Tanning before vacation?

2

Replies

  • lysslax
    lysslax Posts: 64
    Also I'll add that I was at a SunTan City (idk if you have those around you), but there are 3 levels of beds and I was in the lowest power bed.
  • MissSarahAllison315
    MissSarahAllison315 Posts: 263 Member
    As a lovely ghost myself...I always start at 6-7 minutes on the lowest bed and work my way up over the next two weeks!!
  • bmqbonnie
    bmqbonnie Posts: 836 Member
    Yep you only want to start at 5 or 6 minutes. I don't burn easily but I still only start at 8 or so if I haven't done it in a long time and it's winter (like now... also in north MN... what's this sun you speak of???)

    I know it's bad but it's the only thing that keeps me sane around here. I start in the dead of winter and go about every 1-2 weeks just to cheer up and rise above pasty status, and then stop. It's about that time.
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    Ok I'll start with 5 min then at first, don't want to toast myself right off the bat!

    I like the spray paint idea, sounds healthy! Haha!

    Thanks for all the ideas!
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    I know its so bad for you - but I am a sun goddess - i love the sun - and sometimes in the winter - Im also up north (MN) there is nothing better than that feeling of the warmth of a tanning bed - its like vitamin d - just got soaked in my bones and it puts me in a better mood :) If i was going somewhere i would definately tan before going - however - do it gradually - and since you never have gone before - i would recomment using a stand up bed - so that u dont burn your butt -or special parts lol - also a stand up bed - lets u go less time as it is more powerful - the bed i use has a max time of 12 minutes verses some of the standard beds up to 30 minutes - so its like your in and out faster :) - start at 6 minutes - and work your way up - you will not get tan in 1 or 2 weeks if you are completely white - you will need longer - or combine the two with spray tan - again - from experience i would go to a place that has a person spray you - verses something like mystic tan - :) enjoy your trip:)

    Do people seriously go into those tanning beds with their junk exposed? I was planning on wearing underwear or something, I don't really need to tan my junk. Haha!

    My gym just has tanning beds that you lay in. I'll just have to make due with that for now I guess.

    I'll just try 3-4 minutes to start and see how it turns out and go from there, just to play it safe. You're probably right about not getting a tan in just a few weeks. I'm totally white right now, just a slight tan color on my arms/face/neck (i.e. farmers tan from summer), so it'd probably take a while.

    Thanks, looking forward to a nice vacation this winter!
  • rauchd
    rauchd Posts: 2
    DONT DO IT!!! To answer to another, yes, each time you go in a tanning booth your chance of Malignant Melanoma
    Increases EACH time. I'm in dermatology nursing and people in their 20s and 30s are dying from this. Most from indoor
    And outdoor tanning. If you don't want to be white(which if that's your background, I say Embrace Your Race) Get a spray tan
    And if course use a lot of sunscreen!! Please people, it's not worth your precious life!!
  • BarbellBlondieRuns
    BarbellBlondieRuns Posts: 511 Member
    Yes! Vegas in a week. My white Michigan winter buns are also hitting the tanner.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    ehh I am gonna be one of the only naysayers I guess. I am very pale, but my mom's part Italian and I have never had a true sunburn...I tend to get a bit pink and then nicely tan. So back in 2000-2001 I went to tanning beds in the springtime for like 10 visits. Twenty visits in a tanning bed over 2 years' time, and after that second Spring of tanning I started getting a weird thick mole on my calf that had to be biopsied and though it was noncancerous, I'll have to watch it for the rest of my life.

    So I'd say no thank you.
  • rauchd
    rauchd Posts: 2
    Oh and btw, especially if you're in the northern half of our country, you're not getting substantial
    Vitamin D from the sun. We're too far north in the hemisphere. The safe way is to supplement with vitamins.
    If you suffer from winter blues, prescription sun lamps emit safe light and help tremendously. I know of a 20 something
    Woman before she got melanoma who used to say I'd rather die tan that ghostly white. She unfortunately died
    from Melanoma before her 30th birthday regretting those words. Don't think it can't happen to you!
  • CassandraBurgos83
    CassandraBurgos83 Posts: 544 Member
    To each there own. I personally wont and when I am in the sun I wear 40+ spf( and I still manage to have a golden tan in the summer). My sister and aunts have all had skin cancer and previously baked in the bed and or in the sun. Plus I am white, and from what I have seen from many people I know who do bake whom are my age, haven't aged well at all, but then again maybe they don't have the money to correct the damage they have created.
  • MissKim78
    MissKim78 Posts: 426 Member
    Consult with the staff at the tanning salon you choose, they will know best as the time you go in for will depend on their beds and how new/old the bulbs are. Newer bulbs are stronger. Everyone is different but they will help you figure out a suitable time for you to go in.

    I def recommend getting a base tan before going somewhere hot & sunny, less chance of a severe burn that could risk your health and your vacation!

    Have fun....I'm jealous! :sad:
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    Maybe I'll give it a shot then. Is 10 minutes too long for a super white person? I'll have to figure out how to even use the thing too haha! I think I can get a free month of tanning from my gym if I sign up for something or like them on Facebook or whatever, so I should be able to do it for free.

