Oh I also wanted to mention an alternative for those who aren't into the tanning beds..

I actually haven't tanned at all this Spring yet because my mom bought me this Jergen's lotion. It's about $10 for the body and face moisturizers. It gives you a golden glow after a few days of using it that I REALLY like. It doesn't turn you orange like a lot of "tan in a bottle products". It is just a subtle little tint to your skin. So this may be an option for some looking to get rid of the pasty look. It worked great for me. Now I am not super dark or anything but I also don't look like Casper.

I know that sounded kinda like a commercial but it wasn't LOL. Just wanted to recommend it.

Thanks again, everyone, for your detailed input. :)

Originally Posted by sockmonkey70:
I actually haven't tanned at all this Spring yet because my mom bought me this Jergen's lotion. It's about $10 for the body and face moisturizers. It gives you a golden glow after a few days of using it that I REALLY like. It doesn't turn you orange like a lot of "tan in a bottle products". It is just a subtle little tint to your skin. So this may be an option for some looking to get rid of the pasty look. It worked great for me. Now I am not super dark or anything but I also don't look like Casper.

Thanks for the recommendation. I may give that a go first, as I'm antsy about skin damage.

Personally, sagging skin can be fixed. This would be the least of my tanning bed concerns. And while "everything gives you cancer" according to one poster, I would rather avoid doing those obvious things that are risk factors for skin cancer. While most skin cancers are curable, melanomas frighten the @#%$ out of me. Please read the following articles while making your decision:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/fea...g_beds_li.html

http://www.thesmartfoundation.ca/def...px?PageID=1003
Survival Rates by Stage

As found at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/co...staged_50.asp:

Survival Rates by Stage
The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. Many of these patients live much longer than 5 years after diagnosis. Five-year rates are used to produce a standard way of discussing prognosis.
As found at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/co...staged_50.asp:

The following survival rates are based on the initial clinical stage of the disease.

Stage 0: The 5-year relative survival rate is 97%.

Stage I: The 5-year survival rate is between 90 and 95%. The 10-year survival is around 80%.

Stage IIA: The 5-year survival rate is around 78%. The 10-year survival is around 64%.

Stage IIB: The 5-year survival rate is around 63 to 67%. The 10-year survival rate is between 51 and 54%

Stage IIC: The 5-year survival rate is around 45%. The 10-year survival is 32%

Stage IIIA: The 5-year survival rate is around 63%-70%. The 10-year survival is 57%-63%

Stage IIIB: The 5-year survival rate is around 46%-53%. The 10-year survival is around 38%

Stage IIIC: The 5-year survival rate is around 28%. The 10-year survival is 15%-25%

(Note: A recent study of survival rates in patients diagnosed more recently found that they were higher by around 5% to 10% in the stage II and III patients than the numbers given here. But the study did not break the stages into A, B and C, so there are no specific figures for each of these substages.)

Stage IV: The 5-year survival rate for stage IV melanoma is about 18%. The 10-year survival is 14%. It is higher if the spread is to skin or distant lymph nodes. Other risk factors for survival: Another factor that affects survival is age. Stage for stage, older people have shorter survivals. The biggest drop begins at age 70. Recent reports also show that when melanoma occurs in African Americans, although uncommon, survival is shorter than when it occurs in whites. Finally, there have been some studies that show melanoma is more serious if it occurs on a foot, palm, or nail bed. People with HIV infection and melanoma also are a greater risk of dying of their melanoma.

A beautiful friend of mine who went regularly to tanning beds for a "nice glow" was diagnosed with melanoma, had to have a hugely disfiguring surgery, and died 3 years later. She was 28 years old. I often wonder how the use of tanning beds affected her.

Best of luck with your decision.

Originally Posted by sockmonkey70:
Oh I also wanted to mention an alternative for those who aren't into the tanning beds..

I actually haven't tanned at all this Spring yet because my mom bought me this Jergen's lotion. It's about $10 for the body and face moisturizers. It gives you a golden glow after a few days of using it that I REALLY like. It doesn't turn you orange like a lot of "tan in a bottle products". It is just a subtle little tint to your skin. So this may be an option for some looking to get rid of the pasty look. It worked great for me. Now I am not super dark or anything but I also don't look like Casper.

