Tanning- give me your thoughts

rainbowbow
rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all!

I have really pale skin and have avoided the sun for the past 6-7 years as I get very very dark and have a birthmark on my legs which doesn't hold color. When I'm very pale like right now you cannot see it at all. That aside... I've noticed I look less "glowing" "healthy" and actually look sick. Actually ive been told i look like someone who has a flu in pictures.

I've also noticed you cannot see the muscle definition I have and I just look "chunky" compared to someone the same size as me who has more color.

I DO NOT want skin cancer and know that ANY amount of tanning can put you at risk.

What are your thoughts on tanning/fake tanning? Do you look slimmer/healthier with a tan? Do you tan? If so why/why not?
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Replies

  • lsilly15
    lsilly15 Posts: 137 Member
    spray tan!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    spray tan!

    I don't want to look like this-

    oompa1.jpg
  • muffintopminx
    muffintopminx Posts: 541 Member
    I don't tan and I wear 100 SPF on my face/neck EVERY day.

    When summer rolls around, I'll do a self tanning lotion a few days before I need to be in a bathing suit. But I'm only in a bathing suit 3/4 times each season so I don't do it very often. I hate the way they smell, even the unscented ones smell funny to me.

    Plus, I don't have the discipline to apply it evenly everyday and it can look patchy/orange after a while too.
  • Mandymunetsi
    Mandymunetsi Posts: 3
    I love tanning, I tan everytime I go to the gym, just make sure you use a good indoor tanning lotion and goggles. Stand ups are the best because it gives you a even all around tan. Good luck
  • zgdsmith
    zgdsmith Posts: 114 Member
    I dont currently tan although I have in the past. I use lotion that has a color in it on my legs. I'm not sure if they make one for face but they probably do. Neutrogena makes it and it's called build-a-tan. I like that it gives me a little color slowly. I usually just put it on a few times a week and it keeps me from looking pale.
  • three36love
    three36love Posts: 38 Member
    I love tanning as well. It makes me look thinner, WAY thinner, and right now is the time I hit up the tanning salon so when summer comes around, I won't have to worry about getting burned. I spend a lot of time outside. Yeah, there's a risk of cancer, but honestly what doesn't give you cancer these days?
  • christy0623
    christy0623 Posts: 44 Member
    I tan for a few months in the spring every year. I get lectured on it all the time. But to each his own right?
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    I have mixed thoughts on tanning. I am pretty pale, I have a lot of freckles and moles on my arms from years of sunburn. I'm not sure if tanning in a tanning bed would cause this to happen to the rest of my body or what. Can you wear sunscreen in a tanning bed or does that defeat the purpose?

    I'm mostly worried about burning if I try to tan in a bed.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    Spray tan, or lotion, YES! If you want some color, go for it!

    Cancer beds? NOOOOOOOOO Stay out of those. My dad just had a chunk cut out of his leg, for a mole that was just smaller than a pencil easer, they took out a piece of flesh the shape of a football and four inches long. NO thank you.

    The lighter you are, the higher your risk. SPF is your best friend!!!
  • lydia4442
    lydia4442 Posts: 4
    I agree that having a tan makes you look slimmer and feel better about yourself, but that's just my opinion. I am also very very naturally pale, with freckles and when I go in the sun I don't tan at all, I just burn very easy. I've never considered going on the sunbeds as I'm aware of the health risks.
    The best option is definitely a spray tan. Many people have pre-concieved ideas about spray tans, thinking that they look tacky and orange, and I agree that if you go over the top it can look that way. I get one done regularly, and have tried different brands at different salons such as St Tropez, Xen Tan, Sun Junkie and Sienna X, (I am from the UK so you might not be able to get all of these elsewhere). My favourite has been the Sienna X - it's not orange at all, it gives you a healthy looking dark tan without looking fake. St tropez is also really really good! If, like me you cant afford to pay for a spray tan every week you can by self tanning bottles of both Sienna X and St tropez - definitely worth every penny!
    happy tanning x
  • christy0623
    christy0623 Posts: 44 Member
    I love tanning as well. It makes me look thinner, WAY thinner, and right now is the time I hit up the tanning salon so when summer comes around, I won't have to worry about getting burned. I spend a lot of time outside. Yeah, there's a risk of cancer, but honestly what doesn't give you cancer these days?

    Exactly! Everything is bad for you these days! Oh and yes, makes me look thinner. Cellulite looks way better tan! lol
  • Heather20646
    Heather20646 Posts: 19
    A girl at my work just got a spray tan and it looks great, very natural. Maybe give it a try. :)
  • QueenJayJay
    QueenJayJay Posts: 1,079 Member
    spray tan!

    I don't want to look like this-

    oompa1.jpg

    If you get it done gradually, at the right salon, and in the right way, you won't.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    Also, tanning causes you to prematurely age, so even if you're (stupidly) flippant about cancer, think of the wrinkles you're creating!