    Haha yes, Casper the friendly ghost is usually how I roll!
    YES! I am pretty pale and wanting to get a base tan before summer. I don't want tan top tan lines for my wedding.

    I am an experienced tanner and start out at 6 minutes, and work my way up one minute at a time as long a I don't burn.
  • JenniCali1000
    JenniCali1000 Posts: 646 Member
    DONT DO IT!!! To answer to another, yes, each time you go in a tanning booth your chance of Malignant Melanoma
    Increases EACH time. I'm in dermatology nursing and people in their 20s and 30s are dying from this. Most from indoor
    And outdoor tanning. If you don't want to be white(which if that's your background, I say Embrace Your Race) Get a spray tan
    And if course use a lot of sunscreen!! Please people, it's not worth your precious life!!

    ^ I have to agree with this 100%
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    OP - how did it go?
    I tanned prior to my honeymoon last spring and I found it did prevent sunburn for the most part.
    I had never tanned before and got in 67 minutes in about 4 and a half weeks.
  • MissKim78
    MissKim78 Posts: 426 Member
    DONT DO IT!!! To answer to another, yes, each time you go in a tanning booth your chance of Malignant Melanoma
    Increases EACH time. I'm in dermatology nursing and people in their 20s and 30s are dying from this. Most from indoor
    And outdoor tanning. If you don't want to be white(which if that's your background, I say Embrace Your Race) Get a spray tan
    And if course use a lot of sunscreen!! Please people, it's not worth your precious life!!

    Sadly, everyone is going to do what they want to. Smoking is deadly....millions still do it, Drinking & drugs can be dangerous & deadly....millions still do them, Tanning can cause cancer.....millions still do it. And all of these things are perfectly legal (aside from most drugs people do!).

    As long as people are aware of the risks, they are free to do as they please and will continue to do so. Who are we to judge what anyone else does with their own life?

    I am sure the OP is aware (or will be made aware by the salon he chooses) of the risks of tanning. Although I'm sure we all appreciate the information, the OP wasn't asking what the risks were, he was simply asking who tans before going away.
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    DONT DO IT!!! To answer to another, yes, each time you go in a tanning booth your chance of Malignant Melanoma
    Increases EACH time. I'm in dermatology nursing and people in their 20s and 30s are dying from this. Most from indoor
    And outdoor tanning. If you don't want to be white(which if that's your background, I say Embrace Your Race) Get a spray tan
    And if course use a lot of sunscreen!! Please people, it's not worth your precious life!!

    Sadly, everyone is going to do what they want to. Smoking is deadly....millions still do it, Drinking & drugs can be dangerous & deadly....millions still do them, Tanning can cause cancer.....millions still do it. And all of these things are perfectly legal (aside from most drugs people do!).

    As long as people are aware of the risks, they are free to do as they please and will continue to do so. Who are we to judge what anyone else does with their own life?

    I am sure the OP is aware (or will be made aware by the salon he chooses) of the risks of tanning. Although I'm sure we all appreciate the information, the OP wasn't asking what the risks were, he was simply asking who tans before going away.


    Exactly.... My sister was over this weekend and was on her maybe 10th cigarette since she got here (which was maybe 20 minutes) and I was wearing jeggings with no pockets so I put my phone in my bra and she seriously yelled OH MY GOD DONT DO THAT YOULL GET CANCER..... I just blew it off.... I don't drink or smoke and have never do drugs .... If I die from a cell phone in my bra then I really must have bad luck in life....

    I DO however tan because I have a MAJOR vitamin D deficiency and even with tanning and the maximum amounts of supplements I still barely bridge the gap....

    But a few short times before you go on vacation will be just fine.... Because one MAJOR burn ok vacation will not only ruin your vacation but one terrible blistery burn can be worse than an hour total in the tanning bed over all.
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    Editing reposted... Wierd
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Most dermatologists and medical professionals would probably suggest to NOT use the tanning booth AND when you go to Florida, stay inside during the heat of the day and when you venture outdoors in the early evening and early morning, wear full sleeve clothes and large sombreros... That being said, if you keep it to a minimum and plan to go out, make sure that you follow the directions and don't over do it. Indoor tanning can be more dangerous than outdoor because you lack an ozone layer of protection. By all means, use sunblock whether inside or out. One can burn even if they don't look or feel burned.
  • lucille_heather
    lucille_heather Posts: 650 Member
    defiantly would say do not tan before going away!!
    nothing better than going away and seeing a natural tan developing as the holiday goes on.
    plus its much better for your skin than sunbeds!!
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I've definitely done this before, but I've sworn off of the tanning bed for health reasons (skin cancer, no thanks). I still do tan in the sun, which is bad, but I was once using a tanning bed all year, while now I only tan three months out of the year.

    When I go on my next vacation to Orlando in October, I'm sure my tan from the summer will be gone. I'll probably just go and burn if I'm going to burn. I'm not much of a sunblock person unless I'm out in the sun and already feel burnt but don't want to go inside.

    I tanned in preparation for my wedding in May of 2012, so I didn't burn at all on our honeymoon, just got darker. I know a sunburn can ruin a vacation, but I can tough it out this year. :)

Categories