I know that sounded kinda like a commercial but it wasn't LOL. Just wanted to recommend it.

I have used the Jergens gradual tanning lotion also. I recently bought the same thing from Aveeno because there was something about the smell of the Jergens that I didn't like. There are gradual tanners by many different companies now. I do recommend using it sparingly especially around the knees, elbows, wrists etc and make sure you rub it in well and evenly. Since it is gradual, if you have a spot that looks funny you can go lighter on that spot on the next day to help even it out. It says to wash your hands after you apply the lotion. I'm always nervous that my hands will be white with an obvious cut off line, so I wash the palms of my hands with a baby wipe. It seem to work. The Jergens (and probably others) have different lotions for different colorings. I use the light complexion one. I used to go to tanning beds years ago, but have developed quite a few moles and have been afraid to continue.

Yeah I forgot to read the part about washing your hands after using the lotions..And now the cracks between my fingers are orange LOL. SO I HIGHLY recommend reading the bottle.

I use the darkest level skin tone lotion. It's nice.

Is anyone else ever shocked that so many "health" clubs offer tanning services? The idea just drives me crazy! My health club used to have a warning sign on the door that said that the surgeon general said that lack of physical activity was detrimental to your health. Then, they also had signs up promoting special offers for tanning! I thought they were about improving health! I've seen too many teenagers who tan with skin cancers, even melanoma...it sucks....grrrr....

I come from a family of extremely fair-skinned people. Unlike some of my relatives who have slightly less pale skin, I can't get anything resembling a tan from any sort of sun exposure- just a painful burn and more freckles (and I can certainly live without getting any more of those). At my last job, I worked with a girl who was my age (23) and looked like she was in her mid thirties because her skin was so damaged from going to tanning beds. She went every three days or so, which doesn't sound like a lot, but her skin looked like old leather. Nobody wants that.

I realize fake tan is sort of ridiculous- it's messy and can be orange-tinted (especially on pale folks like me) but I've found that the Jergens lotion mentioned earlier is a great alternative. It gives you a really gradual change in skin tone and it looks healthy and relatively natural. The Jergens does stink a little- I agree with ksk571- but maybe other brands don't. Just remember to exfoliate all your rough bits like knees and elbows and ankles before applying and you'll be fine. The end result for me was not having freakishly white calves to draw attention away from my awesome new year's eve ensemble. That's always a good thing.

And FYI, everybody: skin cancer is serious stuff. My dad and grandfather have both had run-ins with it and I wouldn't risk it for anything. It scared me so badly that for the past five years I've made sure to at the very least use moisturizer with SPF 30 every day on my face, chest, and any other exposed bits. Sure, it's a hassle- but I can't tell ya'll how many times I've been complimented on my skin. Even if it is pale.

Tara D, I'm with you on the "health clubs" offering tanning. It's insane and hypocritical for a health center to advertise something that is definitely bad for people.

Originally Posted by kella:
I come from a family of extremely fair-skinned people. Unlike some of my relatives who have slightly less pale skin, I can't get anything resembling a tan from any sort of sun exposure- just a painful burn and more freckles (and I can certainly live without getting any more of those). At my last job, I worked with a girl who was my age (23) and looked like she was in her mid thirties because her skin was so damaged from going to tanning beds. She went every three days or so, which doesn't sound like a lot, but her skin looked like old leather. Nobody wants that.

Yeah, that's about the description of my cousin who also tanned about 3 times a week through her entire adult life. She still does and lives in HI! I guess she doesn't see what it's done to her face.

As for the fair skin though, that WAS me. But as I did try tanning for a couple of years, I found that it's not a condition you can't get past. I burned at 8 minutes when i began tanning and it took awhile to build a tan. But I finally got past the pasty white freckle stage and began to tan well. I haven't tanned in nearly two years now, but I haven't gone back to the pasty white I was. I get out in the sun more often these days but I use an spf 50 sunblock.