Dark History - 180: Harmless or Toxic? The Hidden Killers in Your Beauty Routine

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

Hi friends, happy Wednesday! Did you guys ever see those ads for the Rejuvenique face mask? It was this electric face mask that looked like it was straight out of Friday the 13th.  The guy on the infomercials was like “imagine what doing 8 situps a second could do for your abs! Well, Rejuvenique is doing exactly that… but with your face!”  Well, apparently, years later, the FDA issued a warning about this miracle device. Turns out, the Rejuvenique face mask was actually causing their skin to sag and age *more.*  I could be wrong, but it makes me feel like it will only be another ten years before someone realizes that LED lights are *ALSO* doing more harm than good.  And this sent me down a rabbit hole of beauty devices that are secretly, silently, killing us. From UV lights at the nail salon to asbestos in hair dryers… I have some questions. So today, we are dipping our polished little fingertips into the world of deadly beauty tools. Because it turns out some of the stuff we do to feel cute - like the innocent little gel manicure - might come with a major dark side. Buckle up for the dark history of deadly beauty tools! I sometimes talk about my Good Reads in the show. So here's the link if you want to check it out. IDK. lol: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/139701263-bailey ________ FOLLOW ME AROUND Tik Tok: https://bit.ly/3e3jL9v Instagram: http://bit.ly/2nbO4PR Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mdZtK6 Twitter: http://bit.ly/2yT4BLV Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2mVpXnY Youtube: http://bit.ly/1HGw3Og Snapchat: https://bit.ly/3cC0V9d Discord: https://discord.gg/BaileySarian RECOMMEND A STORY HERE: [e-mail] Business Related Emails: [e-mail] Business Related Mail: Bailey Sarian 4400 W. Riverside Dr., Ste 110-300 Burbank, CA 91505 ________ This podcast is Executive Produced by: Bailey Sarian & Kevin Grosch and Joey Scavuzzo from Made In Network Head Writer: Katie Burris Research provided by: Xander Elmore Special thank you to our Historical Consultant: Freelance writer Antonia Malchik Director: Brian Jaggers Additional Editing: Julien Perez and Maria Norris Post Supervisor: Kelly Hardin  Production Management: Ross Woodruff Hair: Bailey Sarian Makeup: Bailey Sarian ________ Shop my favorite bras and underwear at https://www.skims.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know I sent you! Select "podcast" in the survey and be sure to select my show in the dropdown menu that follows. Head to https://www.squarespace.com/DARKHISTORY for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, use OFFER CODE: DARKHISTORY to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. So if you’ve been putting off that check-up, go to https://www.zocdoc.com/DARKHISTORY to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Get started today at https://www.stitchfix.com/darkhistory to get $20 off your first order, and they’ll waive your styling fee.

Did you guys ever see those ads for the rejuvenique face mask? No? Well, it was this electric face mask that looked like it was straight out of a Friday the 13th. The guy on the infomercials was like, Well, if you can get the idea of what doing eight setups a second would do for your stomach, you have an idea of what rejuvenique would do for your face. And everyone was like, oh my God, amazing. I want a toned face lifted.

I want abs on my face. You know, who doesn't? So everyone loves a quick fix, an answer. So it was a hit. People were like interested, right? Apparently, years later, the FDA issued a warning about this miracle device. Turns out, the rejuvenate face mask was actually causing their skin to sag and age more. One thing about this mask, though, besides the fact that it was giving Jason, is that it reminded me a lot of a newer beauty fad, LED masks.

I could be wrong, though, don't come from me. But I don't know, maybe in 10 years or so, we're going to learn that LED light masks, whatever, maybe you are doing more harm than good. That doesn't matter, though, because this sent me down a rabbit hole of beauty devices that are secretly, silently killing us. From UV lights at the nail salon to asbestos in hair dryers. I had some questions. So today we're dipping our polished little fingers into the world of deadly,

beauty tools. Because it turns out some of the stuff we do to feel cute, like an innocent gel manicure, might come with a major dark side. So buckle up. That was me buckling up. For the dark history of deadly beauty tools. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Here, we believe history does not have to be boring. It might be tragic. Sometimes it's happy, but either way, it's our dark history. Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe because I'm always posting new content.

And let me know what you think down in the comments because I love hearing from you. And at the end, I read comments. Did you know that? My idea. Now, let's get into it. So let me tell you about a way. woman named Carolina Jasko. Now, Miss Carolina, she had it all. She was a Miss USA contestant. She had gorgeous hands. Yeah. And like many of us, she loved a good gel manicure. Who doesn't

love a gel manicure? It doesn't chip for weeks. It looks polished and shiny for weeks. It's great. But then, Carolina, she noticed something strange. There was this thin black line that was running vertically, under her thumbnail. Yeah, at first she didn't think much of it because, I don't know, she had a gel manicure to cover that up, you know, just hide it, whatever. Then she thought it must be maybe like some kind of infection, maybe from dirty tools used at the nail salon.

