Fake bake, anyone?

[Laurajean1014]

I keep telling myself that tanning beds are bad for you and the sun, accumulatively will keep you in the dermatologists' office for years later in life. But everyone is encouraging me to go for a few sessions before we cast away.

Is anyone going to the tanning salon prior to their sail?

[travelcrazy]

i think it depends on your skin. i'm fair and i've found that if i go for about 5 sessions before a vacation, i don't burn as easily. the small number of sessions just gives me a base color and not a "fake" tan. i worry about ruining my skin too, but i think that getting some color is probably better than turning red.

[Sandiebean]

I always go a few times before I go away. I'm red haired, and fairer. When I didn't go... no matter how much protection I wore.. I fried. Since I started doing a few sessions at a tanning salon... I've not had that problem. All within reason, of course.

Sandie

[AnnMorin]

Each cruise I have gone on I have gone to tanning prior. The sun is MUCH stronger in the caribbean then here in Ma. and I burn at Cape Cod. It is no fun to have a burn on vacation-plus there is so much to do I don't want to waste time just lieing in the sun. If you get a "jump start" before you go then you come back looking great. Ann

[ruvidu]

I keep telling myself that tanning beds are bad for you and the sun, accumulatively will keep you in the dermatologists' office for years later in life
On April 1, of this year I had 25 pre cancers removed from my arms and neck. The doctor did this by using liquid nitrogen on a swab to burn each one individually. I now get to do a creame face burn. That is the application of a special creame on your face that will burn off individual layers of skin until the cancers are gone. My face will be bright red and peeling for about 3 weeks. During that time I have limited access to the sun because I will be more prone for burning.
If you look for me on the cruises I will have on the Panama hat and be spraying SF 50 sunscreen on my face, neck and arms. I also will be moving under the shade during the 11 - 4 time to limit the amount of sun I am getting.
I hate to put a damper on your "a tan is beautiful thread" but if you could see the scars on my arms you may would think twice before climbing in a tanning bed.
I am a 53 year old male that has never been in a tanning bed, just been outside a lot.
I hope this doesn't happen to any of you but at least I tried to tell you.

[ldb1030]

I also have a "lovely" scar on my upper arm and one on my hip! I love being in the sun but to get a nice looking tan, I'll stick w/ the tanning lotion! Much safer!

[mkunichi]

As a first choice, I'd like to encourage everyone to join me in my winter color - "slightly translucent".

As a second choice, I think tanning is better than burning. So if you think the only way to keep yourself from burning is to visit the tanning salon before going on your cruise, I'd say to go ahead. But don't go overboard and make sure to use a good sunblock while on the cruise.

[ruvidu]

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/tanning.html
Read this if you think tanning is important.

Hey, I'm an Ex smoker too. Life has taught me some tough lessons.

[vicnmickey]

I am a nurse and know the risk of skin cancer. But like others I am a red head and fry in the sun if I don't get a base color. I also have ezcema on my feet and my dermatologist suggested tanning to help clear it up. Yes, the dermatologist! I don't go every day of the week and only go 10 minutes at a time. I have been told its safer to tan slowly than to fry yourself. So a couple months before vacations I do start tanning.
There are alot of things in life that aren't good for us but my theory is. Enjoy every minute you have on this precious earth because tommorow you may not be here to enjoy it anymore.
God Bless!!!!!

[KAR3600]

I cheat, I use "tan in a can", Lancome & Estee Lauder make excellent products. I can not take the sun for I too am very light skinned and just burn, hurt, and turn white again. So my instant tan works well for me.

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Would a canned tan also reduce the likelihood of sunburning, too?

[ducklite]

Originally posted by DreamsDoComeTrue
Would a canned tan also reduce the likelihood of sunburning, too?

Not one little bit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do tan in a can (I like Lancome's) and then slather on SPF 30-45 (depending on where I am, how much of a base of "real" color I have, and how long I'll be out). My daily face cream has an SPF 15 in it, and my head hasn't seen the sun in years (I've got a collection of wide brimmed sun hats).

Most people think I look 5-10 years younger than I am. I attribute it to protecting my skin from the sun.

Anne

[Michelle]

I'll try not to get on my soapbox here, but it's hard. :)

I used to do the tanning salon thing in my 20s (and I'm fair skinned, lots of freckles, family history of skin cancer) and I regret it immensely. I've had MANY pre-cancerous lesions removed and am at a huge risk for skin cancer. Plus it does a nasty number on your skin and face and adds lots of not-so-lovely wrinkles.

