whats with the tanning?

inlander

I understand wanting a nice little glow, but I don't get why the majority of fitness/health freaks (term of endearment, I promise) that I know are so concerned about hitting the tanning beds. I feel like that's pretty counter-productive - trying to be healthy but causing skin damage at the same time. WTF.

(Random thought of the day. Don't hate.)

keiraev

Sunbeds are my guilty pleasure.

I so shouldn't use them tho- I'm not about having a winter tan either really so won't be going anywhere near them for a long time!

adjones5

spray tan all the way

PBJunkie

I appreciate your concern...

Well for me it is part of my daily schedule to take a quick jog in the sun shirtless to absorb some of the Vitamin D.

eillamarie

The darker you are the more muscle definition shows up.

McKayMachina

I agree. A friend of mine has gotten into fitness modeling and competitions and now she looks burnt. It's really gross.

catshark209

I'm won't do it. I'm fair skinned and I like it. To each his or her own though...but I wouldn't mind a spray tan...if I could afford it. Damn economy.

JediMaster_intraining

i used to do tanning beds but stopped since i didn't want a) skin cancer b) to waste anymore money c) to look old

now i'm just happy with the whiteness i am. but i do get a twinge of jealousy when i see nice tan legs! it takes me forever to tan and makes me a little angry that i'd have to fake tan to get that!

anywho...

LoveHoodies

I'm so used to seeing the really ripped and buff dudes as really tan, then one day I found out why... there is a really ripped and buff dude at the gym I go to who is as pale as me (I slap on the 50-80spf every day). He looked silly

PBJunkie

I'm so used to seeing the really ripped and buff dudes as really tan, then one day I found out why... there is a really ripped and buff dude at the gym I go to who is as pale as me (I slap on the 50-80spf every day). He looked silly

Like a ribbed condom?

sleepytexan

I don't get it either. orange is not supposed to be a skin color.

BrewerGeorge

We always knew tanning beds were a bad idea, but in the last couple of years info has come out to prove just how bad they really are. I'm surprised some nanny-state nutjob hasn't started a campaign to outlaw them yet. The only other legal thing more dangerous is cigarettes.

jennmoore3

the local tanning place by me runs a special 1 time a year. dollar a tan so I buy like 50 tans, and spread them out over the whole year. some days in the winter I go just to relax. I go about 8-10 minutes once a week or maybe twice a week if I have a bad week. it is relaxing and really I don't get "tan" from it. to me it is a small time of alone time in the warmth.

I know a waste if I don't get dark, but it is my relaxing time.

charityateet

I refuse to tan in beds because of the health risk and also wear spf 30+ but admit to being jealous of tanned girls!

DownSheGoes

Haha, I can't tan, even if I try. Even mid summer on the beach I'm the whitest person there (non-racial comment). I don't have a problem with other people tanning but I don't understand the concept of tanning beds because of the health risks, costs, etc.

kysassyblonde1

kind of funny to me to run across this after tonight I just went and signed up for a months unlimited tanning..... lol

hml1976

Well...I believe in sunshine and Vitamin D and make sure I get plenty but having watched three family members die from melanoma...I'm not pressing my luck by tanning.

Besides all I can think of when I'm lying there is "what if a light bulb explodes and sets this thing on fire?"

BethanyMasters

I don't get it either. My sister fake and baked all through her 20s and made fun of me for being "albino".

Now she's 30, has already had a skin cancer scare, and she looks like she's 40.

genxrider

Tanning beds are actually addicting - like cigarettes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/health/22brod.html

kmcrey87

spray tan all the way

Agreed!

donnaeve8

GTL!! Seriously though, I get free tanning with my gym membership so I use it. I also get SAD so it helps on a cloudy cold day. Those are my reasons, anyway!

bookworm03

I don't know much about tanning, casper has a better tan than me. I tried spray tan once... that didn't work either. A friend of mine goes tanning to help a skin condition. (Can't remember what its called) and it worked.

epoint

I've never been in a tanning bed in my life, and I'm as pale as a ghost. A good friend of mine, though, makes sure to have a good tan all year round because she says that "tan fat looks better than pale fat!" :-)

CSelf1

I'm so used to seeing the really ripped and buff dudes as really tan, then one day I found out why... there is a really ripped and buff dude at the gym I go to who is as pale as me (I slap on the 50-80spf every day). He looked silly

Like a ribbed condom?

LMAO! Complete visual!

megz4987

Haha, I can't tan, even if I try. Even mid summer on the beach I'm the whitest person there (non-racial comment). I don't have a problem with other people tanning but I don't understand the concept of tanning beds because of the health risks, costs, etc.

This.
I actually did try to tan about 4 years ago for my sisters wedding (I didn't want to glow!... and the wedding was in april,there's no sunbathing here before July) so I went to the tanning beds at least every other day if not every day for 3 months... didn't get a single shade darker.

LycosNyctereutes

I appreciate your concern...

Well for me it is part of my daily schedule to take a quick jog in the sun shirtless to absorb some of the Vitamin D.

To me there's a diff between real sun and UV beds. And a diff between taking a shirtless jog (for a guy anyway) and spending all day everyday in the sun with no protection like my grandpa who grew up farming did, and had to go get skin cancer spots removed every couple of years. Some sun is healthy, we did not evolve in caves with fluorescent lighting!

HollyTsiaussis

Unlike most people, I LOVE being pale.

1a1a

I'm with you, embrace the colour you are naturally.

In answer to the question, I'm going to go with the vanity/peer pressure thing, if every other skin baring health nut has a nice tan, the the pink/white fitness instructor is going to look a little strange. White still needs to be normalised (along with hairy legs and armpits for women and a lack of a 6 pack for guys).

LycosNyctereutes

I'm with you, embrace the colour you are naturally.

In answer to the question, I'm going to go with the vanity/peer pressure thing, if every other skin baring health nut has a nice tan, the the pink/white fitness instructor is going to look a little strange. White still needs to be normalised (along with hairy legs and armpits for women and a lack of a 6 pack for guys).

But I LIKE guys with 6 packs! Seriously, I used to like my paleness too. But then the whole "goth" fad got started (they called themselves punks when I was in high school, but there weren't many of them). I got so tired of hearing, "oh you must be goth" because I was really pale and have dark hair and looked 15 until I was about 25. I was so pale in HS you could see the blue veins coming up the sides of my cheeks and going across my chest. Now my hair's a little grey, and living in the country has tanned me just enough IMO, and I have learned to embrace my shade of pale. But I still hate acanthosis nigricans. >:(

peekabeaux

I never could understand them myself. They seem to keep popping up all over the place, Maybe it's just me, but I would rather spend my time outside and get a tan the old fashion way, of course I'm old school :-)

splackk

Haha, I'm another albino here. I tried tanning for about two months before and had great results, but it was for a special occasion and I haven't been back since. It really is addicting, by the end it was definitely my favorite part of the day (well, of the every-other-day), but I'm far too afraid of skin cancer to continue longer than that.

If another super special occasion comes up in the future I wouldn't mind going again for another month or two, but I'll definitely never be a regular. On another note- I know people say tanning beds make you look older, but one of my girlfriends has been tanning religiously for the last 8 years or so and still looks amazing, I'll be curious to see what she looks like at age 40 and if anything has changed.