Tanning - Yay or Nay?

Jeyed

Nay, nay, nay - go for the 'spray'... unless of course you're into looking like an 'old shoe' by the time you're 50!
That is if 'Mel' doesn't visit you first.

SarahR1984

I've never tanned! I love the look, but I hate the sun exposure and I find it quite discomforting. However, I think I'm going to give it a try this summer! My excuse was always "I'm a white girl, why would I need to tan?" But I'm going to give it a go! I'm just worried about the health risks. And I have no idea how long, to use tanning oil or sunscreen instead, etc. so I'll be a little lost.

You'll regret it when your 27 like me and wrinkles start popping up! Or worse skin cancer. I had to learn to love my own skin. It's taken a long time. But tanning is just not worth it. If I could go back to 21 year old me I would definitely make sure I never stepped into that tanning parlor!

ShaniaBoyce

NAY!!!! are you crazy that can give you skin cancer

xXKatrinaXx

used to LOVE tanning...until I got skin spots

1FitBabe

This has become such a controversial topic. I personally LOVE tanning. I love the way I feel after a tanning session, and my skin looks amazing in the summer time. I actually feel kind of depressed in the summer if I don't have a nice tan, and I really don't want to wear shorts if my legs may possibly blind somebody from all the paleness! I also struggle with the whole chance of skin cancer risk. I feel better when I think pretty much anything can lead to cancer these days. At least I don't smoke or drink and I eat well and exercise. I only tan during the spring and summer months, and I do it in moderation. Hopefully, this is safe enough.

No to tanning for me and no there is no such thing as safe tanning.

TotallyTina

Don't go Tanning!! Buy a bottle of Vitiman D and take 2000 miligarams. It has the same effect as tanning - which is what your body does in the sun - it makes Vit D. Save yourself the skin cancer risk!! I've had so many friends that have had sports removed. it's not worth it! It's just as addictive as cigarettes, so break the addiction. Get yourself a bottle of Vitiman D. I have friends that are my age that have horrible crow's feet by their eyes and wrinkles because of tanning on a consistent basis. You don't want to age any faster do you?! SO BAD FOR YOU!!!! -Tina

TeeferTiger

Nay for me. I don't tan anyway-just burn- as I have fair skin (dark hair but blue eyes, and freckles). I only have to go out to hang the washing out and I've got red marks where I've caught the sun :frown:

SLaw4215

Tanning makes my fat look nicer LOL

BritFitB

Huge nay! After age 40, all damage comes to the surface, you get age spots, and you have an 80% risk of basil cell carcinoma and melanoma just from tanning booths. No thank you! Any 20 year who does it religiously now will live to regret it later.

iNkedFiTmama

I like it.. I only like to be a few shades darker than my normal skin tone I'm fair skinned and my hair is lighter, I would look like a crazy bimbo if I got all super dark haha. I also have a lot of tattoos so I don't like to tan a lot because of that.

epona_mus

No way. I had a melanoma scare when I was in my 20s and swore off UV tanning in all forms. I'm glad to see some places are banning tanning salons, as they are undeniably a risk to human health.

Another bonus, I am regularly told I look 10 yrs younger than I actually am, without botox or fillers. I think that's primarily due to staying out of the sun and wearing sunscreen regularly from an early age.

crimsoncat

For me it's a nay. I was super tan as a child (we dark haired Italians tend to be), but I stopped in recent years. I'm actually starting to like my skin a little paler. Also, I am on some medications that make me more likely to sun burn. Thus, I need to be more careful.

In case you didn't know, any tanning is a sign that your skin was damaged and is now trying to defend itself from future harm via uv. Now, whether that means that you will get cancer and die in three months is totally dependent on the dose you get. For example, I'd be willing to be the girl on "My Strange Addiction" is not going to do so hot in a few years.

Also, I do know some people who have had squamous cell carcinoma and underwent extensive medical treatments to save their lives (my anatomy teacher, a DVM, was one of them). Listening to them talk about about it pretty much made me go dark.

All that said, if you're going to tan, be smart about it. If you see this, stop and get yourself to a dermatologist: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/DS00439/DSECTION=symptoms

An interesting article to read is this on: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/how-tanning-changes-the-brain/

cassondraragan

My thirty year old cousin, pregnant with twins, just found out she had a melanoma (the most deadly of skin cancers.) She's just 30. She used the tanning bed almost every year just to get her tan started. She was by no means a sun worshiper. Luckily they took it off before it penetrated into deeper levels of her epidermis. If she had waited too long to get it checked out, it could have been too late. And if it had been at a later stage, it could have past through the placenta to her babies. (The scare caused her to go into early labor and he had them at 34 weeks, last week.) What she told me just last week : I can't go back and take back all that time in the tanning beds...all that time in the sun. And it could have killed me. And my babies would have never gotten to know their mommy, or how much I loved them." I used to fuss at her when she'd go to the tanning beds, and she would just dismiss it with "But it just makes me feel so good."

And now she had to grow up quickly and realize that she really was risking her life just to "feel good."

beckylawrence70

Let's re-ask all the people that do it in 10-20 yrs, I bet they're opinion has changed......:) But guess what, TOO LATE, damage done!

klynn08

I used to love tanning but I've given it up. It made no sense to take care of my body by eating healthy food and exercising only to sabotage myself by tanning. Not only can it cause cancer, it causes premature aging. :noway: I do, however, enjoy spray tanning!

^^ This is exactly how I feel. Spray tan and loreal tan lotion work fine for me

seattlerain

haha.


I managed a few tanning salons. I say nay.

I am all about the spray tan.

robot_potato

Not for me. I like my pasty white self.

aweightymatter

Let's re-ask all the people that do it in 10-20 yrs, I bet they're opinion has changed......:) But guess what, TOO LATE, damage done!

SO TRUE!! I live in Florida where people roast in the sun and let's say... Just in my late 20s now, there is a big difference in the eyes/hands/chest/foreheads between my friends who continued to bake from their teen years, and those who did not.

I'd rather not look like a spotted wallet

ahadj

My thirty year old cousin, pregnant with twins, just found out she had a melanoma (the most deadly of skin cancers.) She's just 30. She used the tanning bed almost every year just to get her tan started. She was by no means a sun worshiper. Luckily they took it off before it penetrated into deeper levels of her epidermis. If she had waited too long to get it checked out, it could have been too late. And if it had been at a later stage, it could have past through the placenta to her babies. (The scare caused her to go into early labor and he had them at 34 weeks, last week.) What she told me just last week : I can't go back and take back all that time in the tanning beds...all that time in the sun. And it could have killed me. And my babies would have never gotten to know their mommy, or how much I loved them." I used to fuss at her when she'd go to the tanning beds, and she would just dismiss it with "But it just makes me feel so good."

And now she had to grow up quickly and realize that she really was risking her life just to "feel good."

A perfect example of why, as tempting as it is and as beautiful as that tan looks, I always am and always will be a nay.

SandyChampWins

I use good ol fashioned sunshine. I get so dark I never lose my tan lines. I start off slow, 1/2 hour the 1st time out then an hour the 2nd time then I'm all set for as much sun as I can get. Then I don't burn.