Hi all just seeing how you all acheive your tan.
I went to the solarium for the first time and I had my butt and back burnt just a little red they say it goes away and you can go again with only 1 day rest so just interested to see if this has happened to anyone else.

I've gone in the past.

Be conservative with your time per session under the lamp and, more importantly, the increases from session to session. Any form of tanning (by light) increases the risk of skin cancer. Burning puts you at an even higher risk. So, if you choose to tan, avoid burning at all costs.

"Tanning" is the process of turning flesh into leather. Not a desirable trait, in my book.

The lone reason I don't tan anymore is because of the way it ages your skin.

I am really hearing bad things about these tanning beds but I am not going to go every 2 days I have a little natural tan I am deffinately not white. I think I will go for a few more times and then just use the sun to keep the tan.

I am really hearing bad things about these tanning beds but I am not going to go every 2 days I have a little natural tan I am deffinately not white. I think I will go for a few more times and then just use the sun to keep the tan.

I would put some sunscreen on.

I have always found creams repulsive, but now that I use sunscreen for my little girls, I also use it myself when I'm under the sun. My skin is pale, the kind that gets red and burnt easily and is hard to get tanned, so I just stayed away from the sun. But a sunscreen lotion or spray is definitely a must for everyone. You still get a tan, but your skin is more protected, not completely, but a lot.
There are also products that will get you tan without light.

Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with being white. It pi$$e$ me right off when someone tells me I "need" a tan. There'd be murder if people started telling others they need to be whiter.

Why don't you just use some tanning lotion? :confused:

No one has actually told me that I need to be more tanned I actually have tanned skin but I was just looking for that little bit more. Yeah how funny would that be people trying to get whiter ha. Well I am going to go a few more times and see how it goes and then I will make up my mind on the solarium.

But a sunscreen lotion or spray is definitely a must for everyone. You still get a tan, but your skin is more protected, not completely, but a lot.

I'm pretty sure that's not true. It's not just light that causes tanning, and the UV happens to be an unfortunate coincidence, otherwise sitting in a room wih bright incandescent bulbs would give you a tan. Skin darkens in direct response to UVA and UVB absorption, which means that if you tan, you were not protected enough. If you put on sun block, it just means it will take you longer to tan, which is good if the alternative is to burn, but not good if it just means you'll stay in the tanning bed (or the sunlight) longer.

Dom, tanning is unhealthy, so I wholeheartedly recommend against it. I'd recommend looking into sunless tanning products if you want a tan.

No one is Michigan ever tells me I need to get a tan, but I heard it all the time in LA (no shock there ~ home of superficiality and all)

No one is Michigan ever tells me I need to get a tan, but I heard it all the time in LA (no shock there ~ home of superficiality and all)
Really? I get it all the time here. Relatives, friends, acquaintances, and so on.

Really? I get it all the time here. Relatives, friends, acquaintances, and so on.

Bummer. Honestly, you'd think people would be less apt to comment on the skin color of others these days.

Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with being white. It pi$$e$ me right off when someone tells me I "need" a tan. There'd be murder if people started telling others they need to be whiter.


Historically, I think I've read that being tanned was not considered fashionable or attractive as it is now. The elite who did not have to work in the sun all day would be pale, while the laborers and lower class would be the tanned ones.

So, pale used to be desirable.

Historically, I think I've read that being tanned was not considered fashionable or attractive as it is now. The elite who did not have to work in the sun all day would be pale, while the laborers and lower class would be the tanned ones.

So, pale used to be desirable.
Then again, depending on the time period, fat was also desirable. It showed that a person was wealthy enough to afford to purchase or (if we're talking about manorialism) just use food in excess. So, IMO, if someone's going to justify a lack of tan using a past definition of beauty, by the same logic, someone who is fat is equally valid in doing the same. Thus, I think most of us would agree that this justification is pretty silly, as we understand that getting too much sun, just as being too fat, is a significant risk to our healths.

In any case, we can all thank Coco Chanel for ushering in the age of tanning. :whistle:

Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with being white. It pi$$e$ me right off when someone tells me I "need" a tan. There'd be murder if people started telling others they need to be whiter.

