262822558\/Harper-Kingsley<\/a>.
\nhttps:\/\/www.harperkingsley.net\/blog<\/a>.
\nhttps:\/\/kimichee.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/HarperKingsley<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/author\/harper-kingsley<\/a>.
\nhttps:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/author\/harper-kingsley\/id444850597<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"