This is going to be a silly question...

I've decided to set up mini goals for myself and with each mini goal, I'll reward myself with something. I was originally going to reward my first mini goal with a few new outfits, but that seems silly because I want to lose even more weight. So I decided that I might try tanning.

I've *never* been in a tanning bed/tanning salon before. I'm fair-skinned by nature, and I'm tired of being pasty. Part of my whole self revolution with dieting is boosting my confidence. I'd be much more confident about showing off my new body (modestly) if I had a healthy glow.

I don't want the orange, unnaturally tanned look, I just want the healthy sunned look. Problem is, I don't even know where to start. My friend said that a monthly membership at the tanning salon is about $20/month. Don't I need to get those goggle things so my eyes don't fry? I guess I just don't know the protocol of it all.

And how bad is it, really? If I went a few times to get the shade I want and then got maintenance tans every two weeks or so.

I have been tanning a couple times, mainly for when I was in people's weddings. I think the goggles are like $2 at the most...if they don't just give them to you. I know that there are sticker type things that some places have if you don't have goggles with you.

I am very pale so we might have something in common there. Make sure you start off with really low minutes....especially if you burn easily in regular sunlight. You can up the time the longer you go, but definitely err on the side of caution when starting out.

Ahaha you always want what you can't have. I live in Hawaii and have done some crazy things to get palor (it's died down now and I now just make sure I carry a sun umbrella any time I'm outside and wear jeans, not shorts, at all times). I'm by no means TAN (and I'm Caucasian, which helps some) but I'm not PALE and it drives me crazy that I can't get there.

And then on the other spectrum we have people trying to tan away the very skin color that I covet yet cannot attain. Life is funny like that.
Anyway, if you do want to go tanning, most definitely make it gradual. The slower and more gradually you get the tan, the better it keeps, too. I've had tans take MONTHS to fade because they were developed so gradually over time. Plus that's healthier for you in the long run (verses overloading yourself too much in the beginning). Just keep in mind that no matter how mild you do it, it IS damaging your skin, and it WILL catch up with you someday. As long as you're willing to deal with that, then go for it!

Self-tanner

Dont' do it! With so many good self-tanners out there, why take the heath risk?

Read this article, it's what scared me away from tanning beds. It states that if you use tanning beds before 30, it will increase your risk for skin cancer by 75%!!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32187497/ns/health-cancer/

It's really bad for your skin. Get a professional spray tan! They can be great and aren't going to put you are higher risk for skin cancer or age you unnecessarily.

As someone who has a dodgy-looking scar on my upper arm, and one arm smaller than the other due to a melanoma removal, can I implore you to treat yourself to a bottle of self-tanner instead. Or a session in a spray booth. Please, please, please don't suntan. I did. And I'm still seeing my dermatologist every 6 months, 3 years after my surgery.

Yep, after I posted the OP, I Googled around and have decided against it.

Can anybody recommend a good self tanner? The products I've used have either 1) not done anything noticable after weeks of use, 2) are streaky and orange, or 3) smell awful.

I've also done the Mystic spray on tan, and it worked well, but it only lasted for a few days. I did it for an event, and it looked nice, but I'm not going to get a Mystic tan every 5 days.

Bummer...I want to be tan I guess I'll just be the Queen of Paste for the rest of my life, lol.

I work in a Preschool and last year I started using Jergen's Daily Moisturizer (with a self tanner and fabulous I might add) and I was thinking of buying another brand. I went to get my hair done and the hairdresser had this wicked tan..She said she used Quick Tan Body Drench...just comes out in a fine spray mist and lasts for several days...just spray when you get out of the shower..face and everything.

Anywho I was telling a co-worker ( who is beyond ignorant and uses tanning beds) and she was trying to convince me that its not safe to use self tanning creams/sprays. I said "it cannot be more unsafe than cancerous tanning beds" and her dumb remark was "oh you use a special lotion when you go into the tanning beds." I just laughed inside and thought "well go ahead and get cancer if you're so dumb to believe that. I've seen the bottles of tanning lotion and it says RIGHT on it...This product does not protect against UVA and UVB.

I never did try the Body Drench..just kept using the Jergen's, lol.

Here's a link.

http://www.folica.com/Body_Drench_Qui_d2026.html

P.S. A parent is a manager for a local tanning salon and brought in coupons the other day...i was like " umm...thanks...but I don't really believe in tanning". Her response was " you need your vitamin D..I know people with cancer who come in to get tanning"....Lady you know some stupid people and I take vitamins :P

I'll have to look into the Body Drench stuff. I tried the Jergens for several months, and I didn't notice any difference in my skin tone. I was just as pasty as when I started, lol.

I used a Loreal tanning wipe this summer that actually worked pretty well. I've also heard good things about the Clinique sunless tanner.

Tan Towels brand is really good - a little pricey, but it's a very natural color. I buy them on ebay and use only in the summer when I need a little color on my legs and other exposed areas. I tanned a ton - lifeguarded, grew up at the beach, etc. I regret it! Wrinkles not to mention every funny looking mole has me running to the dermatologist.

Tanning beds = so not worth it! My best friend (age 41) had a melanoma removed last spring. She is terrified she'll get another, and she has 3 kids under age 10 she wants to be here for. My mother - now 70- had a melanoma removed at 55. She goes every 3 months for skin scans and will for the rest of her life. A friend of a friend died 2 years ago from a melanoma - it was late being diagnosed because she ignored it, thinking she was too young for it to be anything serious. By the time it was cut out, cancer had spread to her lymph system and she died about 1 year later. She was early 30s. Once melanoma spreads, it is one of the deadliest cancers to fight.

You do need vitamin D - true. But overexposure to sun - tanning beds for sure - could mean death. No joke.

I use "Lasting Envy Spray Tan In A Can" by EnvyTan. It is the closest thing I have found to a spray tan received at a salon. I has a really nice bronze color and can be ordered right off EnvyTan's website. I also use the exfoliator Ambush, prior to tanning and Body Armor (tan extender) every couple of days after tanning. This helps my tan fade evenly and last longer.

I used to consider tanning as a hobby. It was a great stress reliever, and so wonderful to lie in that nice warm bed after a long night working graveyard shift... Oh! Where was I? Oh yes. Self tanner. Walmart has some pretty good stuff called Equate Healthy Glow. Smell isn't bad and it gives a good light color.

Still, I miss tanning. Tan fat looks better than white fat I always used to say. Why does all the good stuff have to be bad for you?

I LOVED tanning, but I won't do it b/c of the risk.

I'm gonna check out some of these self-tanners that have been suggested!