I was a lifeguard every summer as a teenager and still have a thing for tanning naturally. I do use sunscreen now (as opposed to the afro sheen and baby oil we used to use!). I have used tanning beds but only to maintain a naturally aquired tan. I have used self tanners too. Mostly to help cover tan lines or early in the spring when I am white as a sheet but want to wear shorts. Right now I'm using a product by Ocean Potion that is a daily moisturizer but it has a bronzer that gradually adds color. It has done wonders for deepening the tan I've already gotten this summer.

As for the other fake, with a fling or two but never with anyone I was serious with, certainly not my husband. Does anybody remember watching SOAP? I can't remember the character's name but she was the red haired lady from Who's the Boss and was a really ditsy woman on SOAP. Anyway, I remember seeing an episode where there was a line about her faking it and then she made the joke that she faked it because whatever her husband was doing was annoying and she just wanted it to end. But then she realized that now he thinks she LOVED it and will probably do it every time. It was funny but it also made me realize that a girl should ALWAYS speak up!

I too am using the Ocean Potion gradual tanner stuff. Got a big bottle of it for $4 and like it so far. I've been using it for a few days now and have a nice light tan going. Looks pretty natural too. It is sooooooo very nice to wear my shorts and capris without blindingly white legs. :cool:
I slather on the spf 50 sunscreen I buy for the whole family when I go out in the sun so don't usually get tan at all during the summer any more. If I skip the sunscreen, after the nasty and dangerous sunburn, I will tan.

I have never used the tanning lotions (I bought some but never used it), did do the tanning bed (but that was for a fahion show and since I was wearing white they wanted me tanned). Now, my one and only tanning method is the sun. I don't just sit down and tan, I usualy tan while playing outside, or on the boat.

I always wear sun screen though, at least 30.

I used to lay out, but not now. I do spend most of my time during the summer outside either gardening, swimming, reading, or watching my daughter play (teacher and off all summer). I do use SPF 30, especially when swimming. I don't generally burn, but do end up with a nice tan by the end of the summer.

As for "IT", I don't fake although I did occasionally in the early years of my marriage. I found it did become like Lucky said...Hubby kept with the same thing that "worked". I found that a little instruction and honesty changed everything. For the most part it's not an issue, unless I'm really tired or that blasted TO DO list comes to mind, then all bets are off. At this point in my life and marriage it's ok--if it isn't happening, it doesn't. No offense, no foul.

Since I was always the burn and peel kinda gal I have avoided the susn most of my life....I even uses a large t shirt over my bathing suit to avoid the sun.....However, I've found as I've gotten older that the many freckles I have always had on my arms don't fade any more and now that they are merging with those disgusting age spots I appear more tan than I ever have in my life....

I did use one of those self tanners once...actually my cousin and I did and we laughed for months about what a mess we turned out....he still reminds me of it more than 40 years later.....and yes, I too, thought this was going to be a different subject matter....

What I think is funny with everyone liking to be tanned and that it looks like you are healthier is that not all that long ago the whiter your skin was the more 'genteel' and ladylike you were considered. This was also true in other cultures, the whiter the skin the more high class you were considered because the lower classes were the ones out working in the fields and ended up with dark skin. I'm not referring to African people, more like Asians and East Indian cultures.

I've thought about getting a fake tan, but I've seen bad ones before where they looked orange and totally unnatural, but there are those that I have seen that look very real too.

I'm very white myself. My mom says we are in the lily white club lol. I do NOT tan ... I burn. The sun is NOT my friend lol. It doesn't take much to make me a crispy critter.

One day I may go the fake tan route, but I want someone else to do it for me I think so it'll be even. They have different ways of applying it too.

Sorry I wasn't much help but wanted to tell ya I can related lol.

I have used Aveda self tanner and it worked great. I would mix it with a bit of regular lotion and spread it on. It did take a couple of hours to show, but it worked wonders. My neighbor uses the tan wipes and she looks great.

Pasty White Girl
 

I'm pasty white as well - I couldn't care less if I have a tan or not. I just figure I'll look younger longer that way - ;) ;)

I'd rather be thin and white than fat and tan! :D :D :D


DNR

I just spent the weekend in Palm Springs, and picked up some tan - not trying to, just a lot of sun there. A couple of my co-workers tried the spray tanning booth thing in the past two weeks. The key seems to be exfoliation prior to, and lots of moisturizer the day before. They report that it takes some practice - both of them were VERY white, and had a "clear" applied. They did it at lunch time, and by the next morning when they came into work, they had a very nice sunkissed glow - not at all orange. I was amazed. It lasts for about a week, and you have to keep going back to maintain. Apparently you can tan through the product as well. If I hadn't picked up some color, I had thought about also trying it given their success.