There is TONS of evidence that says a "base tan" does NOTHING to protect your skin from the sun. If you want some color, do the sunless tanner (I use Neutrogena on my legs and it works wonders). Then use LOADS of sunscreen, and re-apply, re-apply, re-apply. That is the ONLY way to keep from frying in the tropical sun.

Okay, so I climbed up on the soapbox. :) This is something I feel very strongly about and wish I would have listened when others told me what "tan in a can" would do to me when I was 40...now I know. :(

[snowball22]

Noooooooooooooooooo to the fake bake!!!!!!!!! The tanning beds are just as bad as the real sun!!!!! I am 37 and a malignant melanoma survivor. Just diagnosed this past fall. I also just had a basal carcinoma removed from my leg in March. Yes I spent my teens and 20's in the sun and in the tanning beds. Now I am paying for it. Nasty scars and lots of doctors visits. Just load up on the sunscreen and apply often!!!!! For a right in your face web site on melanoma go to www.mpip.org Go to the message boards and read the stories of the fighters of skin cancer. Learn how sun can turn into malignant melanoma and invade your body with cancer of the brain, liver etc. Bob Marley was in the sun alot, had melanoma on his toe and it took over his body. Maureen Reagan had melanoma and it travelled to her brain and also took her life. Please just load up on the sunscreen and try not to get baked!!!!!!

[TootyJane]

Sunless tanning is the way to go. The color is great -- no longer that orangy QT look!! Best thing to do is exfoliate, moisturize and apply sunless tanning. Of course, you don't have a "tan" so you will need to apply sunscreen when you go into the sun. This is the only way I get tan. I am fair-skinned and learned a long time ago that no matter how long I stayed in the sun I would burn and never get tan.

I just tried the Mystic Tan at our local tanning salon. Basically, you apply a barrier cream to your toenails, fingernails and palms of your hands, then you step into a booth, press a button and you are sprayed with an even mist of self-tanner for 14 seconds. Then it stops to give you 10 seconds to turn around and then repeats the mist on your other side for 14 seconds. You stand in the booth for another 30 seconds, step out of the booth, wipe off the barrier cream, dry yourself with a towel, get dressed and go about your day. It doesn't stain your clothes or have that strong sunless tanning smell and you see your "tan" in 4-6 hours.

HTH

Lisa :)

[A kid at heart]

If you were meant to be brown you would have been born that way.

I am very fair skinned and stay that way all year round. Even when I go to FL. I still come home looking like this. I use SPF 30 evey 30-45 min. It's not worth it to me to get that tan that fades and could later on cause damage. Besides I burn too easily and I avoid the sun as much as possible!

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by TootyJane

Sunless tanning is the way to go. The color is great -- no longer that orangy QT look!

That's good... that stuff was around when I was a kid and it was GROSS!

Anyway... like Michelle... I was trying not to get on my soapbox, but since she couldn't resist, I'll stop resisting as well.

I know that so many people dream of coming back from the Caribbean with a deep golden tan so their friends and colleagues will be jealous of the exotic vacation they've had. But the facts are that the makeup of the passengers at the end of the cruise are as follows:

<table border=0 cellpadding=10><tr valign=top><td align=center>15%</td><td><i><b>Bronzed gods and goddesses.</b></i><br>Sure, some people will go home with great tans, but they will be a very small minority.</td></tr><tr valign=top><td align=center>40%</td><td><b><i>People who showed "sun sense"</i></b><br>People who used liberal amounts of sunscreen with high SPF numbers... wore a t-shirt when snorkeling, etc. They will be in the best shape at the end of the cruise.</td></tr><tr valign=top><td align=center>45%</td><td><b><i>People who are crispy-fried</i></b><br>These are people who either didn't use sunscreen or didn't use enough or a high-enough SPF. They don't particularly want to get sunburned... but they definitely want to get a tan they can be proud of. But they always get sunburned. Especially at Castaway Cay because they realize it's their last chance to get that great tan. These people always look <i>really</i> uncomfortable at dinner on that last night.</td></tr></table>

You can count me in the middle category.

[ruvidu]

We have been amazed at the number of people who come to dinner on the second night and can hardly sit in a chair. Their sunburns are killing them and I know their photos have to be overexposed.
Sun sense is all important.

[ducklite]

Originally posted by WebmasterMichelle

Okay, so I climbed up on the soapbox. :) This is something I feel very strongly about and wish I would have listened when others told me what "tan in a can" would do to me when I was 40...now I know. :(

"Tan in a can" is the sunless tanning sprays, lotions and gels. It's NOT the sunbeds in the tanning salons, which are generally referred to as "fake bake".

