Tanning

[TirelessTongue]

Being that I am of fair skin, and have blonde hair.... I don't really understand the appeal of tanning. Whether it be in a tanning salon, or outdoors. I'm one of those who are at high risk for skin cancer and has to limit sun exposure. I'm sure many others are like me feel the same way.

For me, I've never been turned off by a woman who was pale white or someone who was tanned. I just don't see what the big deal is with tanning.

Even though it is a fact heavy sun exposure can put you at risk for Melanoma, I still see more and more women tanning and are oblivious to that fact.

 

[EJFan]

am there be a question?

personally, i don't actively tan... and i have fair skin... and a history of skin ailments in my family... but i do find myself with very mild burns at least once a year and/or a tan. more so this year since i started cycling.

even if a person isn't actively tanning, you can still get affected by the sun so, yeah, use a sunscreen if you're outside.

 

[Eilan]

but i do find myself with very mild burns at least once a year and/or a tan. more so this year since i started cycling.

So your head is quite appealing?

 

[EJFan]

So your head is quite appealing?

LMAO! i have dandruff and no hair.

 

[dollface007]

I have slightly olive-tinged skin, so after a long midwestern winter, my skin can develop this pasty, almost greenish tint. It's not exactly the healthy pink-hue one would want to have with pale skin. So, I do use sunless tanner if I'm gonna be showing my bare legs.

Besides that, I don't actively tan, and I really can't stand the tanning booth look. Ladies and Gentlemen, if the backs of your knees are bright orange, you don't look tan...you look like an Oompa Loompa!

 

[SweetErika]

I think a bit of color can make someone look healthy. However, I've always thought the ultra-tan people (those who clearly bake themselves year-round) look somewhat ridiculous and unhealthy.

I also have very fair skin and have had more than my fair share of serious burns, so any tan achieved is through lots of sunscreen. My mom is less fair than I am, and started getting spots of skin cancer in her forties, so in the past few years, I've been very diligent with the sunscreen, hats, and clothes that cover. At the end of the summer, I'm generally still extremely white, but I figure that's a lot better adding to my cancer risk.

 

[silverwhisper]

i'm asian. i start out w/ a natural tan.

ed

 

[bisexplicit]

i'm asian.

Hunh, go figure, things you don't know...Wheres your family originally from (just out of curiousity)?


As for me, I never tan, not really anyway. And I'm not like my sisters who try to get color (actually, my younger sister got severly burned this summer, for a lot of reasons, but one of them being her skin color is similar to mine). My older sister, however, looks more like the italian part of my family, and so she naturally has an olive skin tone.

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

bi: the family is originally from korea.

my wife however is very light-complected (german ancestry) so she doesn't tan so much as burn. i like looking at the contrast b/n our skin tones. :>

ed

 

[bisexplicit]

bi: the family is originally from korea.

my wife however is very light-complected (german ancestry) so she doesn't tan so much as burn. i like looking at the contrast b/n our skin tones. :>

ed

You completely ruined my mental picture of you. tsk tsk.

 

[silverwhisper]

good.

ed

 

[glynndah]

I generally use a "tan" as a bit of camoflauge for lots of broken blood vessels on the backs of my knees that look rather like mutant jellyfishes. I used to tan in the sun but as I got older the Irish ancestry seemed to win out over the other genes, and I burned more frequently. I tried the sunless tanners, but there seemed to be a sudden jump from slightly tanned to jaundiced pumpkin. This year I accidently received 2nd and 3rd degree burns so the doctor said no tan, natural or otherwise to let the scars fade. You know what? I didn't even think about the jelly fishes. The legs are blue-white, but at least they still work.

 

[SweetErika]

This thread just made me think of something that happened at work about 5 years ago. A new guy had just started working with us (total of 4 of us in an open office space.) One morning I thought he looked kind of unusual, so I moved over for a closer look. His face looked kind of orange. He left the room a few minutes later and I told the others to take a good look at him. He looked like someone grabbed his head and rubbed his face in a bowl of cheese puffs. I'm not kidding, he was that orange. We noticed his hands and neck were the same color. Apparently used some kind of instant tanning lotion, maybe too much of it.

There was a guy in my dorm in college who always had an orange face. It was the damndest thing I've ever see. The big clue was he'd always wear shorts and a t-shirt, and the rest of him was a normal, even kind of a pale color. What an oddball.

 

[EJFan]

There was a guy in my dorm in college who always had an orange face. It was the damndest thing I've ever see. The big clue was he'd always wear shorts and a t-shirt, and the rest of him was a normal, even kind of a pale color. What an oddball.

for some reason, this reminds me of a dude in my HS (i won't post his name as it's VERY unusual) who insisted he was from venus... that his parents picked him up in a flying saucer in the football field every day after school.

kids would try to cut him because he insisted he had green blood.

i don't think he was a fake-baker though (he says to try to get the thread back on track).

 

[yoshimitsu]

I like the tan look both for myslef and others. I also have that somewhat darker skin that starts to look funny if I go too long without a little sun. My girlfriend is a redhead and more translucent than white. She burnes just looking at sunlight.

 

[Frank.S]

Ive never got a sunburn. And im pretty white. Just lucky I guess, I spend weeks at a time outdoors and super high elevation (worse rays). But I do get the WORST farmers tan youll ever see. At pools and stuff people laugh at me

So ive started to not wear a shirt outside somtimes to get rid of this. I hate the thought of skin cancer, but i look rediculous if i dont do anything about it. Would never use one of those tanning beds though. Those places seem so sleezy.