So she decided to go to the doctor and get it checked out. So she went in and she showed the doctor and they ran some tests, bleep, blah, bloop. And then the doctor came back and told her the worst. You have melanoma. What? Now, in case you aren't familiar with melanoma, melanoma means black tumor,

and it is like the most dangerous type of skin cancer there is. It grows quickly, and it has the ability to spread to any organ. Obviously, Carolina was freaked out, and she said, quote, he, the doctor, told me I need to stop getting my nails done because the UV rays were what could have caused the melanoma to come out in that area.

and quote, that's right, the UV rays from the manicure may have caused a melanoma. Now, melanoma usually like runs in your family. So like Carolina's mom, she had been diagnosed with melanoma years before and recovered. So her family was always extra cautious about, you know, their skin, sunscreen, and noticing any unusual spots. Carolina said, quote, my mom had melanoma twice, and she didn't know that it was under your nails, you know? Someone who was so well-known and well-educated on melanoma. It's crazy. So how do you expect just a random person off the street to know?

End quote. So Carolina had to have three surgeries in total to remove it, and she ended up losing her thumbnail multiple times. To cover the area where the nail used to be, her doctors used a skin graft from her, groin area. I used to get gel, manicures, all the time. So I had to know how exactly this happened to Carolina. Like, what is the science outplay here? Do you ever put on a cute outfit and you look in the mirror and you're like, oh my God,

yes, I crushed it. But when you take one step outside, you realize that, you know, your bra is poking out over your shirt and it's very lumpy looking. You're getting that weird little situation of the boobage. And then your underwear is just like, riding up your butt? No, just me? Okay, well, listen. Nothing kills confidence faster than a bad bra and panty situation. But don't worry, I found the solution. And it's skims. Skims makes bras and underwear that actually feel as good as they look. And I'm not talking about like, oh, this is comfortable for a bra.

I'm talking soft, smooth, molds to your body, doesn't dig in, doesn't budge, kind of comfortable. My personal obsession is the fits everybody scoop brawlet paired with the fits every everybody. everybody thong. The brawlett gives me like actual support, not that kind of sad uniboub situation, you know, but it's still soft enough to actually like sleep in. Before skims, I felt like I would just spend all day kind of yanking straps and readjusting, but now I put on, you know, skims in the morning and I really just don't think about it again until I take it off, which is exactly how it should be. If you're tired of your bra and underwear ruining your outfit, do yourself a favor. Get skims and let your underwear be the third.

you don't have to think about. Shop my favorite bras and underwear at skims.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know I sent you. Yeah, selects podcast in the survey, and be sure to select my show in the drop-down menu that follows. So you know those little UV lamps that you stick your hands under to cure the polish, you know, dry it? Well, those little lamps, they emit UVA light, which penetrates the skin deeply.

Apparently, this absolutely wrecks your DNA, it damages your collagen, and yes, can lead to cancer. Dr. Carolyn Jacob, a dermatologist quoted in multiple reports, saying UVA rays not only accelerate aging, but also damage DNA, which can ultimately lead to cancer. In 2023, a journal called Nature Communications did a study where they exposed human and mouse cells to those exact UV, lamps that you find in nail salons. And after just 20 minutes, 20 to 30% of the cells were straight up dead. The DNA of the surviving cells was so mutated that it mimicked damage patterns seen in melanoma patients.

Now, to be fair, some doctors do not agree with the findings in this study. According to Chris Adigan, a dermatologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said, quote, cells in a lab are more vulnerable. to damage than cells on a person's hand, which has a thick outer layer of skin made of dead cells that help protect against environmental damage, end quote. And Carolina Jasko, the Miss USA contestant, she had a family history of melanoma, so it may have made her more susceptible.

So it's complicated. Look, I feel like we're kind of like the test dummies on these, really, you know? I don't know about you, but whenever I use those UV lamps, my hands feel like they're on fire, So I had to stop using them because I don't know what was happening, but I didn't like the feeling. I'm sure I've heard some people say that they've experienced the same thing where it feels like your hands are kind of on fire in these things. I'm like, that can't be good. So I stopped doing it. But moral of the story, I mean, when in doubt, go to the doctor. If you see a tiny spot on your nail, you know, go to the doctor.

Because going to the doctor when she did, essentially it saved her life, really. I don't want to ruin your life or your nails. you know, I'm here to provide some solutions. Here's what we can do. There are other options. The first thing you can do is that they sell fingerless UV gloves. They exist. You put them on.

And then when you get your nails done, it can block out some of those UV rays and kind of look fun and fashionable at the same time. So that's an option. You can wear those, even though it's still getting through your nails. It's an option. So maybe you're thinking, I'll just wear sunscreen. Well, apparently that doesn't help either.

According to Dr. Chris Atagon, sunscreens have been shown to protect against UV exposure only from the sun and not from UV lamps. So sunscreen, it's not going to do anything, okay? So here's another solution. Pressons. I know, we kind of all kind of, what? But they've come a long way. They've come a very long way. And it's kind of the best solution of them all, really.

