I have never been to a tanning salon other than to get a spray tan. My only vice in life was to tan for one week during our yearly beach vacation. As we haven’t been to the beach in 4 years, I am never out in the sun other than short walks with the dogs; usually when the sun is not at its hottest!
My son’s wedding is coming up in October and I really would like to have a hint of a tan. I look better with a tan, not looking so washed out; it also helps cover up some of the varicose veins I haven’t had great results with the spray tans, either they fade too soon, or I have areas that are patchy or darker than others. My dry skin doesn’t help the spray tan go on smoothly, not matter how much exfoliating I do in advance.
I am willing to spend the money for a treatment before spray tanning if I knew it would help prep the skin. That said, I just feel a tanning bed would give me the all over even look I would prefer, even though I know I shouldn’t do it. I am not looking to go everyday for weeks, just a few times to get a bit of color.
Now, tell me why I shouldn’t tan and how I can get a spray tan to look fabulous and last! I would have to have the spray tan 4 days before the wedding as the wedding is out of town and I don’t think I would have time to do it once I get to the wedding city. Plus, I would want to do a test run at least a week before the one for the wedding to see how it looks and how long it will last. The last time I had a spray tan I believe I went the day before the event, so I do not remember how long it lasted.
No spray tan advice from me, but here is what I do for our yearly warm weather vaca. I go to a stand up tanning be and start with really low minutes (like 5) and build up to 8 over 5 sessions. I typically go 5, 6, 7,7 (cover face/neck for full minute on 7) and then 8 while again covering face and neck for at least a minute. I just grab the hand towel they provide and periodically cover different areas.
I am allergic to some of the chemicals in the spray tan so I cannot be in that club. I think those shiny legs that that come out of the spray booths look good!
I just got a very light spray tan for my kids’ graduations this week. It’s very very light - just looks like I was in the sun for an afternoon. Not dark or orange at all. Indeed, my husband didn’t even notice.
Having said that, I think there is zero comparison between tanning beds, which are horrible for you, and a spray tan. I got it yesterday on a whim - I walked by an Aveda salon that was offering it and I thought hmmm, why not. It was $35. No special prep needed
A tanning bed will age you. I’m too lazy to use the self tanning moisturizers and they streak.
A big NO to tanning beds. In fact, just stay out of the sun. Nothing is worse for aging your skin fast than sun. I see sun-worshipping “young” people with such damaged, leathery looking skin that they could be mistaken for Egyptian mummies or burn victims.
My kids joke that I’m white as a plucked chicken carcass, but I have no lines whatsoever on my face. My cousin who is the same age as me and bikes in the sun constantly, has a dark tan w really deep lines all over his face. Last week I got asked by a new acquaintance if I was a college student. My kids can laugh at my uncool pastiness all they want.
I would strongly recommend calling spray tan places in your area to find out what they suggest and how long they say their spray on tan will last. Maybe they can give you a discount for the two treatments–the trial one for ahead of time and the 2nd one for the event.
I can’t see subjecting your skin to a tanning bed and pre-maturely aging it and increasing your risk of skin cancer (my SisIL is a dermatologist, so I admit I’m biased).
I’ve done the self tanning moisturizers in a pinch. They work BUT I think it’s best if you buy the light or medium, not the dark, and use it multiple times over several days. That way, any streakiness is light, and over several days of reapplying, the streaks no longer show.
I know tanning beds are not healthy, but if you are careful to not overdo it and not burn, and it’s just a one time thing, is it really all that bad? Seems like it’s the same as one more soccer tournament or one more beach weekend as far as sun exposure. Is that wrong? In any event, I’ll never do it. Embrace the Pale!
For an October event, I’d spend $50 on a pair of the most luxurious, silkiest nude Wolford pantyhose. But that’s just me (sent from my iPhone from a warm, sunny beach).
Don’t go to a tanning booth. If you’re fair at all, you would do a lot of damage to your skin to get any color at all. They subject your skin to more rays more quickly than naturally being in the sun over several months would do.
Find an expensive self tanning lotion that has a lot of positive reviews and play with it before the wedding. A spray tan might be ok, but I kind of wonder about what is in the products. If you buy your own you can find something without parabens and some of the more harmful chemicals.
Personally, I wouldn’t bother with being tan, but then I live in Southern California and everyone here has some color unless they hibernate indoors, so maybe I’m not the person to ask. But I know it doesn’t take much to create permanent damage to your skin, and if you’re over 50, I wouldn’t risk a tanning bed.
Actually, knowing what we know now about sun damage, I wouldn’t risk it at any age.
Yes, I know you are only going to use it a couple of times but why risk it? And why subject your skin to premature aging?
I use neutrogena self tanner on my legs to help camouflage veins etc. But I use nothing on my arms or face.
Why would you want to perpetuate the myth that people look better with tanner skin?
Sorry if I get my back up on this topic but both my DH and I are melanoma survivors and my MIL had it too. My kids are at a huge risk of developing it compared to their peers so I try to dispel the notion of a healthy tan anyway I can.
Seems that tanning beds tend to have a higher UVA/UVB ratio than natural sunlight. This means that a tanning bed user will get more UVA radiation before getting sunburned from UVB radiation than someone who is out in natural sunlight. By reducing the sunburn-causing UVB relative to UVA, tanning beds increase the risk of someone getting UVA-related damage (e.g. skin cancer) due to reducing the deterrent effect of sunburn.
I wonder how many white people who want darker skin would actually prefer to be black, Latino, or Asian.
This is only the second time I’ve ever done a spray tan, I had a client last year who was in the sun care business, and got to do focus groups in the south of France and in Barcelona. Rough life eh? As part of “market investigation” I got one in France amd it looked great. I am fairly pale complected and freckle / burn easily, and strongly believe that why I have no wrinkles is because I stayed out of the sun. The kind of spray tan I’m talking about is not dark at all - I think that’s cheap-looking. It’s literally just making it so I’m not ghostly pale!
I haven’t had great results with the spray tans, either they fade too soon, or I have areas that are patchy or darker than others. My dry skin doesn’t help the spray tan go on smoothly, not matter how much exfoliating I do in advance.
I would have to have the spray tan 4 days before the wedding as the wedding is out of town and I don’t think I would have time to do it once I get to the wedding city. Plus, I would want to do a test run at least a week before the one for the wedding to see how it looks and how long it will last. The last time I had a spray tan I believe I went the day before the event, so I do not remember how long it lasted.