Faking it!
 

I am white, whiter than white, but I have never tried anything to rectify the situation. I used to tan quite naturally in Australia, but now I live in England, my tanning naturally in the sun days are well and truly over. I certainly won't be trying sunbeds, as I have a strong family history of malignant melanoma and basal cell carcinoma, and I am smothered in moles!!!

So, your help is required. Do you fake tan? Do you self tan or go to a salon? Does it come off when you exercise? Do you look like a ginormous tangerine? Does it look funny over cellulite or does it make it look better?

Help me please!!!!!!!!

When I was younger and stupider I used to go to a tanning bed. Would never do it again personally so I deal with my whiter than white skin. Sorry not much help but I really would prefer to not have skin cancer :)

How disappointing - when I saw the title of this thread and thought about the direction this board's been going lately I figured I was going to be reading confessions from the boudoir! :lol:

As for tanning – I stay out of the sun as much as possible. I hate the heat, burn rather than tan and have no interest in tempting skin cancer. I don’t go to tanning salons or do overall fake tanning (I once tried a fairly expensive tanning lotion and turned a bright pumpkin shade), but I do use Bonne Bell “Gel Bronze”, which is an oil free sheer translucent tint that not only moisturizes, but acts as a sunblock and provides a nice glow. :smug:

I have used self tanners in the past, usually Neutrogena. I go to the tanning beds and I love getting golden with the good old sunshine. I feel better about myself when I have a good golded bronze goin' on!!!

I'm with Sara. I will usually go ahead and use the tanning beds in the Spring and the summer sun the rest of the time. I too have quite a few moles and I just keep my eye on them to make sure they don't turn into anything more. I used to not put on sunblock even and now if I'm only going to be out for a couple of hours I will put on 15. If I'm going to be out for longer than that I use the kids 45. Lilly tans super easy too even with the 45 on. Luckily so far she has no freckles or moles. (I get freckles from my mom's side and the moles from dad)

I too have tried the nutragena brand in the past and had good results with it. My mom does use the self tanners and I'll have to ask her what she's used. They've come a long way in the past few years so you don't have to look all orange and fake anymore.

My face and arms usually tan very nicely during the summer but my legs are always freakishly white and horrible looking. I've read lots about self tanners and no it shouldn't run off with sweating or bathing. You just have to be really careful about applying it especially around your knees and elbows and of course the palms of your hands. Apparently you should wipe your hands off immediately and wash them because the palms of your hands are not supposed to be tanned. I've heard good things about the Neutrogena products and apparently Jergens also has a new one out that you apply every day and it builds up over time to look more natural. It is more like a mosturizer but the colour stays. Also you should apply it the day after you've had a bath, shaved and exfoliated. I'm going to give it a try when I get some nerve up!

I'm fish-belly white all over and have never sunbathed, used a tanning bed or fake tan. I've never felt the need, given that I wrap myself up in the summer almost as much as I do in the winter.

Ask me again in a year's time when I'm 50lbs lighter and I may be telling you I'm a fake-tan convert so that I can show off my toned muscles!

Janey

I tried the sunless tanning lotion years ago and ended up a lovely shade of orange. I have very, very fair skin so the sun only turns me pink or red, no tan. I was thinking of trying the Jergens lotion since it's subtle.

How long does the effect of the self-tanning creams last? I think those new spray-on tan booths are intriguing. While I really like getting a tan, I hate the thought of encouraging cancer. Aaaaaargh.

When I get to a point where I'm less self-concious (and less roll-y), I think I'll try the spray-on booth Gardenwife mentioned. Although I have this fear that they have secret cameras in those places just waiting to catch a glimpse of me prancing around trying to make sure I get sprayed in all the nooks and crannies. A sight to behold, I'm sure!

I used to tan really easily, but I think I've reached such an advanced stage of pastiness that I reflect any and all tanning rays back out into the atmosphere. I'd make a great vampire or Snow White... :lol:

Jill - That's funny - I thought the same thing when I saw the title of the post! :D Us great canucks must think alike! ;)

As for me, I've done the tanning bed thing a few times and loved the results, not to mention I found the 10 minutes in the bed SOOO relaxing! Loved it.. I would go just for the relaxation and heat on those cold winter days.