Joan over here got her cute little pressed on set. Really cute. Or just use regular polish. I know boring. I know, I know. But it's like, look, you're just aging your hands like crazy. Is that what you want to do? Fine.

Do whatever you want, but you have the knowledge now. That's all I can offer you. Next on my list of deadly beauty tools is kind of unexpected. She's been sitting in your bathroom, your whole life, reliable, trustworthy, old school. But this entire time, she's had a secret. Well, I'm talking about hair dryers. Papa, no. No, Papa, no.

Not my Dyson air wrap that I can't ever get to freaking work. I don't get it. I've watched all the tutorials. I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? I don't know. Listen, not all hair dryers are bad, but it starts back in the 1880s. Now, remember the 1880s?

Yeah, I mean, either. But back then, people were wearing corsets, driving carriages, and there were zero regulations as to what is, like, toxic and not toxic. I mean, this is not long after Ms. Winslow's soothing syrup was released. Did you watch that episode? Anyways, anything went, really. There are no regulations, okay? People, yeah.

Anything went. Have you guys heard of the brand Godfroy? It's a hair brand. While they actually started with a guy named Alexandre Ferdinand Godfroy, who was a French hairstylist. In 1882, Alexandria immigrated first from Paris to New York City and then settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Is it St. Louis or St. Louis? Because you know the Judy Garland movie? Me, me in St. Louis, is it Louis or Lewis?

Let me know down below. Anyways, he's there. So then he opens up a hair salon in downtown St. Louis, where he also sold little hair in perfume concoctions that he would make himself. Now, people loved it. Their hair smelled good. I don't know, they just loved it. And in 1888, Alexandria shifted into the world of product development.

And he patented a machine that was essentially the world's first ever hair dryer. It was known as Godfroy's hair drying contraption. And it was literally powered by city gas. I know. I was like, what? Okay, does that mean my hair is going to smell like gas? Because that's where I was thinking that. But no, I guess it wouldn't.

I don't know. Is my hair going to be flammable? But it was essentially like a huge dome-shaped helmet that you would hook up to a stove or a fireplace or any other, quote, suitable form of heater. Then there was like a pipe that would send the hot air into the dome on your head. Yes, I bet it was cozy in the wintertime. I actually have one of these currently. It's like this, I got it on Amazon.

It's like this little contraption you put on your head with like a long little kind of tuby thing that you put on the hair dryer. It works really well. I don't know what it's called, but it works. and this is what it's giving. His gas-powered helmet was on the market, and it didn't take long for other inventors to use that technology and try to make it better. So they're dabbling, they're trying,

and things are getting better. The handheld hair dryers, they didn't take off until the 1920s and 30s, but they were not safe. I guess basically it was only slightly less dangerous than using like a toaster on your head. They were made of metal, and they got very hot. So burns and electric shocks were very common.

But we do anything for beauty. But then, this is when a certain hairstyle comes into fashion. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, the Bob. Do you ever have an amazing idea at 2 in the morning? Yeah, the kind of idea that makes you, I don't know, sit up in bed and you're like, oh my God, this is amazing. like, I'm imagining my whole future. Well, this is such a good idea. But then you end up going back to bed because, you know, it's the middle of the night.

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1930s. Housewives were at home being housewives, managing the home, you know, but they were enjoying all the new appliances that were being sold door to door, including one of the hottest products on the market, the hairdriar. And yeah, I mean, it would electrocute them from time to time, and sometimes it would burn them, but it was the price to pay for the perfect, sleek bob, because the bob was having a major moment. Honestly, when you think about it, the bob is having a moment now, too, right? You've seen the bob. I've seen the bob. And he was like, is that a recession indicator? I mean, I'm not an economist, but if the last time the Bob was having a major moment was in the Great Depression, I wonder, maybe. It's kind of crazy to think that

there was a time before plastic, because we use it for just about everything. But plastic really wasn't widely used until after World War II. God, what's that story? Oh, it's coming back to me. Hold on. I'm having a That So Raven moment. There's a story. Bakelight. Did you ever watch that murder mystery episode I did on the Bakelite family? Well, they kind of invented, like, plastic, as we know it today, like plastic containers and whatnot. I did a whole murder mystery episode about it, and like the family was scandalous. The mom was like sleeping with the fuck, the fucking, the cousin, or was it her son-in-law, her stepson? There was something fishy going on and then a murder took place.

