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Baylor University, a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, provides a vibrant campus community for more than 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship.

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Dr. Jay Yoo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Sciences and Design. His research interests are appearance-related behaviors and their implications for individual and social well-being from consumer perspectives. He has conducted research on body-tanning behaviors, including sunless tanning, and health perceptions of using appearance-related products. Serious quality-of-life concerns occur when appearance satisfaction is compounded by behaviors that may have long-term consequences. He has published in the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, the Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, and Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing and Service Industries.

Dr. Yoo’s courses are designed to provoke students' interest and appeal to students from a variety of backgrounds. Although fashion is often understood to center on apparel choices, fashion impacts nearly every aspect of human lives. This prospect provided the opportunity to incorporate various topics of inquiry. These topics include fashion and health, social responsibility, and environmental issues involving consumptive behaviors. He earned his PhD in retail merchandising from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, his master’s degree in apparel design from Cornell University, and his bachelor’s in clothing and textiles from Seattle Pacific University.

Green Consumption

Body-Tanning Behaviors

Apparel and Consumer Behavior

Fashion Merchandising

Appearance-Related Behaviors

Sunless Tanning

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Baylor Apparel Merchandising Professor Is Awarded Prestigious Texas Leadership Award

Dr. Jay Yoo - Headshot

safe-tanners-who-use-sprays-and-lotions-less-likely-to-get-tattoos-and-piercings-than-frequent-sunbathers-and-tanning-bed-users-baylor-study-finds

Associate Professor of Apparel Merchandising

Frequent tanning can signal excessive concern over image and vulnerability to taking health risks, researcher says  Getty Images  People who often sunbathe or use tanning beds are more likely to try risky weight-loss methods and have cosmetic surgery, as well as get tattoos and piercings. But while people who seldom tan also may try unsafe diets and cosmetic surgery, they rarely opt for tattoos or piercings, according to a Baylor University study.

"When compared to infrequent tanners, frequent body-tanners — regardless of whether they are tanned by ultraviolet light from the sun, ultraviolet light from a tanning bed or methods such as tanning sprays that do not involve UV light — showed significantly higher behavioral intentions to engage in risky appearance-related behaviors overall," said Jay Yoo, Ph.D., associate professor of family and consumer sciences in Baylor's Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences.

"Safer tanners, on the other hand, are more concerned about modifying their bodies in ways such as tattoos and piercing that may carry a stigma," Yoo said.

Most skin cancer prevention campaigns have emphasized avoidance of getting sunburned, reducing UV exposure and applying sunscreen, but they have neglected the individual's experience with social and appearance concerns, he said.

But "Excessive tanning can serve as a possible sign of overt concern over body image, with vulnerability to greater health risks," Yoo said.

His research article — "A Study of the Relationships between Tanning Methods and the Intention to Engage in Risky Appearance-Related Behaviors" — is published in Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal. Data for the study was collected from an online survey of 395 female college students in the southern United States.

The major contributor to skin cancer is frequent exposure to ultraviolet rays, with skin cancer the most common — and one of the most preventable — types of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Ironically, previous research has found that many people choose to tan because they believe a tan makes them look thinner and more fit, Yoo said.

Tanning has gone in and out of fashion, Yoo noted. Tans at one time were associated with lower classes who worked outdoors — in contrast with the Southern belles of more than a century ago, who used parasols to protect their skin and to look pale and refined.

In the 1920s, fashion designer Coco Chanel started a fad after accidentally getting sunburned while visiting the French Riviera, Yoo said. Tanning remained popular, with high-fashion models often sporting tans, whether from UV exposure or sprays and bronzers. And these days, some people sport tattoos along with their tans, he said.

The study found that:

Frequent tanners who expose themselves to UV rays through sunbathing or tanning beds have the strongest intentions to engage in a wider range of risky appearance-related behaviors when compared to infrequent tanners or spray tanners. Such behaviors include extreme weight control methods, such as diet pills, self-induced vomiting, laxatives and diuretics; cosmetic surgery and Botox injections; spa treatments, such as hair removal by waxing (which has been associated with rashes and infections) and gel nail polish (done with UV curing and associated with DNA damage to the skin that can result in premature aging and possibly cancer; and tattoos or piercings. Infrequent tanners, as well as "safe" tanners who seek to achieve an ideal tan without ultraviolet methods (sprays, lotions or bronzers) are much less likely to engage in behaviors that may convey certain stereotypes, such as tattoos or piercings with visual symbols or messages. But they are willing to try other risky appearance-related behaviors.  Yoo suggested that intervention strategies adapted for healthcare providers to reduce UV exposure and skin cancer could use stigmatization — perhaps through images of tattooed or pierced individuals who also are tanned.

"A negative stigma attached to UV exposure can create ambivalence in our society about achieving a tanned appearance," Yoo said. "This could decrease the popularity of tanning in much the same way the negative stereotyping of smoking and education about its health risks have reduced the number of people who smoke."

