I’m surprised tanning beds are even legal. Then again, so are cigarettes…
Legislation against tanning beds has been very hard to enact for reasons related to lobbying I am guessing. Here is a list of restrictions (which don’t go far enough IMHO):
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/indoor-tanning-restrictions.aspx
I went to the beach a lot when I was younger but I don’t have wrinkles either, just frown lines. Even after I lost 10 pounds, I thought I would have excess skin, but there seems to be lots of elasticity in my skin. But I wore lots of sunscreen when I was younger.
I am very pale and not at all in interested in premature aging skin, so I am a stickler for sunscreen. However, I just got the results of some medical tests that show I have NO detectible levels of Vitamin D. So now, in addition to megadoses of Vitamin D, I’ve been instructed to spend some sunscreen-free time in the sun. Can’t win!
My doctor suggested that I take Vitamin D too but I only do it occasionally. I garden a lot in the early morning. Somehow there is always sun.
nottelling, the best sunning times are when the sun is below 30 degrees above the horizon. For example, when we are in HI, we hit the beach from 7:30 am until about 9 am, then crawl back indoors, eat, exercise, shop, rest, and don’t show up at the beach until an hour and a half before the sunset.
Is it true that sunscreen prevents your body from taking in Vit D?
Not taking in, but making it. Body needs a small amount of UV light to produce its own Vit D. When we block this light with sunscreen or clothes, the biochemical reaction leading to Vit D stops. However, the good news is that supplements can save the day.
Most calcium supplements contain vit D, so it is better absorbed. Taking the supplement helps you get both of these essentials.
Personally, I have never been tempted by spray tans or tanning beds, tho there ARE tanning beds in our sunny state! I also rarely use sunscreen or cosmetics. I react to LTS of things and prefer to minimize my exposure to extra chemicals.
Well, you could still protect your face and just bare your legs and forearms, couldn’t you?
I almost went to a tanning bed once after living in the East Coast for 3 years. 
What part of the country?
In October most people are not tan, unless that is their natural skin color.
I’m a redhead, I know fair skin. 
I used to be even paler, but I wonder if I was a little anemic. I don’t look that colorless as I used to, but I’ve been using iron pans to cook in, and getting more aerobic exercise, which helps to pink you up.
I use sunscreen with zinc oxide, instead of chemicals that burn my eyes.
http://www.ewg.org/2015sunscreen/report/nanoparticles-in-sunscreen/
I have used bronzers on my legs in the summer. To prevent streaking, stay well hydrated, and exfoliate first. ( either shave your legs/ use a scrub) Then apply lotion and let dry, extra for the dry parts.
Then apply the bronzer or self tanner. If you are using a gel, that is more difficult to apply than a spray or lotion, so it’s more important that whatever you used first as primer is dry before you apply the color.
A self tanner seems to last about three days. I have also used self tanners with bronzer in it, so you can tell where it goes. You can also mix your bronzer or self tanner with sunscreen to get a thinner application.
Good ones don’t look orange, ( look at Sephora) they look natural enough for my mother in law to give me a bad time about sleeping in the sun so much that the tops of my feet are tan.
I don’t really ever tan, and I don’t lie in the sun, but I’m not going to correct her.
To me, the unretouched photos of Cindy Crawford were shocking, not because of the little bit of extra flesh, but because of the sun damaged skin.
https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/is-that-unretouched-photo-of-cindy-crawford-a-112551255298.html
^^^Those photos circulated a few months ago and look so different than other photos of Cindy Crawford that I think they should be discounted - unflattering and not how she must look in real life.
There is no comparison between a sun bed and a spray tan. I occasionally get a spray tan at a good local place - with my fair skin I chose the “medium” shade. It looks great - lasts a week and looks really natural. It looks better and it’s much, much easier than applying myself.
The spray tan I used years ago turn a bit orange at first but the second day it was a natural skin color. Not sure if things have been improved or not.
Again mine was done in a salon vs home applied, but I’m telling you, there is not a hint of orange. I don’t remotely look " tan." I’m still a pale complected person. I just don’t look blindingly pale. I’m the only one who can really tell the difference. I assure you no one would look at me and say “oh, she has a tan now.”
OP- I am following this as I am in a similar situation. I have a child getting married in October and I am fair skinned and tend to look “washed out” in pictures. I prefer a short dress over long dress and if my legs have a little color I could possibly skip the hose. I have not/will not go to a tanning salon, but am considering a spray tan. It has been suggested to me that I do a trial run a few weeks before the wedding to see if I want to go a little lighter or darker. I don’t want to look “tan”, just have a little color.
I do use the Jergens product for gradual color on my legs and it looks natural, not orange at all. I think tanning products have come a long way.
I should add that when I use self tan products, I still don’t look tan, I just have darker skin than where I don’t.
I’m still not half as dark as my H, who is 3/4 Scandinavian( Swedish & Norwegian) but has a little Italian, and is much darker.
But depending on what part of country, I would probably wear the hose BB mentioned.
A tan really doesn’t go far enough towards hiding varicose veins, to go without stockings in a formal setting. And if you have varicose veins, and not just veins that you can see because you are pale, your legs will probably be more comfortable in stockings.
I don’t have varicose veins.
I am 1/2 Italian ,though of the northern variety. Northern Italians are typically fair skinned.
His grandmother was from Sicily.
Op mentioned that she had varicose veins, but some people may get them mixed up with spider veins which are more superficial.