It was a whole thing. And that's what I think of when I hear the word plastic. Okay, off topic. Now I'm going to get back on topic. So plastic. Everyone got really excited to start making hair dryers out of plastic instead of metal. But plastic comes with its own problem. I mean, it melts under heat unless you add insulation. Insulation? What's that? So what were people using for insulation? Paul, Joan, any guesses? That's right, Paul. Spestos. Paul is very familiar with asbestos. Asbestos is basically this group of tiny fibrous minerals that used to be like the go-to, it girl of construction and manufacturing. Why? Well, because it was fireproof, it was strong, it was cheap, and it did not melt under pressure. And it made pretty snow in the Wizard of Oz. Did you watch The Wizard of Oz? You know when it's like snowing when she's in the poppy field or whatever?

that was asbestos. It was everywhere. It was a dream. Everyone loved it. The downside, when you mess with it, like maybe you're cutting it, you're sanding it, or you're heating it up with a hairdryer, those little fibers kind of go poof into the air.

And let's say you breathe, as one does. You inhale, and then it's, they're in your lungs, literally forever. Little fibers in your lungs forever. No one knew that yet, though. Yeah. Over time, it can cause serious health problems like lung cancer. The worst part is that you don't feel anything for like 10 to 40 years, and then boom, out of nowhere, you can't breathe.

We talk about it a lot in our Johnson & Johnson episode. Highly recommend you check it out. We've done a lot here, haven't we, you guys? Yeah. Anyways, I recommend it. I am biased here, so. Okay, but back in the 50s, asbestos wasn't a bad word yet. The danger just wasn't common knowledge.

So manufacturers, they were putting it in everything. It was used inside the internal components of small appliances like toasters, irons, and hair dryers. And one of the biggest names in hair dryers is Conair. This company was founded in 1959 and right away they became a giant in the world of beauty tools. Their whole thing was making affordable versions of elite products. like the hair dryer. And they were just one of many companies that was putting asbestos directly into their dryers. But again, like this was not seen a scandalous at the time.

No one knew about the health risks yet. Not at all. So it was just kind of the norm. These dryers usually had asbestos insulation around the heating coils, which were directly inside the blower. Which meant that if you were using one of these appliances, asbestos fibers could break off and like be blown right into your face.

Right, because you're like, oh my God, ah, and then just like blows in your face. Not ideal. For years and years, women and men were just blasting themselves with hot asbestos air. Up until 1979. I mean, just imagine it, okay? It's the late 70s, you're a hairdresser,

you're working in a busy salon every day. Your trusty hair dryer basically lives in one of your hands at all time. But what you don't know is that this seemingly innocent blow dryer, you know, that has been running full blast inches from your face every single day, is giving you a rare form of cancer. Now, this is exactly what happened to a real 49-year-old woman. We don't know her name, so we'll call her Jane. Jane worked as a hairdresser in New York from 1976 to 1992, and she was using her blow dryer on clients every single day. So she'd hold it like one to two feet from her face.

you know, close enough to feel her bangs, whip back in the breeze. So when Jane got diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, she was confused. One, because very rare, okay, this is a very rare form of cancer. She's like, what the fuck? And it is directly caused by asbestos exposure. So Jane's thinking to herself, like, what? At this point, it's like, asbestos made sense if you worked. in construction and she's like, I don't work in construction. You know, it makes, I'm doing hair.

Like, it makes no sense. And this caught the attention of two researchers. So Dr. James Dahlgren and Patrick Talbot had discovered that from 1976 to 1982, every hair dryer that Jane had used was made by brands like Conair, GE, and Gillette. And all of these dryer models contained asbestos. Dr. James and Dr. Patrick decided to publish her case because they started to realize that, you know, Jane wasn't, she most likely was not the only one dealing with this. There was a registry in northern Italy that found 30 cases of mesothelioma in former hairdressers between the year 2000 and 2009. So it wasn't just a New York problem either. It was a global issue. I mean, these blow dryers were everywhere lurking. everywhere this whole time in hotels, in homes, in your mom's bathroom drawer, and all of them potentially spewing out cancer-causing asbestos fibers. And it was all about to come out in the open. One is right behind me. In 1979, a Washington, D.C. News Station called WRC Channel 4 teamed up with the Environmental Defense Fund. Their goal was pretty simple. You know, just to figure out what

the hell is going on with hair dryers. Together, they discovered that millions of blow dryers were emitting dangerous levels of asbestos. And they were like, excuse me? Like, was anyone going to tell us to not use these asbestos blowers? Was anyone even just going to tell us? Yeah, actually, someone was supposed to be telling us. Yeah. So, uh, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, aka the CPSC, they were They were supposed to tell us. They are the group that was supposed to make sure that products don't kill you. So what happened?

Guess they were busy, huh? I don't know. But they were getting called out. The Washington Post ran a headline on March 29th, 1979 that said, quote, Some hair dryers give off asbestos. CPSC confirms carcinogen report. End quote. If I was reading that, I'd be like, what?

Wait, what? I mean, this was huge. This was major. This was a big deal because everyone had a blow dryer. The Washington Post article stated that 10 million handheld hair dryers could be releasing asbestos into people's faces. And the very next day? Well, the CPSC summoned the top 10 hair dryer manufacturers to Washington for a little,

hey, what are you guys doing? Type of meeting. So they met with the brands like Conair, GE, Gillette, Shick, even Sears. and J.C. Penny, not Sears and J.C. Penny. And I know you're probably thinking, well, what happens next? The government probably banned these hairdriers, right? Didn't they immediately hauled them off the shelves? No, this is Dark History. Welcome.