Tan in a can is completely safe, as long as your realize it's a FAKE tan, and will not protect you at all from the sun. Many of the newer products have moisturizers in them, making them actually GOOD for your skin :)

Anne

[Michelle]

Right Anne, I meant the tanning booths.

I use sunless tanners and they are fine. :)

[Laurajean1014]

I just purchased some tanning lotions that will give me color in an hour or so.

Is this type of stuff still streaky? Does it make your hands orange by applying? And what about those hard to get to areas (that maybe noticable when you suit moves slightly or you gently bend down.

Note: We are still talking about rated G (general audience)areas!!!

[DopeyRN]

Wow Lisa! That mystic tan sounds awesome!! I need to call around here to see if anyone has it!

[Laurajean1014]

TOOTYJANE, (aka, Lisa)

What state are you from? I am interested in Mystic Tan and want to know more about it or see if it is available in my area.

Please tell us more!!!!

[Michelle]

Here's a link to the Mystic Tan home page and they have a link to their locations throughout the U.S.:

Mystic Tan (http://www.mystictan.com/)

If there isn't one near you and you want to attempt it on your own, be sure to EXFOLIATE your skin wherever you plan to apply the tanner, and wash your hands with soap and water afterwards. The new tanners definitely do not turn you orange but they will stain your palms if you don't wash your hands.

Good luck! :)

[legs22]

Sure a tan looks great now, but when you get older you will look a lot older than you really are with leather skin, wrinkles, etc.
How attractive :rolleyes:

[Laurajean1014]

Thank you Michelle for the homepage.

There are not alot of salons that offer Mystic Tan, the nearest one for me is about 1.45 hours away!

Or, if I had $29,995, I can buy one for myself and get all of CT to sport a golden bronze color! ;)

[Laurajean1014]

Heard the Mystic Tan washes off in two showers! The cost is $30 per visit for about 60 seconds. But it does wash off in shower. I don't know why I would have thought differently. All chemical base tans would wash off or flake with the regrowth of new skin.

$30 is steep for a wash off!

What do you think?

[rcdisneyfam]

Laura, I usually buy 12 visits to the tanning salon here in Syracuse and go twice a week until the cruise. Today will be my 4th visit. I only do this before a vacation. I am all Italian, so it does not take much for me to tan, but I hate laying on my stomach so this way here I get a tan all over. Go for the TanningSalon....

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Laurajean1014
I just purchased some tanning lotions that will give me color in an hour or so.

Is this type of stuff still streaky? Does it make your hands orange by applying? And what about those hard to get to areas (that maybe noticable when you suit moves slightly or you gently bend down.

Note: We are still talking about rated G (general audience)areas!!!

Much depends on the brand. Some of them will streak. Some of them won't be right for you.

The Clinique stuff looks great on many people, it doesn't work right on me. The Lancome stuff works great for me, makes my sister look like a carrot. The Coppertone stuff works good for me on my arms, but not my legs.

Don't worry about the hard to get to areas that are usually covered by your suit. They are usually covered by your suit, so the sun wouldn't get there anyway!

I try for a really natural look. So I don't worry about every out of the sun area.

Here's the way that works best for me...

I take a shower and exfoliate my legs with a large grain exfoliant. (The St. Yves stuff is dirt cheap and works great for legs!) I use a smaller grain product by Lancome on my arms.

After I get out, I take a thick body lotion or cream (Jergens ain't cutting this one. I use the Bath and Body works body cream (any scent) for this part of the "project". I put enough on my knees, ankles, top of foot, elbows, wrists, and around my finger tips, especially my cuticles that there is a good goop of product that doesn't soak in.

I start with the legs, and working downward, apply the tanning stuff. I prefer a tinted cream rather than a spray, it seems to streak less and I can see where I've been. I use it sparingly around my knees and ankles, and rub it in with the body cream, so it's not a "full" application. (Diluted maybe is the word) Bring it down the tops of the feet, stopping around the toes. I do not do any place that wouldn't get sun such as the soles of my feet, the lower parts of my ankles, between my toes, etc.

Then I do my arms. This time I work from the bottom up. Remembering that half the time you are in a short sleeved shirt, so it's normal to have less tan on the shoulders than the lower arms, I start around my wrists and work up the arm. Towards the top I just smooth in whatever is left, so I'm not applying "full strength" there.

I've been "tanning" for about a week now, and have a very natural looking golden tan on my arms and legs right now.

I do it every other day.

