Should I use a sunbed?

Question

I am quite pale and I never tan, I just go really red dammit! People keep telling me to use a sunbed, well some of my female friends who look like oranges, because they think I will look better with a tan. I wondered if I would just go red and peel on one of them or does everyone actually get a tan when they use them? Some people say that having dark hair and pale skin makes my blue eyes stand out but then my friends think I look like a vampire! lol. Should I use one, I don't want to use fake stuff either, I know it would go a bit wrong and streaky.

Answer 1

Not unless you want leather skin (or are prepared to have a face lift and chemical peel early on in your life).....in other words NO! Don't be daft. Don't listen to your friends. Who wants to look like a tangerine with skin cancer? Remember that you can be 'pale and interesting'....and that there really is nothing wrong with that! If you look at the catwalk for Spring, the girls have ditched their tans for something far more interesting...themselves. Why not get a free make up consultation at one of the larger department stores (you don't have to buy make up from them if you don't want to), but get advice from them on how you can best show off the features that you already have. There are some good self tanning sprays and moisturisers out there these days (no more tangerine palms!), so why not give one a go? You'll regret it later in life if you do use a sunbed....people can become adicted to them and I know people who do have cancer because of them and the sun. Be warned.....is a tan really worth your health and ultimately possibly your life? p.s. remember ...if you do go red and peel in the sun....that's you burning your body like a sausage on a BBQ.

Answer 2

there are several products out there that are made for light completions, if you go to a sun tanning place that knows what they are doing they will start you out really slow. probably 3-4 minutes. i know it does not seem like a lot but that is about a half hour in the sun. use a lotion- it will help you get the color you want and keep you moisturized- beds are not very effective without them. and make sure you ask a lot of questions when you go in because most of the time the tanning ppl know what they are talking about.
as for health it is not hte healthiest thing in the world and too much can hurt you so... i would recommend building up your tan, it might take you going three times a week (one day on two days off) this will give your body time to heal itself and hold on to the tan. after the first two weeks you can probably go two days on one day off, if you follow this you should get a tan and as long as you stay moisturized you will keep the tan for a long time. Don't forget to not shower right after you tan (wait an hour), use a lotion (tanning place can help you get a good one the best i have used- and cheapest- is called hepmz or om??? {same company}) and move your time up slowly, If you burn YOU WILL HAVE TO START ALL OVER!!!
Have fun and good luck!

Answer 3

my natural colour is palest pale with a hint of blue and I burn in London in spring (I blame my dad who had red hair as a kid-didn't get the hair, got the paper thin skin!) The only way I can change colour is to kick off a tan. Usually this involves turning lobster red and returning to my normal hue. I have used sun beds, you need to start with really ridiculously short times - especially in modern stand-up tanning booths, 3-6 mins max, do it every other day for a week then increase the time. It's a slow process but once started it'll actually mean you can go longer without burning from the natural sun.
Of course, I don't touch them any more, my aforesaid father has had two skin cancers removed in the last two years so I keep well away! Fake tan is hit and miss - or hit and streak usually -but the gradual build up versions in body lotions DON'T streak and slowly build up to the colour you want - that way you don't wake up orange either.
Whether you use one or not is up to you - but every time you expose yourself to the bulbs or the real sun, you increase your chance of skin cancer...mother nature intended some of us to be naturally pale and interesting!

Answer 4

If you are happy with the way you look and confident, don't worry about them. If you want to try to tan in a controlled environment, ask the people the run the sunbed about how long to stay there and what kind of lotions to use. I personally am very pale and use a tanning bed in the summer time so I don't blind people on the beach, it works well for me and beats getting sun burn!

Answer 5

Tanning is actually skin damage and each time you use a sunbed you will be losing more elasticity from your skin. This causes the aging. I would advise not to go for a tan. Nothing wrong at all with a pale complexion. Don't you ladies have something called blusher in your vast armoury? Hehe

Answer 6

There is no real way for anyone to answer this safely I was burnt 15 years ago quite badly, every time i go out in the sun it reminds me. Start early in the year go outside wear a mild sunblock to begin with and increase it as the season wears on.
But is it really worth ones health .Pale skin is beautiful too. I think fake tan always looks fake.

Answer 7

To be quite honest, sunbeds are worse on you than the real sun. It is more concentrated and actually can cause skin cancer more than the sun. I did a study on it after my Mom died from skin cancer. She had melanoma. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She didn't even lay out in the sun, just got burned on her arms from being outside. She was 55 when she died. Skin cancer is actually more likely to happen with people with pale skin and lighter eyes. I have blond hair and blue eyes. When we are pale, we burn and the more we burn when we are younger, the more we chance ourselves at having skin cancer as we get older. (I am one of those lobsters too when I get into the sun.) There are a lot of people who love white skin. It is more perfect and as we get older, we won't get the wrinkles and rubbery skin look they will have. We can just put the fake tan on and look just as good. They have the stuff now that looks more tan than orange. I did the spray on, but I am not sure how good that is for our lungs. And,,,,,, On me, I had to keep it up every week, too expensive for me, that was the spray on tan in the booth. On my skin, it wouldn't stay on the 2 weeks or more, like it said. There is a lotion that is good and is bronze. You can experiment on parts of your body to see what shade it will turn your skin. Do it on parts that people won't see. It is safer for you and your skin will keep you looking younger as you age. I am 39 and people think I am still in my 20's.
My boyfriend likes me for who I am, white just like casper the ghost. :)

Answer 8

Sunbeds are for neds! Might as well stick a gold name tag round your neck and three sets of giant hoops on your ear lobes. Don't mock the vampiric look - emphasise the dark hair and wear dramatic clothes.

Answer 9

You sound very beautiful as you are.

In Thailand and most coloured areas locals go round with umbrellas in the sun, they do not want to get browner, white is beautiful. If your white stay that way. The right man will not care.

I believe your red friends are just jealous and want you to look like them, are they really your friends?

Answer 10

no way. especially if you are prone to getting burned rather than tanned.

the more melanin in your skin the safer it is to go out in the sun.
though, it never really is completely safe for anyone, no mater how dark you are.

i prefer to wear sunblock(sunrays bounce off the lotion) rather than sunscreen(sunrays are absorbed by the lotion).

just use the self tanning potions and choose one thats best for you.

try Neutrogena, they make one that builds color so you can choose how tan you'd like to be.

please, don't tan. it's unsafe.

:)