No. Of course not. That would be easy. Well, to us, it would be easy. Instead, they approved voluntary corrective action proposals. I know, it's like, you guys, can you just speak our language here? Because this is just a fancy way of saying, hey, if a customer reaches out, maybe the companies will offer a refund or a replacement. So they're like putting it back onto the customer. Shouldn't do that. But it gets better.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, aka Noish, N-I-O-S-H, Noish. They were like, hey, we should probably test these ourselves, you know? So they do their own study, okay? They do their own study. And then they find some information. So after their study, they find that the force of the air from these dryers was more than enough to blast asbestos fibers directly into your lungs. And as these dryers got older, the asbestos lining inside of them, it broke down, meaning that more fibers were released over time.

So basically, the longer you own the thing, the worse things could get. I'm having a flashback memory of like, when I was way younger, I was using like an old crusty blow dryer, and like all this puff came out of it. You know when you turn it on, it was like kind of this puff? This has happened to you, right? It's not just a me thing.

It'd be like a puff of like something coming out of it, and I just assumed it was dust or whatever. Oh my god, it was probably a semester. Oh. When was the last time you needed to see a doctor, but you put it off? I know that's you. Maybe you told yourself, I don't have time. It's not a big deal.

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So this Washington Post article blows a whole story wide open. And the government sounds the alarm. Your blow dryer might be a literal cancer canon. So what do the companies do? Well, Sears and J.C. Penny, they admit that their hair dryers contain asbestos, and they basically say, like, is that bad, though? We don't know. On April 4, 1979, Sears, they finally stopped selling their asbestos laced dryers. But not because they thought they were dangerous. No.

Sears issued a statement that essentially said, we don't believe this poses a health hazard. But, okay, fine. If you shut up, bring your old hair dryer back, we'll give you a refund. So they're like, we don't think it's bad, so you should probably just keep it. But like, if you want, bring it back. J.C. Penny, they were pretty bold. On March 29th, they stopped selling dryers with asbestos. But instead, there was no reason to panic.

Their official stance was, quote, current evidence does not indicate a health hazard, end quote. But in the same breath, they were like, hey, if you feel like having cancer is like, a problem for you personally, then bring it on in and we'll replace it. So these companies were publicly saying not to worry. If you're putting the pieces together, probably because they didn't want you to bring it back so then they'd lose money. It's always about money, right? But behind closed doors, the CPSC must have finally been feeling the heat

because they decided to run some tests of their own. And this is when they found the rocket blower. Wow. Now this wasn't your average hair dryer. This was a professional grade salon dryer, and it was most often used in beauty parlors that catered specifically to black clients with textured hair. This thing was blowing out three times the level of asbestos fibers compared to any other dryer that they had tested. It was clocking in at 0.11 fibers per cubic meter of air. What does that mean?

well, the legal limit for an eight-hour workday is 0.1 fibers. So yeah, this thing was literally exceeding the safety limit and it was being used in salons all day, every day on repeat. And that quote, unquote, voluntary recall the CPSC issued, was basically just a PR move. By 1980, only 3 million of the 18 million asbestos hair dryers were actually returned, Meaning that 15 million toxic dryers were just out there, sitting in drawers, being used, being passed down at the thrift store, you know, being rebate, I don't know, they're just out there, gathering dust, maybe even still working, blowing asbestos around.

The most heartbreaking part is people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma. You know, first of all, it's this, like, rare devastating. that asbestos can cause, but usually people have no idea how they were even exposed to the asbestos in the first place, which is great for the companies, but not for the people. Linda Reinstein, the president of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, puts it best, saying, quote, if we don't know where asbestos is, we can't manage our risk, end quote. Linda's husband Allen died of mesothelioma in 2006. So this trickle-down, asbestos situation isn't like in the distant past, it's still happening.

Products with asbestos, they don't just disappear, they're still out there in old homes, storage bins, your garage. You know, it's like, and these products back then were like made to last forever, so it's like you probably still have it. Or maybe you think it's like, oh, look at this cute vintage blowjerk. that you found, maybe at like in a thrift store or something, you're like, that's so cute, I'm going to get it. So you get it, not knowing that it has asbestos all up in it, blowing that all up in your face. Damn it.

So listen, this is your sign to get rid of your old blow dryer, okay? And I feel like, do you remember those like mesothelioma commercials that you'd see all the time growing up? I feel like those commercials make a lot more sense now because it was like it wasn't just for construction workers. It was for a lot of people. Oh, I feel so bad for the hairstylist. Jeez, Louise. Get rid of your blow dryer. Don't buy the Dyson one.

