We thought we had seen it all this prom season -- a girls-only prom, a Mormon prom and a tornado-ravaged prom, to name a few -- but now a 'tanning-free' prom is taking over one Massachusetts high school. A group of concerned seniors at Maynard High School pledged to forgo tanning beds before the big dance this year, in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of melanoma and reduce their risk of skin cancer, ABC News reports.
For many prom-going girls -- particularly at Maynard High School -- tanning is an integral part of primping for the event, along with makeup application and elaborate updos.
"Our school is known for a lot of people tanning," said Allison Boss, the senior who organized the pledge. "Kids start in March because they want to be tanned in their dresses for prom."
Allison's message of slathering on the SPF instead of spending hours sunbathing seems to have hit a nerve at the school: 209 of the 238 seniors signed the pledge declaring that they would go pale for prom. And on the big night, the difference was noticeable.
"More people showed up with their natural skin color than in previous years, and everyone looked beautiful," she told ABC News.
In the wake of the tanning mom fiasco, the trend of overly-bronzed complexions is slowly making its way out of style. Fair-skinned stars like Lily Collins, Emma Stone and Rooney Mara are stealing the spotlight. And with concerns over skin cancer mounting and more states adopting tanning-bed bans for minors, increasing numbers of teens are choosing to ignore the siren song of sunbeds.
However, changing attitudes and habits around tanning will take time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found that half of adults under 30 have gotten sunburnt in the past year -- the same amount as a decade ago. Moreover, women in their 20s are going to tanning salons an average of twice a month.
How do you feel about tanning? Do you think that states should be banning tanning beds for minors? Tell us in the comments below or tweet @HuffPostTeen!