 

[Eilan]

I don't know if this is the case where anyone else lives, but in my town, the oddest businesses also have tanning beds. There's a video store with tanning beds; this small town to the south of me sells videos, guns, and tanning beds.

I've joked to my husband that his retirement job can be a specialty cigar/tobacco store that also sells videos and guns. AND, of course, there are tanning beds.

I can see it now: maddbradd's tobacco, video, guns, and tanning

 

[EJFan]

There's a video store with tanning beds; this small town to the south of me sells videos, guns, and tanning beds.

we had this when i was out in that area... must be an appalachia thing. our video store also had greeting cards. there was also another store that was a pawn shop and sold adult toys & videos. who comes up with this stuff?

I can see it now: maddbradd's tobacco, video, guns, and tanning

sort of like bob newhart's airport & storm door company.

 

[glynndah]

There's a business near me whose sign read "Live Bait and Artificial Nails."

 

[pleasteasme]

My girlfriend is a redhead and more translucent than white. She burnes just looking at sunlight.

I can totally relate with your girlfriend!

I have this funky tan thing going on.....my arms are pretty tan from wearing sleeveless shirts as well as the "v" in the front from wearing a little low cut shirts.......I'm going to force myself to go to a tanning bed.....to even out before October. (wearing strappless or little strapped bridesmaid dress) and I would look really strange with my funky tan.

*and I swore I would NEVER pay money to get "burnt"*

 

[Lynxie]

I can see it now: maddbradd's tobacco, video, guns, and tanning

The joys of cowhampshire... though, when I lived on MV, there were a couple interesting business ventures. We had the Chinese restaurant & paint store, and the Dairy Queen that was a Dairy Queen in the summer and a homemade soap & body products store in the off season.

I haven't done much exploring in my new town much, but it's slightly west of the "civilization line" in MA. I'm betting there are videos and tanning beds galore just waiting to be discovered.

However, to get the thread back on track... I'm not really a big fan of tanning for the sake of tanning. I do think most people generally look healthier in the summer months when they've got a little color to them, but I think it's horribly unnatural looking for someone to be obviously tanned in the winter. It's one thing if you've just returned from a tropical vacation, but fake tanning is pretty ridiculous. I went to HS with a girl who was completely orange from her tanning bed addiction. Even more amusing are people who buy really cheap sunless tanner, or don't apply it correctly. They wind up with streaks all over, and "tan" palms. At one wedding I attended, one of the couples at my table were clearly guilty of assisted-tanning. The woman was an interesting shade of orange, and her date had just orange palms. I had to excuse myself to the bathroom just to let out a good laugh.

 

[Eilan]

I haven't done much exploring in my new town much, but it's slightly west of the "civilization line" in MA. I'm betting there are videos and tanning beds galore just waiting to be discovered.

And guns. You forgot the guns.

 

[pleasteasme]

I need some tanning advice.....

I am very FAIR skinned, white with freckles....and tend not to tan much (well, I try not to be in the sun enough to tan).

However, I find myself in need of a more even tan on the topside for the wedding I am in in about a month.....suggestions? Advice?

Should I lay out in my back yard topless?
Should I fork out the $$ and go to a tanning salon?
How horrible are those spray on tans?

I am sooo clueless on how to tan (because I usually just burn because of my complection)....any help is much appreciated.

 

[EJFan]

I need some tanning advice.....

I am very FAIR skinned, white with freckles....and tend not to tan much (well, I try not to be in the sun enough to tan).

However, I find myself in need of a more even tan on the topside for the wedding I am in in about a month.....suggestions? Advice?

Should I lay out in my back yard topless?
Should I fork out the $$ and go to a tanning salon?
How horrible are those spray on tans?

I am sooo clueless on how to tan (because I usually just burn because of my complection)....any help is much appreciated.

i don't know if this will actually amount to anything, but i'll speak my bit here anyway...

the yard thing is a great idea... but only if there is casual observing allowed. lol. i think for your goals it may not be the best option. fair skinned people don't tan very easily so you'll likely wind up either burning OR putting on enough sunscreen to avoid burning and not tan at all in the process. the fresh air would be great but i think it's not the best option.

the tanning salon thing is not something i'm familiar with... not enough to say that it's going to work better than the sun. i'd GUESS that if you go regularly and at the closest healthy intervals you may see some progress in the time you have. a lot of people get a "base tan" in a salon and then let the sun do the rest of the work. *shrug* i dunno if this is a good option either... but better than the yard i think.

the spray on and rub on tanners have gotten much better in recent years. i think you still have to be careful about how you put them on. it may be the best option for you... and you can do it the day before. there wouldn't be any worries about burning or anything of course.

i'm thinkin' that the nice thing is that you could try one or two of the products now and have time to decide which you prefer before you need to actually use one for the wedding. if memory serves, they tend to wear off in a few days (maybe a week?) so that should work out well for you.

i WOULD recommend that you get someone familiar with the products to advise you on this. i'm sort of thinking in the back of my mind that the creams and sprays may not look the best with freckles... it depends on how vivid they are i suppose.

anyway... i have no clue what i'm really talking about as i have no personal experience. but i'd say use the spray or cream products. hope that helps.