It's overpriced, okay. But just get a new one. So going back to UV lights, you know, manicure is giving you cancer potentially. I know you've been waiting for this one. Tanning beds. I feel like we all used to know that, like, tanning beds were bad. but lately I feel like tanning beds are having a renaissance people are going back

it's like cigarettes you know I don't know if the younger generation just maybe they don't know how bad they are but people are smoking again and they're going to tanning salons but when I was growing up you know if you were a millennial tanning beds were everything okay tanning beds were life do you remember the little like People would get, girl, we were like 14, 15. I see girls with a little playboy bunny little sticker that they'd have on their hip and then go get tan and they had a little outline and be like, nah. And it was like, what?

That's so cool. I was a fat kid, so I couldn't do that because you couldn't see my little sticker. But I wanted, I was jealous. I wanted that. Anyways, tanion beds, we were hooked and baked. Literally, we looked, we were baking in these beds. And that is exactly what happened to a girl named. named Brittany Winchester.

Brittany literally said that she was addicted to tanning beds. She tanned every day of high school. Even there was a time where she had like a cast and crutches, but she would still tan didn't matter. She took no days off. She tanned through sports injuries. She tanned on the lake. She tanned at the pool.

She tan before pageant competitions. She was carefree, gorgeous, and tan. Brittany told Cosmopolitan in 2017, quote, As a young teenager, looks are so important. It's a time when, I think, you're most concerned about what people think about you and how you appear on the outside. I even sprained my ankle really bad in volleyball at one point and had a walking cast and crutches, and I still went tanning every day.

I was literally a tanning bed addict, end quote. So fast forward to Brittany's first year of college. She goes in for her annual, like, skin exam. You know, where the doctor looks at your moles and freckles and all that. So her doctor spots a few suspicious-looking moles. They take biopsies, and, you know, it's no big deal. She's been through this before. Except this time, they come back positive.

Brittany had three basal cell carcinoma. One on her back, two on her stomach. These are bad. These are cancer. To treat them, the doctors did what's called an excision, aka cutting the cancer out, okay? They did that to me here, you want to see? Look, I had one right here.

I had it covered by a tattoo. Can you see it? No, you can't. But they had to go in and dig this out because it was cancerous. It was fierce. Anyways, according to Brittany, quote, they remove all the layers of the skin. They cut down to the muscle and remove everything above it.

Basically, you have no skin whatsoever left in that area. It's literally a chunk, end quote. After multiple surgeries and a terrifying diagnosis such as 25 years old, Brittany went back to competing in pageants, but without the tan. This time she had a platform she really cared about, spreading skin cancer awareness. She competed from Miss Indiana, USA, and she won. Wow. And today, Brittany has completely sworn off tanning beds.

She said, quote, since that day in 2015, when I got told I had skin cancer, I've never been back to tanning beds. If anyone ever sees me in public and I look brown or bronze, it's spray tan or self-tanner, end quote. Now you can't talk about tanning bed horror without mentioning the legend herself, tan mom. Do you remember tan mom?

So there's this myth that shopping is supposed to be fun. I know, but in reality, it's not fun. You bring items to the dressing room, It's small, it's cramped, bad lighting. Oh, nothing fits. And then you go online, and it isn't much better. You order five versions of the same pants, you know, just in case, and then you have to return them all.

It's just not fun. After that, you still have nothing to wear, okay? And that's why I love Stitch Fix. They take all that hassle and stress right off your plate. Now, here's how it works. You take a quick style quiz, so you would give them your size, your style, your budget, and then Stitch Fix, they match you with,

with like a real, a human stylist who actually gets your aesthetic. Then you get a personalized fixed box delivered right to your door. Oh yes, it's full of pieces packed just for you. So listen, you get them, you try them on at home in your own mirror and with your own clothes and stuff. You can keep what you love and then send back what you don't. Shipping and returns, they're always free and there is no subscription required. Love that. Plus, your first fix comes with a free try-on so you can test the waters without, like, you know, committing.

I've wasted a lot of time and money, honestly, like panic shopping for something to wear before a big event. And then half of the time, it's like, it's just, it doesn't work out. Now, my Stitch Fixed stylist sends me pieces that actually fit and feel like me, and I get, you know, compliments without even trying that hard, which is great. No more dressing room drama, no more online shopping, endless scrolling, just clothes that you will love delivered straight to your door. Get started today at stitchfix.com slash dark history to get $20 off your first order, and they'll waive your styling fee. That's stitchfix.com slash dark history. Now, it all started in April of 2012 in a suburb called Nutley, New Jersey. Jersey. I know. Nutley. Sounds like a cute little cartoon squirrel colony. But it's a real place.