Some tips:

*Don't shave before using--I wait at least 24 hours.
*Don't loofah before using. Just use an exfoliant.
*Try different products until you find the right one for you. And sometimes the right product for arms isn't the right one for legs.

I don't do my face. I always wear a sunscreen and hat in the sun, so it's not natural looking for me to have a tanned face.

I strive for a natural look, what I would look like towards the end of the summer with working in the yard and some bach time.

Hope this helps.

Anne

PS--With the exfoliation, body cream application, and the tanning products themselves, you skin will be silky smooth :)

[Gillian]

Wow Anne, you sure work hard for that tan! Is the bath & body works lotion very thick? I need something unscented. Any other suggestions?

I am ready to try these fake tans. Thanks for all the info everyone :)

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Gillian
Wow Anne, you sure work hard for that tan! Is the bath & body works lotion very thick? I need something unscented. Any other suggestions?

I am ready to try these fake tans. Thanks for all the info everyone :)

The B&B works lotions are not thick. The body CREAMS are. Aveeno cream would work also. Any cream will work. The lotions won't provide the protection/barrier you need.

In all honesty, the first time or two you do it, it does take a bit of work, allow about 20-30 minutes including the exfoliation, etc. Once you get it down, it's fast. I figure it takes me all of 5-7 minutes each time. The thing that takes me the longest is making sure my cuticles are covered in lotion so they don't get stained by the tanning stuff.

I forgot in my previous post-- Wash hands really well with soap and water as soon as you are done!

Anne

[Laurajean1014]

Ducklite, You're the pooh! (Very helpful instructions ~ like a big sister!)

RC, I'm taking the plunge~

Bought QVC California Tan, but it never arrived. So I was in Wal-Mart earlier today and bought Banana Boat Self Tan. When my ds goes to bed tonight ~ I exfoiliate and try it out.

I also started a tanning salon regimen! Bought a few sessions to get the edge off in case I burn. I have Scottish and Italian blood line, therefore, may burn and tan easily (light medium complextion).

Here's a question for you: Does anyone buy/use the tanning products from the tanning salons that promise deep thorough tans, soft skin and protection? I believe they run from $25-45 a tube/bottle. :smooth:

[Gillian]

Laurajean, I tanned before my wedding & got a really nice tan using one of those products. I can't remember the brand. It was a while ago. But I am very fair & usually don't tan. The lotion made my skin feel great! And I think it helped with the tan, although I can't be sure because I hadn't tanned before and I haven't since! Good luck :)

Thanks Anne! Now I am ready for exfoliation! I just have to hunt down some good skin cream.

Anyone try the Avon self tanner? I think it's new. It's on sale for $4.99 and my friend will give me another 20% off. Their skin stuff is decent.

[princess1407]

I will be going on the 7-day eastern magic leaving june 28th and i have been tanning for about a month now. Last year we did the 4-day wonder in july also and i burnt to a crisp. So now i have a base and i will just tan. So i strongly suggest you to go tanning before :)

[ldb1030]

Gillian,

The AVON self tanner is my favorite!:D
I have used just about every type (thanks to skin cancer) and I like this stuff really well! They used to make it where it contained a little bit of sunscreen (spf8) which I really liked but they no longer add that so be sure and use some type of sunscreen w/ it!:cool:

[Laurajean1014]

Is it just me, or does everyone you see seem like they have a tan? The tanning salons are overflowing with people crowding in for their 20 minutes in the sun.......

I know it's the "in thing" this year, but I am very suprised by all the tanning traffic.

Still contemplating on whether to buy the $40 tanning cream. I guess it can't hurt to try it! I guess it's like basting a turkey! :p

[4myson]

I use a tanning bed a few times a year and appreciate the color it gives me. I also use the tanning creams during my sessions and the sunless tanning products (Estee Lauder) to keep my skin moist and natural looking.

I have noticed alot of kids are using the tanning products and that some states are asking that no one under 18 years of age use a tanning bed (due to the effects it causes). If they do this, consider the empty beds these salons will have.

I would go for the tanning creams in the beds. They are worth the money you put out.

[Laurajean1014]

I agree! Everyone had a dark tan today! In CT, that's nearly impossible for it to be real by Memorial Day! This in itself makes the look un-natural. Or did everyone go on the western carribbean cruise?

Either everyone is fake baking or using creams. ;)

[Laurajean1014]

Up to 15 minutes in a bed and I'm getting a slight color!

How's everybody else doing? Is anyone going for a dark, deep tan? When do you graduate to 20 minutes? Then go twice a week?

I bought a sunless creme, but did not see any color? Why is that?

LMK. L