I've been wanting to try the self-tanner creams but am very scared of "streaks"... Anyone have any recommendation on whats worked well for you and whats looked the most natural?

Jillegal -- Forgot to mention, I thought the same thing when I saw the subject line. Tanning beds was not my first thought!

Donna - I think the lotions have improved a lot in the past few years so that you shouldn't turn orange! I'm going to try the Jergens too, just have to find someplace that sells it.

GW - I think the colour should stay on for several weeks, it's not something that disappears overnight because essentially you are staining the top layers of your skin so it's not going to go away until your body has shed those skin cells. This is my understanding anyway.

Ok, since we all thought the thread meant the same thing...let's chat. You know I have NEVER faked it in my whole life. I don't know that I could. I think I'd pretty much say..."ewwww, get off me!". :lol:

BTW - white and pasty here too!

I never "faked it" because, frankly, for the longest time I didn't know what I was supposed to be faking (yep, the first "serious" boyfriend was pretty pathetic, and he didn't even have youth as an excuse :rolleyes: ). By the time I discovered what "it" was, there was no way on earth I was gonna fake it - I wouldn't settle for anything less than the real thing! :crazy: Having said that, I'll admit to "embellishing" on occasion (if for no other reason than to get the neighbours :gossip: ) ;)

LOL I'm glad my double entendre got the better of you two. I've enver faked a tan, as you know, but I have faked the other. I was 21 and a virgin when I got married and had no idea what "it" was supposed to feel like, so when it all got a bit boring, I would do my best meg Ryan impersonation and it would all be over!!!!

You know me - I always like to jump in as soon as the conversation turns the slightest bit "blue." I will confess that I have faked it, though VERY rarely (like 3 or 4 times ever), only when I have gotten to the stage where "it just ain't gonna happen" because I was too distracted or something. Especially lately I haven't needed to, as things in that department have been :smoking: .

As far as the "real" question goes :lol: , I fake tanned once in the early 90s, but it was your typical orange disaster. I do think I look better with a teensy bit of tan, but I want to have younger-looking skin when I get old. I'm tempted to try the Jergens, too.

Jennifer, I am taking up belly dancing!!!!! Perhaps that will help!!!

I'll give it a try faking it (the tan that is) next month, when I get the nerve up to give it a shot!!! It's the gym that's made me want to do it, I have started wearing sleeveless tops and long shorts and am sure a nice tan would look better than my white floppy flab!

Just a quick FYI, I went and checked out some tan in a can products yesterday and there are differences between each brand so you have to read the packaging to make sure you are getting the one you want. Some of them WILL come off in the water, some are only temporary colour, some don't start darkening up for a couple of hours after being applied, some last a few days and others last longer but you have to re-apply 1 or 2 times a week. The Jergens brand has to be applied pretty much every day. I think after reviewing all this information I'd rather save my money and have white legs!! It looks like one of those things that once you start you're going to be spending a lot of time and money on it.

On the self-tanners, someone mentioned streaks--I have heard that the foams are better at leaving streak-free tans, whereas lotions may leave streaks, and sprays may leave some spots darker than others unless you're REALLY careful to spray very evenly.

On the, ahem, other issue, I have only faked once. You know those times when you're *so close* and then something just pops into your head ("wait, did I take the chicken out of the freezer? did I forget to call my mother back? are those Jeff's jeans on the floor--I'll have to patch up that hole for him later..."). Yeah, that happened, so I pretended :p I've only been sexually active for a little over a year and it's only been with one guy, so he must be doing something right if I've only had to fake it once ;)

I have always used a "fake-bake", because my natural complexion is the color of xerox paper.....I use a variety of stuff that works with my skin's natural pink undertone. I was discouraged from tanning years ago by a Plastic Surgeon who assured me that if I continued to tan, my skin would soon look like "an old beat-up leather purse, or a used saddle".....graphic enough to deter me.

I love Tan-Towels(ordered in pakcs of 15 from the home shopping network).....never a streak, Neutrogina (deep) spray...never a streak if I save the used Tan-Towel and spread it that way. I alternate the 2. Very natural looking.

This year I use the Jergen's Natural Glow (medium)....every night to extend the tan-life....I get it at Wal-Mart for $4.82.