    Leather= good for footballs, bad for faces.

    Just don't.
  • rowlandk
    rowlandk Posts: 146 Member
    I actually buy my tan in a can :) It's a spray tan from Banana Boat. It's fabulous! You just spray it on and your tan develops over like 24 hours. You can build as deep a color as you want and it's like $7 a bottle.
  • Allyson1985
    Allyson1985 Posts: 148
    I spray tan - lasts about 10 days, and I get a healthy glow.

    You won't look unnatural if you do the lightest tan possible. People turn funny colors when they try to tan too dark for their natural skin tones.
  • AmberJslimsAWAY
    AmberJslimsAWAY Posts: 2,339 Member
    I have olive skin, so I look at the sun and tan. BUT I go to the tanning bed twice before summer, to get a nice base tan, so I don't blind people with my white skin. Plus I have stretch marks and tanning makes those less visable
  • lk27
    lk27 Posts: 257 Member
    I LOVE TO BE TAN!!!! Right now, in the dead of winter in CO, I look so pale and I hate it. In the summer I get as much sun as I possibly can. I get really dark and it makes me feel so good. Tan fat looks better than white fat. A tan also makes your skin look healthy and gives you a radiant glow. If you are afraid of getting too much sun, try spray tan. It looks more natrual than the stuff sold in the bottle.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    I tan off and on all year. Never much, only about once a week and only so that I don't look ghastly pale. I tan really easily so I just let myself get a little glow... DEFINITELY not orangey.
  • becca3211
    becca3211 Posts: 98 Member
    I TAN IN THE SUMMER ONLY AND USE 30 SPF. WINTER IS TIME TO SLATHER UP MY SKIN WITH LOTIONS AND CARE. BUT I ALWAYS WEAR SPF SUMMER OR NOT...:glasses:
  • classycouture
    classycouture Posts: 888 Member
    I've had a lot of luck with Jergens Natural Glow. Takes about 3 days or so to show, and I've never had an issue with it streaking (I'm also veryyy careful about applying evenly.)

    tan.png
  • sheddingmyfatsuit
    sheddingmyfatsuit Posts: 28 Member
    Melanoma kills you dead. No tanning for me. I've learned to embrace my paleness.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    I used to tan all the time. I love how I look tan. I am considering getting another membership so I can build some color before spring hits.

    Yes, I know it is bad for me. So, is 90% of everything else in this world.
  • cmayfield3
    cmayfield3 Posts: 176 Member
    Even if you don't care about cancer, sun damage ages you. If you tan, you are trading looking good now for looking awful later--wrinkles, blotchy skin, etc. It's not a trade I'd want to make.
  • MrsSorenson
    MrsSorenson Posts: 450 Member
    I tan for a few months in the spring every year. I get lectured on it all the time. But to each his own right?

    Ditto, and I'm pretty darn pasty! Im about to make my decision on tanning soon as well, because i'm in a wedding in 3 months, so thanks for posting this!
  • perfect_storm
    perfect_storm Posts: 326 Member
    I would stay out of the sun imo for extended periods unprotected. Everyone reacts and gets different color from the sunless tanning products, personally Jergens one makes me look orangish, where my bf.. looks fantastic using it, such a pretty color for her. I think maybe you should experiment with some of the different ones out there and see which one actually works best for you. I have found one from the internet called The Tan Towel and that one looks nice for me...maybe not someone else. OH!!! And if you do go the sunless tanning route....EXFOLIATE well before using one, you wil get better results.
  • blink1021
    blink1021 Posts: 1,115 Member
    I would spray tan you can get a tan without looking orange. I would go to a salon that does it and they can get you to a color that is right for you. I used to tan and you can look orange from that too. I stopped tanning when I had to have spots removed that were cancerous.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    I've had a lot of luck with Jergens Natural Glow. Takes about 3 days or so to show, and I've never had an issue with it streaking (I'm also veryyy careful about applying evenly.)

    tan.png

    This is what I use as well. It works beautifully. No cancer, no extra wrinkles. Why on earth would I choose the cancer beds when products like this exist!?
  • NatalieWiley
    NatalieWiley Posts: 147 Member
    I tan almost daily. I live in the Pacific Northwest so I need the fake sun to keep me sane! :)

    Skin cancer does not run in the family so I feel ok with tanning. Plus I see a doctor yearly to have an overall check and she looks for any sign of skin cancer. The only precaution I do not take which has made an impact on my health is that I keep my eyes open in the tanning bed and do not wear the goggles. My eye sight has definitely gone down hill over the past few years.

    I say do waht makes you happy and feel good!
  • LilysMom28
    LilysMom28 Posts: 236 Member
    I tan for a few months in the spring every year. I get lectured on it all the time. But to each his own right?

    ^ This!

    I like how I look tan...I think I look better. I try not to over do it...but i go just to get some color. Good luck!
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