To Tan or Not To Tan?

i tan only because it makes me feel better about myself...i dont so it excessivly and i dont do it to the point where im orange. and the cancer thing is a whole-nother issue in my book. but if u tan like crazy u will get wrinkes earlier and i think cancer is a possiblity. but like i said...tanning excessivly!! not just for a lil color.

It's really funny. You always want what you can't have.

I have naturally dark brown skin because I'm Filipino.

You'd be surprised though. Go to the Philippines and all the rich and famous people are bleaching their skin.

Or use all these skin "whitening" soaps and lotions.

The reasoning behind that?

You're pale. That means you're rich and have money and don't have to work like a lot of people do.

Work. Imagine that.

And I come here to the States, and everyone wants to be my color. It's really.... all very ironic.

I'm already brown as it is, but I buy self-tanners during the winters too to really make me look like a bronzed beach goddess. I prefer the self-tanner to actually being in the sun. I have dark-skinned relatives who have had melanoma due to too much sun exposure.

Exfoliate, apply the tanner, then keep it up until it becomes habit.

I'm also a narcissist, in that I want to stay hot and young as long as possible. My relatives tend to look wrinkly early.

I honestly don't see the point in tanning. Many people think it makes you look better, but why? Pale skin is just as beautiful as naturally darker skin. To me, tanned skin just looks fake. I know several people who've gotten skin cancer from tanning and sun exposure. I'd prefer to be 'ghost white' over having skin cancer any day.

I prefer ghost white :). I don't where you live, but in the Deep South, girls in particular go crazy with the whole thing, going to tan parlors, some having tan beds in their homes. It is kind of ridiculous. Now sun is a good thing to get, but go outside every now and then and you'll recieve the sun you need. There is no point to go bake yourself, which the nature of artificial tanning.

I think it is kind of humourous how people want to change their skin color. People have had, and still do, prejudice against darker skinned people in America, but now white-toned people want to become darker. If you look at Asian and African cultures, people want to become lighter. It seems what is different has become what is attractive.

If you get a tan during your everyday life, then you get a tan, but to spend money on it seems kind of absurd. And there is nothing nastier when all those days of tanning catch up when you turn 40 and you look like a leather coat. It can't reversed either.

One of my good friends used to live in Barbados for a brief amount of time. (I work with this friend.. she's older than I am, but we're still pretty close.) She was forced to move back to America because of skin cancer caused my over exposure to the sun. So, no, I don't think all this talk about skin cancer is just a "hype", as you like to phrase it.
Also, I am very pale-skinned. I like to refer to myself as being "whiter than white", that's how white I am. Not just ghost white, whiter. I'm so pale that when I am sick, I can't ask if I look pale - I turn a slight shade of red instead. I used to dislike being so white. I wanted to be tan like the rest of the girls, at least tanner than I was.
I never went out to do anything about it though and I don't regret that choice for a second. I joke about it now. When people make fun of me for acting ghetto, I tell them "Sorry", then I look down at my arms and say, "I thought I was black." The joke doesn't seem funny here, but it is in my circle of friends because my school is primarily white people who act "ghetto", whatever that's supposed to mean.
Either way, I'm proud to be white and am disgusted by anyone that has it stuck in their head that tanning makes them feel prettier. You need to be happy with yourself the way you are before you can change yourself in anyway. And obviously if you're happiER being tan, you aren't content with your natural skin colour.

That's just the opinion from a girl that's -whiter than white-

I don't tan, because a friend of mine died of skin cancer... so no, I don't think that the cancer thing is just hype. I think the desire to harm yourself in order to be tan is sad.
~Freddie

LONG LIVE THE TAN IN A BOTTLE!

I agree with the USAussie, Julia, and Panthesileia. I'm Jamaican and use self tanner. Self-tanner allows people to be fickle, and change their skin tone on a whim AND stay out of the sun and avoid sun damage.

I'm 22, and have slowly begun to see what's become of my friend's skin as they aged with me since we were 12. My skin looks amazing compared to theirs! I've used sunscreen religiously since getting my first and only sunburn at age 8 on a beach in Thailand. I have SPF 30 broad spectrum sunscreen in my handbag right now (WITH parasol 1789, which provides UVA AND UVB protection), SPF 18 in my makeup foundation AND pressed powder, SPF 30 body sunscreen with PABA, and SPF 15 Chapstick.

Here's what to look for in a sunscreen:
+ Broad Spectrum Sunscreen that has BOTH UVA and UVB Protection
+ PABA or Parasol 1789 to boost UVA protection
+ Appropriate sunscreen for your level of activity. Don't buy Bullfrog sunscreen if you work at an office all day. Also, reapply sunscreen every 30 minutes during wet activities.
+ Protect your lips and hair from sun damage with Chapstick and a spray-on hair sunscreen or conditioner.
+ Just say no to alcohol at the beach or pool. Your liver will thank you. Your skin will thank you for not forgetting to reapply sunscreen after the 3rd daquiri.

INDOOR TANNING OFFERS CONTROL & COMFORT
Indoor tanners are at a great advantage by having access to the control and comfort that is part of the indoor tanning experience. In addition to various state and local regulations in place, national guidelines set by the Federal government enhance the controllable factors involved in indoor tanning. Since 1986, Federal Performance Standards for tanning devices have been in place to cover and control many of the following aspects of indoor tanning:

-Timer control
-Protective eyewear
-Temperature control
-Electrical safety
-Protection from lamps
-Equipment access and support, and more

VARIABLES INVOLVED IN OUTDOOR TANNING: Countless!

I'm white, though not fair-skinned (my skin does burn, but then it turns brown; I don't burn and look like a lobster the way my mother does). I grew up in South Florida, and (stupidly) only wore sun-screen when I went to the beach or laid out by the pool (as if I wasn't exposed to damaging UV rays every time I walked outside wearing tank tops and shorts). As a teenager I never thought anything of it; I wanted to be tan like all the other girls and so I spent hours upon hours sun-bathing.

When I was 19 I had to have four pre-cancerous moles removed. (I have others that need to come off; unfortunately I don't have health insurance so I'm patiently waiting and intend to remove them asap.) Since then I've stayed out of the sun and religiously worn sunscreen whenever I know I'll be outside for any length of time (I now live at a higher lattitude so I'm not so fanatical as to wear it every time I go outside, especially in the winter) and I wear face moisturizer with SPF 30 every day. I think fake tanner looks fake, so I've given up on the tanned look and learned to love my natural skin tone.

/jkh

I do not like to go tanning indoor I can not stand standing in a hot room.