"The indoor tanning industry looks very much like the tobacco industry, the way it is targeting kids," says California Assemblyman Joseph Nation (D-San Rafael). "They're not subtle about it either. They say, 'Get a tan and have a better life.'" Twenty-seven states require parental consent for tanners 15 to 17 and turn away those 14 and younger. But Nation wants to go one step further. He authored a bill to prohibit California kids younger than 18 from using tanning booths unless they have a doctor's prescription. (Dermatologists use U.V. light to alleviate severe psoriasis and acne.) The Senate decided 19-9 against the highly contentious bill earlier this month but will consider the bill again next month when it is reintroduced.

A study released two weeks ago may also account for kids' fondness for the fake bake. Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., found that the U.V. radiation used in indoor tanning may elevate the mood of frequent tanners.

Lauren Selicione can attest to that. "When I go into a tanning bed, it's like a little cave where I close myself away from the world. When I go lay out in the sun, I feel drained -- but in the bed, I feel relaxed. I can get away from my life and everything annoying. It's definitely addicting." Selicione denies she's "tanorexic" -- the term for tanners who make daily visits to booths but feel as if they're never tan enough -- but admits she's hooked: "When I say I need to get more tan, my friends say, 'Are you kidding me? You're so dark.'"

So why do teens still choose to go under lights -- especially when spray-on systems and self-tanning lotions are increasingly available in salons and drug stores, and promoted in teen and beauty magazines and shows like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"? "Spray-ons have definitely become more popular in the last two years, but they still are relatively new," says Jesella, the Teen Vogue editor. Last year, the Spa Association reported demand for spray-ons was up 67 percent compared with 2002, accounting for nearly $1 million in sales in the United States. "It's going to take more time for teenagers to become really comfortable with them the way they're comfortable with tanning beds," she says. "The first one or two times, some teens get streaky because they don't know how to do it. By the fourth time, they catch on. But a lot of teens don't have the patience. They want it perfect right away." There's also the cost of spray-on tans: Even though it has sharply declined from hundreds of dollars to as little as $15 in some areas, that's still too steep for many teens. "When I got airbrushed, I got great color and it lasted over a week," says Sorba. "But it's expensive. I found a woman who only charges $20, but I can't pay that every week."

Jessica Jordan, 19, who has worked at tanning salons since she was 15, is taking advantage of the alternatives. "When I was younger, I didn't care, but I'm a little more concerned about cancer now," she says. She used to tan four times a week, but now she rarely roasts more than once a month. "I like self-tanner lotions more than tanning," she says. "If you get the right one, it's not orange. And a $6 bottle lasts a month."

But Droge, the North Palm Beach teen, isn't a fan of self-tanners: "They wear off unevenly and crack on my arms and legs," she says. "I can never get it perfect." And Selicione says she prefers the caramel brown color she sports after lying under the lamps. She doesn't care if others think it looks too fake. "It's not orange," she says. "It's so brown -- I look like I'm from Costa Rica."

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