Tanning Mom used to be a model [PHOTOS]. Patricia Krentcil, the so-called "tan mom," is revealing her new lighter looks after being offered a photo shoot by In Touch magazine if she went a month without any sun or tanning-bed time.

Photos just published in the new issue show a smiling 44-year-old with a healthy, natural glow, a sharp contrast with the dark, leathery complexion that turned her into the butt of jokes after she was charged with allowing her young daughter into a tanning booth with her.

“Everyone says I look so much better less tan,” Krentcil told the magazine. “I feel weird and pale.”

Although Krentcil looks healthier than she did in some of her more extreme photos, experts interviewed by TODAY.com cautioned that it takes a lot longer than 30 days for skin to really begin to recover and that it will never completely heal from years of UV damage. Go here for more and the photos.