Eh, you'd be surprised how much it changes a persons looks, most times for the better. I know I looked a hell of a lot better when I had only a little bit of colour on my skin, I can only imagine how insanely sexy I would have been had I continued spending time in the sun during the summer.

I just mean to say that you should not stay under the sun with no protection. I never used any UVA machine and I don't think I will. I only stay under the sun when I have to and always wear protection.

Here in Valencia the sun bakes just like in Florida, so protection is a must. I don't know how it goes up in the north, but I'm afraid it is not the same.

I've seen many tourists severly burnt because the didn't know what the sun can do to you here.



I'm pretty sure that's not true. It's not just light that causes tanning, and the UV happens to be an unfortunate coincidence, otherwise sitting in a room wih bright incandescent bulbs would give you a tan. Skin darkens in direct response to UVA and UVB absorption, which means that if you tan, you were not protected enough. If you put on sun block, it just means it will take you longer to tan, which is good if the alternative is to burn, but not good if it just means you'll stay in the tanning bed (or the sunlight) longer.

Dom, tanning is unhealthy, so I wholeheartedly recommend against it. I'd recommend looking into sunless tanning products if you want a tan.

Eh, you'd be surprised how much it changes a persons looks, most times for the better. I know I looked a hell of a lot better when I had only a little bit of colour on my skin, I can only imagine how insanely sexy I would have been had I continued spending time in the sun during the summer.

100 years ago, society would've programmed you the other way, and you'd have found whiteness attractive.

100 years ago, society would've programmed you the other way, and you'd have found whiteness attractive.
yeah and 500 years ago you'd be hanged if you said the earth was round =\

I recall a conversation I had with my boss a few years ago. He's a cardiac surgeon, and he had been chatting to a plastic surgeon mate of his. He'd asked what is the allowable time to spend in the sun to avoid increasing your risks of skin cancers. The answer was "How many cigarettes can you smoke before your risks increase"?

We all know that the only allowable safe amount of cigarettes is zero. The plastic surgeon followed up with reiterating that sunlight is bad for skin, and that he wore sunblock all year round, despite living in the known sun-trap that is Ireland.

Andrew.

yeah and 500 years ago you'd be hanged if you said the earth was round =\

And chances are you'd have been so culturally isolated you wouldn't have known there were variations in skin color.

I actually go to the tanning bed. At the very most it's once every two weeks though and I've never once went more than 3 times in any month. I also never go during the summer time. Every couple Saturdays I stop by Suntan City and throw down a couple dollars for 10-15 minutes.

To be honest, me going to the tanning bed once every two weeks is a whole lot less sun exposure than I had in HS when I was playing multiple sports and practicing outside 4+ hours on some days. In comparison to that my tanning bed time is practically nothing.

I go for very short sessions twice a week. 8 min on Mondays and Fridays.
It is the only sun I get. Keeps a little color on me so I don't burst into flames when I visit the ocean for some surfing, snorkeling, or whatever...

I think that there is no 2 ways about this the sun or the tanning bed it is not good for you. Or I should say it is going to increase the risk of cancer and that is one thing that I really do not want to do but as for the sun yes it is going to increase the risk of cancer but it also provides I think vitamin D which from what I have been told is a very valuable vitamin. So on that note I am going to be using the sun in moderation.

Sun doesn't give you vitamin D, rather the sun acts as a catalyst for your body to process the vitamin.

Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with being white. It pi$$e$ me right off when someone tells me I "need" a tan. There'd be murder if people started telling others they need to be whiter.

Actually, in a lot of eastern countries there are very popular products for skin lightening. Noone seems to be happy with what they've got!

Actually, in a lot of eastern countries there are very popular products for skin lightening. Noone seems to be happy with what they've got!

Yeah, I've seen those products in Thailand. They even offer creams that purport to change women's nipples from their natural brown to a caucasian pink!

I'm saying if some white person in America said "you need to be whiter" to anyone not of caucasian persuasion, that person would likely get very upset.