Tanning mom pale: Patricia Krentcil says she's done with tanning
In a new In Touch magazine interview and photo spread, Patricia Krentcil, also known as “Tanning Mom,” describes herself as “pale” now that she has gone one month without tanning in the sun or at a salon.
“Everyone says I look so much better less tan,” she said, noting that she's done with tanning. “I feel weird and pale.”
The New Jersey mom made headlines in May after being charged with child endangerment for allegedly letting her 6-year-old daughter use a tanning booth – while she herself was tanning. Ms. Krentcil claimed she never let her daughter in a tanning booth.
The case also created a storm of criticism over the practice of tanning as a dangerous fashion obsession. Even the bronzed New Jersey reality TV star Snooki weighed in against Krentcil for even taking her daughter into a tanning salon. New Jersey law bars anyone under 14 from using a tanning salon. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports bans against children using indoor tanning devices.
“I would never,” Krentcil told In Touch. “She comes into the room with me, but not the booth. She plays with her Barbie dolls while I tan.”
During her trial, Krentcil appeared deeply tanned. A doctor once told her that she needed to stop tanning, using the term “tanorexic,” according to In Touch.
“But I didn’t listen to him,” Krentcil told In Touch. “I wanted to be dark. I like looking like I just got back from vacation.”
Tanorexia – repetitive tanning – is a behavior that is similar to addiction found in alcoholism, according to a 2005 study conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Though she claims she is now done with tanning, she said she may “squeeze a tan in here or there.”
Krentcil plead not guilty in May, and here case went to the grand jury in June.