So a five-year-old girl walks into her kindergarten class with what school officials would describe as a quote, pretty severe sunburn, end quote. And this poor little girl is in pain. Now this immediately raises red flags. The school actually decides to go ahead and call the authorities. I mean, that's how bad this sunburn was. At first, people were thinking that she, may have forgotten to put on sunscreen, you know? I mean, that happens. But then after talking to the little girl, things take a turn. She reportedly told the nurse, quote, I went tanning with mommy, end quote. Now, mommy, who was mommy? Her name is Patricia Crenzel. So Patricia, just to paint a picture for you. She had a jersey accent, a bejeweled trucker hat, and skin the

color of a crispy Thanksgiving turkey. Very dehydrated, very thirsty, crispy. I think crispy is the best way, yeah. She was so dark from years of excessive tanning that people genuinely questioned if it was like a medical condition or like a really bad spray tan, like a bad one. But I guess it was from consistent UV tanning every single week. So Patricia is contacted about her daughter, you know, what's going on here, whatever. And Patricia denies everything. She tells them that her daughter got a sunburn from, you know, outside. She's playing outside.

It was a warm April day. Tan mom told TMZ, we went shopping. That's what we do. And when asked if she thought it was like a witch hunt, she literally said, quote, Yes, because someone's jealous. They're fat and ugly. That's why. End quote. Okay. All right. But the police, they weren't buying it. They charged her with child endangerment for allegedly sneaking her underage daughter into a tanning booth, which by the way is illegal in New Jersey for anyone under 14. Now tan mom, she doubled down. She said, quote, I would never put my daughter in a tanning booth. I'm a great. Right mom. End quote. I don't know. When you see a picture of her, it's like, I bet you did put your daughter in a tanning boost. I don't know. It's hard to deny. So as the story blew up, tanning salons across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were like absolutely not. Okay. And they banned a tan mom from their salons. Patricia, tan mom, she got banned from over like 63 tanning salons in the tri-state area. Some even put up a wanted poster behind the counter with her picture on it. It was serious. Apparently this was necessary because she had a reputation for being relentless and a little aggressive when it came to getting her tan on.

Some salons claimed that she would actually bring her daughter in regularly, while others said that the daughter never stepped inside. The owner of City Tropic Salon, where the incident allegedly took place, claimed that the girl was outside the entire time with her dad and brother. So it's hard to say who's telling the truth here. At the end of the day, I think these companies are also trying to protect their ass because they can get in trouble, so they're like, no, she wasn't in here. But we don't know who's telling the truth. The whole thing turned into a media circus. I mean, Patricia went viral.

She was everywhere. Talk shows, memes, SNL. Yeah, Kristen Whig played her with, like, orange body paint. Everyone was kind of making fun of her, poor lady. I mean, she looked insane. So, you know, in the midst of all the chaos, In Touch Weekly swooped in with an idea. You know, they're like, hey, what if tan mom went tan free for a month? So I wonder how much she got paid for this.

But Patricia, she agreed. And she gave up tanning for a whole month. They did the photo shoot and she looks great. She looked fine. She looked normal. She looked normal. I'll give her that. You know, but they ask her like, how do you feel?

She's like, weird and pale. Now, to be fair, tanning addiction is a very real thing. It's called tanorexia, which sounds kind of silly and fake, but it's a real thing. Studies have shown that UV exposure can release endorphins, aka feel-good chemicals in the brain, and for some people, that can turn into a full-blown addiction. It's like a runner's high, but for your skin. And if you've ever tanned in a tanning booth, you know exactly what it is.

Afterwards, you feel really good. I don't know what that is. But you kind of stink. You smell crispy. Anyways, so what do we take away from the story of tan mom? I mean, yes, on the surface, it's funny. But underneath all of that, it's like kind of sad. It's about like a woman who clearly needs help.

And also the fact that a literal five-year-olds may have ended up baking and a tanning bed. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified indoor tanning devices as carcinogenic. And they found evidence that using a tanning bed before the age of 30 leads to a 75% increase in melanoma risk. And math, it's kind of hard, but 75%, that's a crazy bump in your odds, okay? Listen, I don't even mention though, but going on in tanning beds, it freaking ages you. like crazy. Is that what you want? You want to age at a crazy fast rate? I don't think you do. And according to the American Academy of Dermatology, a single blistering sunburn can nearly double one's lifetime risk of melanoma. Again, the most deadly form of skin cancer.

So it's, it's kind of ironic that one of the reasons people tan is to look healthier because it's like doing the opposite. You're aging yourself. You're getting it. giving yourself potential skin cancer, you're gonna look like crispy, again, meat, at a young age, you just, it's not great. One time I met this lady, she lived down the street for me, and she had a tanning bed in her garage, and I thought, whoa, you're rich.

But I was like, what, she would tan like three times a day, because she didn't like the limitations that tanning salons had put on her. Yeah, she had limitations. And she looked, I wonder where she is today. So what have we learned today, friends? Everything is bad, I know.

