I want to start tanning to get to just a "not pale and sickly" complexion. I am very pale. What is the best time frame to use to slowly adjust to tanning? ANd what about covering your face?
I usually start at 5 to 7 minutes. After a week of doing that I will increase weekly by about 5 minutes. You don't want to start with too much time, because if you burn then you have to wait a longer amount of time before you can go again. Also, I do not cover my face. You don't want a tan body and a white face! I just wear the little eye goggles to protect my eyes.
Ok..Well, I did one session last night for only 3 minutes. My friend that tans said what she does as far as the face is if she goes 4 times a week the 1st time and the last time she will not cover her face. THe other 2 times she will. I wanted to see what others think of that.
Also this is at the gym so they do not provide anything. WHere can I buy the eye protection things? And what about lotions..What should I use? Thanks
Amy
hmmm if the gym doesn't provide any goggles to use or much information as to how long a session you should do, then perhaps you should go to somewhere that does? I presume there are specialised places that advise on times and correct lotions/potions and protective measures - perhaps better than information for the internet (not trying to put down anyone who has posted responses already).
My opinion on the safety of tanning beds is that all things are fine in moderation. Tanning beds have been around and used extensively for a few decades now and I think (although I'm no expert) they have determined the use of them isn't quite as bad as the nay-sayers were predicting back in the 80's (You'll fry your insides out! Its like microwaving yourself!). They have nice lotions now that keep your skin from getting dry.
Not to mention the positive effects of the UV on your general psyche!!
I'm just a stone throw from the Great White North (Canada), hence, we get only a few months of tanning weather, so when I get to go to a sun-drenched place like Florida, I like to prep myself with tanning a few weeks in advance because otherwise, I get to the Sunshine State and burn like a lobster because I always forget the sunscreen for my face on road trips or forget to put it on my legs when wearing shorts to places like Disney. I'm an airhead, what can I say? Besides, my skin is so fair, it's practically pink and I hate wearing shorts when I'm so flippin white, so I like to have some color to work with before I get there so when the sun reflects of my body at the beach, I don't resemble a super nova.
In short, in my opinion, a few weeks in a tannign bed to prep yourself for a trip, a wedding, or just summer is probably better than that scalding, peeling sunburn that always finds a way of creeping in on you when you least expect it. I'm thinking of going myself, later towards summer.
Thanks guys..And thanks for teh link to the other similar post.
The other post menitoned how bad it was that gyms offer tanning...Well this is where I will be going. It is included in my membership. I would NOT pay $30 or $40 to tan. But I thought since its included I would try to get a little color so I am not so sickly pale.. I dont spend much time outside really..
Anyway some great advice. Now the only thing I am concerned about is the "racoon eyes" mentioned in the other post!
Better raccoon eyes (which you can cover either with your eye makeup or self tanning face lotions) than permanent eye damage.
Sun exposure to the eyes is dangerous, especially concentrated like in a tanning bed. My grandfather burned his eyes fishing once, and had to use special drops and eyewear for MONTHS-because of the glare from the water.
I wonder what response I would get if I asked for advice with respect to starting smoking. After all, everything in moderation is OK according to alot of posters out there. I would look alot cooler that I do right now. I would control my appetite and boost my metabolism, too. I wouldn't want to smoke a pack a day, but a few well-timed cigarettes couldn't do much harm. Can anyone advise me as to the best brands to smoke? Thanks.
Seriously, to me, advising someone re:tanning booths is no different, IMHO. You can greatly reduce your risk of skin cancers of all forms with proper UV protection, just as you can greatly reduce your risk of lung cancer by stopping smoking. NOT using a tanning bed just makes sense.
I remain pale and proud of it!!!
I always hate when people make me feel like crap for having an opinion...especially when there are BASKETS of chocolate all over the house. Thanks, Freia...now I'll probably have zits AND add on a pound or two with the binge I just had. I was doing so good, too...
I have a redheads complexion and burn and freckle easily even with high number sunblock. My husband is on the side of you should never use a tanning bed--I am on the side of, when I use a tanning bed in moderation and get a base tan, I am not lobster red the first time I am behind hubby on the motorcycle on a sunny day or out mowing the grass or hiking.
I always hate when people make me feel like crap for having an opinion...especially when there are BASKETS of chocolate all over the house. Thanks, Freia...now I'll probably have zits AND add on a pound or two with the binge I just had. I was doing so good, too...
I can't keep chocolate or sweets in the house at all--hubby gets on his grumpfests and I tend to graze when he does --though this last one drove me to the gym to workout so I wasn't home with him and I lost a pound and I can actually pull my jeans over the intertube that are my hips and butt without even unbuttoning them!!
Sorry techwife - no offense meant. My opinion (humble as it is) stems from seeing my dad, who is a fair-haired Brit, suffer from multiple skin cancers, and I mean MULTIPLE. He grew up in India, and was sun-exposed for years. He has had over 25 operations to remove various types of skin cancers - squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas - of which a great many involved disfiguring excisions (leaving huge chunks missing out of his forehead, cheeks, and nose) and/or skin grafting (for those on his head). Thankfully, he has never had a melanoma (those things just scare the crap out of me). His other two brothers suffer from the same thing. A friend of mine had a melanoma and after a hugely disfiguring operation (it was on her lower leg, and they wound up cutting out most of her calf muscle) she died a few years later at 28 years old. Habitual tanner, too. Unfortunately, these cancers were and are highly preventable, and it scares me. Not everyone who tans will get skin cancer, but why take the risk?
p.s. I've eaten all the easter bunny ears in the house, and am now working on their feet...sigh...
Sorry techwife - no offense meant. My opinion (humble as it is) stems from seeing my dad, who is a fair-haired Brit, suffer from multiple skin cancers, and I mean MULTIPLE. He grew up in India, and was sun-exposed for years. He has had over 25 operations to remove various types of skin cancers - squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas - of which a great many involved disfiguring excisions (leaving huge chunks missing out of his forehead, cheeks, and nose) and/or skin grafting (for those on his head). Thankfully, he has never had a melanoma (those things just scare the crap out of me). His other two brothers suffer from the same thing. A friend of mine had a melanoma and after a hugely disfiguring operation (it was on her lower leg, and they wound up cutting out most of her calf muscle) she died a few years later at 28 years old. Habitual tanner, too. Unfortunately, these cancers were and are highly preventable, and it scares me. Not everyone who tans will get skin cancer, but why take the risk?
p.s. I've eaten all the easter bunny ears in the house, and am now working on their feet...sigh...
My mother had a skin cancer removed from her FACE a couple years ago...from tanning beds and being outdoors with no sunblock-and she was moderate, not tanning all the time, etc.
Tanning bed questions