He noted that in the 1940s and 1950s, smoking was idealized, especially in Hollywood movies, but "there has been a cultural shift," he said.

"One way to change the appeal of tanning would be to make it un-cool," Yoo said. "If I tan and people look at me funny, I'm not going to tan anymore."

While another way to stigmatize tanning would be to stress the health consequences, "for young people it may be more effective to emphasize the appearance," Yoo said. "The tanning that makes me attractive now may be counteracted for the long haul because at 50 or 60, I may have leathery skin.

"Given that tanning emerged as a fashion trend, gradual attitudes toward dangerous tanning can be made possible in a similar fashion," he said.


‘Safe’ Tanners Who Use Sprays and Lotions Less Likely to Get Tattoos and Piercings than Frequent Sunbathers and Tanning Bed Users, Baylor Study Finds

five-tips-to-choose-sustainable-fashion

 Getty Images  Fast Fashion is the most popular trend in retail fashion today.  Fast Fashion isn’t a specific style but rather clothing produced quickly and cheaply to respond instantly to consumer demand. Low prices and popular online retailers allow people to purchase clothing more often but at a devastating cost to the environment.

According to EarthDay.org, the fashion industry is one of the largest global polluters, creating 4% of all greenhouse gas emissions, 40 million tons of landfill waste and 35% of microplastics in the ocean. 

According to fashion expert Jay Yoo, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences at Baylor University, consumers are learning more about the environmental impacts of fashion and searching for better options. 

Fashion expert Jay Yoo, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences at Baylor University
Fashion expert Jay Yoo, Ph.D.

Yoo’s research shows that purchasing apparel products that help reduce negative impacts on the environment has emerged as a lifestyle.

“Fashion-conscious consumers are ready and willing to forgo fast fashion for more sustainable options produced in an ecologically and socially responsible way,” said Yoo. 

Yoo recommends five ways you can use your purchasing power to support sustainable fashion.
Choose natural fibers - organic cotton, linen or hemp. Avoid clothing that requires dry cleaning. Donate to and shop at resale stores. Purchase from retailers that are committed to sustainability. Encourage your friends to join you in supporting sustainable fashion.  Although fashion is often understood to center on apparel choices, fashion impacts nearly every aspect of human lives, Yoo said, including health, social responsibility and environmental issues involving consumptive behaviors. His additional research interests include appearance-related behaviors and their implications for individual and social well-being from consumer perspectives, from body-tanning behaviors, body image and quality of life among cancer patients, retail therapy and mental health, and irrational shopping and extreme body modification.


Five Tips to Choose Sustainable Fashion

baylor-researcher-seeks-to-understand-the-drive-for-the-perfect-tan

Despite being one of the most preventable cancers, the desirability of tanning is often stronger than the dangers of harmful UV exposure.  Getty Images  With summer on the horizon, the quest for the perfect tan has begun. However, there is no such thing as a healthy tan. Despite being one of the most preventable cancers, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with more than 5 million cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Baylor University researcher Jay Yoo, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, found that the social and cultural influences on the desirability of tanning – which has been associated with good health and an active lifestyle since the 1920s – is often stronger than the dangers of harmful UV exposure.

“The appeal of a tan is so strong in U.S. culture, it may be difficult for some people to stop or even reduce the amount of tanning,” Yoo said.

In his 2019 study, “Identifying factors that influence individuals’ intentions to quit body tanning: A sociocultural perspective,”, published in the international journal Social Behavior and Personality, Yoo identified what motivates people to seek the “perfect” tan.

Yoo surveyed 385 college students to understand how society effects their tanning behaviors and intention to quit tanning. His research found that the greatest influence on reducing risky tanning behavior was the perceived attractiveness from tanning, whereas skin-aging concerns positively influence their intention to quit tanning.

FINDINGS

Yoo’s findings provide important implications for skin cancer prevention campaigns. Instead of promoting the message of body tanning as an unhealthy behavior, focusing instead on untanned healthy bodies as a positive image can serve as an effective approach to decreasing skin cancer incidence. Using messages that accentuate a healthy body without tanned skin should be promoted to boost a positive body image and to reduce the likelihood of engaging in risky tanning behaviors.

ACTIONS

To protect yourself and look great, the Skin Cancer Foundation recommends: Avoid tanning entirely: It’s the best way to safeguard against unhealthy, unsightly skin damage. Fake, don’t bake: If you want a golden glow, consider sunless tanning products. There are many options, but remember, when in the sun, you still need sun protection. Tone, don’t tan: Get radiant skin through exercise. Working out feels good and boosts your mood. Hydrate and eat great: Drink lots of water and choose whole, unprocessed foods. You don’t need to tan to look slim and your skin will thank you. 

Baylor Researcher Seeks to Understand the Drive for the Perfect Tan

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