Does your tan come from the sun, a bottle or a hose?

　　你的古铜肤色来自太阳、瓶装乳液还是喷雾器？

　　A hundred years ago a suntan was the telltale mark of a laborer. These days, it’s the exact opposite: with more menial labor taking place in windowless office buildings and factories, a tan indicates an expensive lifestyle and lots of time for surfing, sailing, skiing or just lying around in the summer sun.

　　But these days, many would-be tanners are looking for a quick and easy way to get dark. For the cost of a decent restaurant meal, you can catch a tan on your lunch break at an indoor tanning salon. Starting out in the 1970s, the indoor tanning industry is now worth billions of dollars. The tanning beds offer a more even, healthy looking tan, and are especially popular in cold countries that don’t get much sun.

　　The ultra violet (UV) rays that cause suntans also cause a kind of chemical, called endorphins, to be released into the blood. When they reach the brain, endorphins cause feelings of pleasure and happiness, which partially explains why people often feel depressed during winter. However, UV rays also damage the skin and cause cancer, and tanning beds give off three times more UV than the sun, making them both potentially dangerous and addictive.

　　New solutions offer suntans without the sun. “Self Tan” lotions contain the chemicals that cause skin to darken. The idea is that you rub these chemicals all over your body and, after a few hours, you look like you just stepped off the beach. The downside is that some of these lotions don’t smell very nice and, if you try to rub it on yourself, you’re likely to end up with an uneven tan. New devices allow the lotion to be applied by a spray, in a process similar to painting a car, which promises a more even coating. But no matter which process you use, the results fade within a few days, and might rub off on your clothes.

　　几百年前，晒黑的皮肤是暴露劳工身份的标记。现在恰恰相反：越来越多卑微的工作在无窗户的办公大楼和工厂中进行，晒黑的皮肤象征昂贵的生活方式，有很多时间可以冲浪、航海、滑雪或只是躺在夏日的阳光下。

　　但是现在，很多想要将皮肤晒黑的人正在寻求既快捷又简单的方法来变黑。花费在还不错的餐馆吃一餐的钱，你就可以利用午休的时间在室内的晒黑沙龙把皮肤晒黑。始于1970年代的室内晒黑产业现在价值几十亿，日晒床提供更均匀健康的晒黑肤色，这在没什么阳光的寒冷国家特别受欢迎。

　　造成皮肤晒黑的紫外线，也会造成一种称为脑内啡的化学物质被释放进血液中。当它到达脑部时，脑内啡引发愉悦和快乐的感觉，这解释了人们通常在冬天觉得沮丧的部分原因。然而，紫外线也会伤害皮肤并导致癌症，日晒床释放出比太阳多三倍的紫外线，这使它们可能很危险性并且使人上瘾。

　　新的解决方法提供不需太阳的日晒。“自晒”乳液含有让皮肤变黑的化学物质，这种想法是要将这些化学物质擦遍全身，几个小时后，你看起来会像刚从海滩回来一样。它的坏处是有些乳液不太好闻，还有如果你试着把它擦在自己身上，你最后很可能会有不均匀的晒黑肤色。新的设备可以让乳液通过喷雾器使用，程序类似汽车喷漆，这样能保证比较均匀。但不管你用哪一种程序，效果都会在几天内渐渐消失，而且可能会沾上你的衣服。