Oh you women. How does stuff like that pop into your head at that time. LOL That happens to Kimberley and I'm thinking boy this must be fun. I know it's just the way youre wired but we just don't think of anything but the task at hand. I knew it would not be long before this thread turned south. LOL Seems to be trend here lately.

Yah, no surprises here! :ROTF:

I've never faked either one...Howie said he'd know if I faked (and he would, too). :o If it just isn't happening, I say so and it's okay.

I discovered a really cool safe tanning choice while on vacation in Oklahoma it was called an "ultrabronze bed" the owner somehow removed the bulbs and the risk of uv exposure so it was completely safe and guarenteed no burning and a dark tan with 3 visit and it was just as promised, although it was 70 dollars for three sessions there was an actual mattress to lay on so it was super comfortable and didnt give the uneven lines that the bulbs cause in alot of tanning beds, if you are ever in Bartlesville,ok look for "pokeys taning annex" its well worth the money for a great completely safe tan as for all other tanning options in the world I have tried mystic tan (which I hated) basicly everything other than actual tanning beds have given me terrible results and even the tanning beds other than the ultrabronze have sucked because of the uneven results. I am in search for another place like pokeys if I cant find one then Iwill prefer to just be powder for the rest of my life.

It's one of those burdens of being a woman. I tend to write shopping lists in my head if it goes on too long!!!! Or I might be getting over excited and wanting to wait, start a shopping list, then forget I am meant to be having fun!!! I wish I could just throw myself into it and forget everything else, but my poor old brain just goes out picking daisies.........or which brand of toilet paper I'll buy this week!!!!

Another cousin of Casper here, too, I'm afraid. I recently went to a Celtic music festival and turned red...thru sunscreen and a blue umbrella!! Tell me, exactly how does that happen?! Aargh! I've never used tanning beds (never could see laying myself in an Easy Bake Oven). A friend of mine really likes the spray on tanners though. There's an option.

M'Chelle

I just wanted to pop in an give my reviews of the Jergens lotion and spray tanning. I am very fair and don't want to look really dark tan, I just want to take the edge off the whiteness of my legs.

I've been using the Jergens lotion in fair for a few months. I only use it every once or twice a week and it's enough to make me a little less pale. I have not noticed any streaking or orange palms, but I exfoliate before I use it, wash my hands after I put it on, and I use a regular lotion on other days because my skin is so dry. I like it a lot, but some of my friends who are less pale prefer Neutrogena's Add a Shade (or whatever it's called).

I did the spray tanning before a winter beach vacation in an effort to tone down the super blinding whiteness. It lasted about a week and made me really quite tan. Tanner than I have ever been in real life (due in part to religious use of SPF 45). It faded pretty evenly, but it smelled really strongly for the first day. I made sure to exfoliate and moisturize before I went, paying extra attention to my knees, elbows, and feet, because I had heard that those areas can turn out kind of weird looking.

I am deathly afraid of sun damage so I always use SPf when I am in the real sun but I despeeratly want that tan so I do fake it. The spray tans are great but they are expensive and last 1-2 weeks but you will look like you have a natural glow about you. I also use self tanning lotions the gergins and the coppertone that are gradual are good, you apply them like lotion and they gradually get you darker so you are less likey to have streaks. Most of the products on the market don't look orange like they used to.

Most of the orange women out there over do it in the tannign bed and use those tan extenderd with beta caraten in them. My old gym had tanning beds and the women just looked so unnatural. I did try the tanning beds there a few times but it just wasn't worth the risk. I really don't want to get cancer or worse, prematurley age(j/k).

I always use some sort of tanner or bronzer before I go swimming so as to not blind people with my huge white thighs. Tan fat legs look way better than pale fat legs.

I was wondering when this topic would turn. :) I'll admit when I first saw the "faking it" I was thinking of the telling yourself you're beautiful long enough to fake it until you truly believe it. (I guess some of my old blonde routes are trying to resprout)

The answer to the latter is yes I have in the past and I'm also like Kykaree that if my brain starts on an alternate path it's very hard to bring it back. I've also told some poor guy that I wasn't enjoying it to let me know when he was done. (that was with my 2nd go figure)

OMG - how did I miss reading this before today?!? Faking it - always. Now, we are talking tans here. One product I really like is the Mary Kay sunless tan. It works well. As long as you exfoliate, moisturize and then apply you will have an even tan. I have not ever done my face though, so I am not sure how that would work. You don't want it too far up the thigh area either - mmm, let me just say it caused a little irritation because of the scent.

