Tanning

[Anonymous]

Hi there... Hopefully I can get some good tips here!

Disclaimer: I'm in my 20's and fully know the risks associated with tanning!

This is my first time using a tanning bed/booth of any kind- so any tips are welcome!

I went for the first time yesterday. Stand up tanning booth. An hour & a half before going I sprayed myself down with Banana Boat Deep Tanning Dry Oil with SPF 8. I went in for 6 minutes. I'm VERY pale. Saw no difference?

Today, went in. Sprayed hour before hand with same stuff, went in again for 6 mins and... Nothing again.

So what am I doing or not doing here? I strongly prefer using SPF just to be safe(r). Ideas? Also if you can reccomend a tanning lotion that you'd find somewhere like walmart or target, that'd be great!

Tia.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you are going to find many people to answer your question. Most people know that tanning is horrible for you and in addition looks ridiculous when you turn orange. My recommendation, use a fake tanner.

[Anonymous]

Jergens makes good gradual self-tanners. I find the gradual ones more fool proof (no streaks) than the bronzer + tanner that does it all in one application. Start with the one for fair skin, and then work your way up to medium if that doesn't get you dark enough.

By using a lotion w/ an SPF you are negating what the tanning salon would do. I've never used a tanning booth/bed, but I presume the recommended time is what one would do for a tan and not a burn. But using sun block, you are effectively wearing clothes while trying to tan.

[Anonymous]

I think you should use self-tanner- Clarins makes a good one.

Tanning booths cause cancer. My dad has had half his ear removed due to melanoma.

Either embrace your paleness or get some self-tanner.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to pile on but my dad died of melanoma - 20 years ago. He spent too much time in the sun as a kid.

Embrace your fairness.

[Anonymous]

Thank goodness this is an anonymous forum because in real life I would never admit to using a tanning bed. No one uses SPF lotion in a tanning bed. Those ridiculously expensive tanning lotions they sell at the tanning salon are just moisturizers. So just moisturize really well and forget the SPF lotion. You really shouldn't tan though. If you have fair skin, you'll just end up prematurely aged. I think Jergens self tanners are total crap. I've had better luck with Clarins, St. Tropez, and Lancome but they are expensive.

[Anonymous]

I've never sprayed myself with anything when tanning. I'm fair skinned. It usually takes a few trips to notice a difference.

[Anonymous]

Ah, you poor, sweet, ignorant girl.

If health doesn't guide you, maybe vanity will. Tanning beds cause wrinkles and make you look like you belong in a tannery. Don't think it won't effect you....you'll be fine until one day, you'll hit 32, or maybe 34, you'll wake up and look in the mirror and BOOM! Crow's feet. Wrinkles. Sun spots. Discoloration. You'll look old. I've seen it happen to friends of mine that sun worshipped, some just moderately (and I'll admit, I escaped just such a fate because lying in the sun bored me to tears and I think tanning beds are pretty gross, they're probably hotbeds for MRSA these days...but I digress). Within 6 months, they went from normal to old, without any change in their lives to precipitate such an effect. I have a friend that has lived in the Keys for the past 12 years after growing up on the east coast. She always tanned easily, and I saw a recent pic of her on fb and OMG. She's 38 and doesn't look a day over 46. She works out and is in great physical shape, but her skin.....Marlboro Man.

So basically, you're paying someone to ruin your appearance, and then in ten years, you can pay someone else to fix it for you- with chemical peels, face lifts, botox, etc etc. Now that's thinking ahead (and I hope you have a fabulous, high-wage job that you plan to retain for a long time)!

[Anonymous]

Risks aside, I think getting a moderate tan is ok. I used to use tanning beds when I would get depressed (SAD), so I wasn't really repeatedly going to get super dark. Be realistic about your tanning ability as well. Have you tanned before? I have a pale friend who could sit in a sub-saharan field for days on end and just not get any darker. Oddly she doesn't burn much though. Put a sticker on your belly if you are really wondering if you are getting any darker. Keep well moisturized and don't over do it.