even if you know better( cancer! wrinkles!), sunbathing can be hard to quit. Whether in a tanning bed in January or on the beach in July, tanners aren’ t hooked on just the look of bronzed skin but also the hit-meagain rush it elicits.“ UV rays trigger the production of opioidlike endorphins,” says Bryon Adinoff, MD, professor of alcohol and drug abuse research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Those neurochemicals can improve your mood and reduce stress and pain.“ They have the same effect as morphine and heroin.” In one study, 74 percent of people who tan a few times a week exhibited an addictive-like relationship and some experienced jitters and nausea without rays. So save your skin now, sun junkies, in 12 easy steps.

Step 1

Repeat This:“ It Isn’ t Too Late”

“ There’ s this‘ what’ s done is done’ mentality, but every day that you protect yourself makes a difference,” says NYC dermatologist Doris Day, MD. An Australian study found that people who started

slathering themselves with SPF 15 daily had skin that looked no older after almost five years.

Step 2

Use the Mirror as Motivation

If the prospect of skin cancer and saggy skin doesn’ t

spook you, consider the“ acne tattoo.” Shading the skin around pimples can temporarily make them less obvious, but in the long run,“ tanning can cause oil glands to overgrow and darken existing scars,” says Dr. Day.“ A mild scar at age 20 could look horrible at 40.”

MIKE GARTEN