For those of you who are using the sunless tan, are you applying it to your face as well as your extremities? How does it work with one's face?

As for the other faking, I must say "When Harry Met Sally" comes to mind but not for me personally. Once though, I did use that Meg Ryan screech as a humour tactic with my guy - I giggled and he, being a man (no offence guys) walked around for months saying "Whose the man"........Thank God he didn't pound his chest too! So, mental note to self - never gain inflate someone's esteem that much, it can't be good for them!

I'm white as well. I do burn when I get out in the sun for to long. When I'm going to be out for a long period of time then I use sunscreen because if not I'm going to the store to get aloe vera for the burn that I will get. I don't go to the tanning booths because I don't have time and I find them boring. I went when I was younger. I still wear shorts and tank tops. My thought is that I am going to be comfortable in the heat. IF someone doesn't like the way I look, then they have the problem not me. I'm decent. I would never walk around in something to short or where my tummy is hanging out. It would be plain gross. LOL!!!! I love the tank tops where the bra is built in. I don't care if I'm tanned or not. It's just never been an issue for me. We'll see if things change after I lose the weight.

I wish those built-in bras were sufficient for my busom - sure would make things easier! Hate having my bra show in tank top armholes, so it's hard to find them that fit well in that sense. Maybe when I'm done losing the girls will be sufficiently harnessed in a built-in. Sure hope so!

sunless tanner on dark skin
 

I have stretchmarks and I've heard that sunless tanner can help minimize the look of them, but I'm an african-american woman and wonder if sunless tanner would work on me. Any other af-ams who have tried it? I'm a medium color (somewhere between Beyonce and Kelly ;) )and have noticeable light striations on my thighs and legs that I'd like to cover.

I laid out once.... before my junior prom. I burned freakishly badly... and I said I'd never do it again. And I haven't.
I, too, am as pasty white as they come. My forearms are slightly tan year round because I usually wear t-shirts in the winter too.
Over the last year or so, when I started walking outside regularly (and dressing in tank tops for comfort) I have tanned on my shoulders and upper arms. And this is from walking EARLY in the morning for 20 - 45minutes before the sun is up over the treetops (around 6:30 or 7am). I don't put on sunscreen when I walk.
When I know I'm going to be in the sun for long periods (like when we are camping), I slather on the highest SPF I can find and I make my husband wear it too. I have found SPF 60 this summer! WOW. I will burn bright crispy red without it (and I don't want to ruin my tattoos - they are almost always covered in sunscreen when I'm out on summer days).

I've never fake tanned since I've lived in Arizona where the sun shines 363 days a year, and when the temp gets above 110 or so, you tan right thru your clothes.

On the other - it's been so long, I really can't remember. :o :o :o

Hi! ;)

Well, my guess is that it would work on you...just go for the darkest option and give it a try! The most you can lose is a few bucks, right?

Let us know how it goes, OK?

:hug:
Linda

And WOW...talk about reviving an old thread...I started reading and there were people I miss so much (Jill...Celina??? We miss you TERRIBLY!!!!!)
I was thinking we were having a good old fashioned reunion...then realized this sounds VERY familiar, looked at the date and low and behold...a year ago :lol:

I really want to try the lotions that gradually get darker, I've been told now is the time to start taking care of my skin so that I don't age prematurely. I've invested in skinscreen like there's no tomorrow, I am always wearing an SPF 30! Fortunately I have some native blood in me so I'm always a bit darker.

As for faking "it", I couldn't... my boyfriend would totally be able to tell. But I don't think that it's ALWAYS necessary, sometimes the intimacy and the connection is enough for this gal! Hmm, that sounds pretty cheesy.. plus with endometriosis.. ouchies.

-Aimee

I have started using the lotions occasionally. They are good, but I do find if you haven't exfoliated and moisturised like there is no tomorrow, they tend to streak a bit. I tend to go for every second day application, otherwise you go very dark very quickly and it looks fake.