We've always gone to really crazy lengths for beauty, intentionally and unintentionally. And look, at the end of the day, I think it's safe to say, we're just trying to be cute. Why are they trying to kill us? You know? And it's like, why is no one looking out to make sure that these things are safe? they put it out there and then years later we hear,

hey, this thing's actually killing you. And it's like, well, I've been using it for 20 years. So, great, you know? Jesus. Whether it's blasting asbestos onto our head, microwaving ourselves in tanning beds, or literally being banned from like 60 tanning salons, like our girl tan mom,

it turns out we all been just a little too willing to risk our health for our looks. And for what? A glisten, a shimmer. You look tan, oh my God, I love your, like, little Playboy, like, sticker on your hip. That's crazy. Your nails. Oh, my God.

They're so great. Yeah, we do want that, okay? Is that too much to ask? But safely. The good news is, is that we've evolved a little. Look, we have spray tans now. I'm sure I'll tell you in a couple years that the spray tan you're inhaling is probably killing you. But we got that.

And you won't smell like burnt crayons afterwards. and sunscreens. We have sunscreens that don't make you look like Casper. And we even have hair dryers that won't give you mesothelioma. So that's great. Progress. Progress. The beauty industry may have its questionable moments, but at least now, hopefully you're asking more questions like, is this safe? Will this kill me in 40 years? Instead of, you know, will I look cute at the clear? Or maybe you don't care. So, take care of yourselves, okay?

Wear sunscreen. Get your skin checked, okay? And remember, true beauty doesn't come from a tanning bed or a UV nail dryer or the volume of your hair. Are you sure, though, Bailey? Yeah, it comes from your winning personality. That's where it comes from. It comes from being subscribed to Dark History. It's also where it comes from.

I know these are all things I love to. So if you have knowledge about it, you know it's bad, you can find other ways to, like, still get these things. You know, that's really what I want you guys to do. There's other ways to do these things without harming yourselves. Spray tans, regular nail polish, press on nails. What was the other thing we talked about? UV tan and blow dryers

I don't have asbestos in it anymore so that's great next time on dark history do you guys remember those conjuring movies yeah I guess they're coming out with a new one this fall and it's all about these paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine

Warren allegedly it's based on their real life so you know me I pulled out my phone and I did a little innocent Google search about them It turns out there are so much more to Ed and Lorraine Warren that I could have imagined. Some people believed they were the real deal and had a rare gift to get rid of evil spirits. Others believe they were master manipulators who were just really good at marketing themselves. Either way, the stories behind some of their biggest cases shocked even me.

I'm talking about Annabelle, Amityville Horror, and the Enfield. poltergeist. Listen, I can't wait to find out what you guys think. So join us next episode for the dark history of Ed and Lorraine Warren. By the way, we are dark next week, so there won't be a new upload, but we will be back on September 3rd. Now, I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make sure to leave a comment down below to see what you guys are saying, and your comment might even be featured in a future episode. Now let's read a couple of comments. You have left me. Milton Cat, cute, commented on our designer babies episode saying, quote, I think donors are limited in how many times they can donate because if there's tons of babies

born from one donor, the possibility of inbreeding is very real." Now you think you would be right. But I was watching that documentary about the doctor who inseminated a bunch of women with his own sperm. It was nuts. And then there was another documentary about this guy who was constantly donating his sperm to a bunch of uh sperm places and he had it's believed he has over like 500 uh babies based off of his sperm and it's becoming like a serious issue so like i get what you're saying and i agree i think we can all agree but there are people out there doing the most okay and it's creepy and it's gross and a lot of these guys are freaking losers so it's like ew anyways someone needs to step in and put some limitations in here

and then like lock some of these like sperm donors up because they're just jacking off in cups and donating and and it's it's causing issues major issues thanks for watching and your comment i appreciate it meli 4 880 left a comment on our episode about crack versus cocaine Oh, it's a throwback, saying she back, she attack, she talk about crack, end quote. Yeah. I know, okay, first of all, throw back to season one. Love that. Listen, there was so much I didn't know about Reagan in general, who was very involved in that whole story.

And honestly, Nancy Reagan was kind of wild. So if you liked that episode, you're really going to love our episode about, Ronald Reagan that we're doing this year. It should be coming out soon. I can't give you an exact date, but we're working on it right now. So stay tuned for that. And thanks for watching,

especially an old video like that. I love that. Joanne Hunter 541-left left us an episode suggestion. Marie LeVoe, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, please, please, please, end quote. I did a little Google research on this. Didn't Angela Bassett play her

in American Horror Story? And in that one scene, she had sex with a snake or something. Did that happen? She's so good, though, huh? Angela Bassett, come on. Love a witchy woman. I've actually heard of her numerous times. I don't know why we haven't done an episode on her.

Love this suggestion. Thank you so much, Joanne. And I'll get on this. Thank you. I love you for watching and engaging. So keep commenting because maybe you will be featured. Hey, did you know you can join me over my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs? And while you're there, you can also catch my murder, mystery, and makeup.

So don't forget to subscribe. And hey, if you didn't know, Dark History is an audio boom original. A special thank you to our expert, freelance writer Antonia Malchik. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good day. Make good choices. Okay? don't get the gel

and I'll be talking to you guys later goodbye