Tanning Questions

Haha when i did tan, i tanned naked, and i use tanning lotion, and the longest ive been is 15 minutes. but just starting out i would do 5-7 minutes. and idk about tanning preventing sunburns....

I owned a tanning salon with 4 beds. If you are very fair skin. I wouldn't go but just a few minutes the first couple times to get a starter tan. You can gradually everytime up a few minutes. You will be able to tell the next day if you are red then you need to stay at what minutes you went the time before. But if you start to turn brown you can go up a few more minutes. DO NOT start out at 20min. You will be a LOBSTER!! The tanning bed is great right before you go on a vacation when you are fair skin. Because you don't want to be burnt the first couple days and miserable the rest of the vacation. I would suggest "white to black" tanning lotion. I have tried about everyone of them out there so I could tell my customers about them. That is the best one I have tried. It's about 50.00 a bottle but worth it. You get tanned very quickly! Be careful what you buy. Some will turn you orange and some have a strong tingle. Some like the tingle and some don't. Tingle BURNS to me!

I tan occassionally. I'm tanning now in preparation for the wedding. I start out at around 5-7 minutes. I only tan every two or three days because I tan very quickly and get very dark. Your skin may be different. Go by feel. You'll know when you're burnt. In that case, I skip a day or two and then back my minutes down a couple.

I actually don't use tanning lotions. I just lotion up with my own body lotion before I go. I get similar results without spending $50+. Some people swear by them though.

I don't think I'm very fair skinned, I have lots of brown freckles and have medium skin tone. Do I need to get the lotion or can I go without?

I am planning to do this a few months before the ceremony. I have asked and some people have done it naked, topless or witha very small bikini. I personally will do it naked, so I won't have tan lines.

Future Mrs. X, sorry posted just seconds after you! I think I will try it, I'm nervous haha

I have always tanned naked, I have my own tanning bed. If you are going to a tanning salon. ALWAYS clean your bed really good before and after you tan. Don't trust the employee's to do it for you. I do like tanning lotion but I have went without it also. I would suggest if it's your first time of going to use some kind of lotion but it's also to your preference. you can buy sample lotions at the tanning salon to trybefore you buy, so you don't have to spend a ton of money on something and not like it.

I have tried the lay down beds in the past. I prefer the stand up . I don't use the tanning lotion but I do use an after tan lotion.

I always tan naked...And they have bronzing beds which I think works the best you dont have to stay in as long and they have fans in them too and the laying times are shorter. And you wont burn because they are bronzing bed I dont like the regular beds because they are smaller...and I wouldnt but those little bottles you can look on ebay or amazon and find better deals on them I do feel like the lotion helps but I would avoid the ones with tingle in them...they hurt!! You also need to make sure you use moisturizing lotion to make sure your skin is hydrated because hydrated skin tans better. Good luck girl!! And enjoy it I always nap in them

I hate the tingle lotions. The lotions always help me tan better, I like the bronzing lotions, and I tan naked as well. Def start out at no more than 5 mins and build your tan gradually!

I just started tanning in the bed for the first time. im also going naked cuz i dont want the tanlines. i have used lotions and oils before when i lay outside so i did use it in the bed as well.. my boobs were itching so bad the day after both times i went. i will def not be upping my times yet. i went 7 the first time and 9 the second

You've gotten some great advice! I just got back from the Carribbean and tanned before so thought I'd throw in my experience too. I just went 3 times before I went (should have gone more but ran out of time), tanned topless and started at 6 minutes, going up 2 minutes each time. I think I did get just enough sun that I didn't fry when I got to the beach! Note- carribbean sun is much hotter than our silly mainland sun, so over apply sunscreen!!! And the breeze is so lovely down there, that if you feel the sun is too intense for you at any time, it is! Go inside and grab a bottle of water and hang out for a bit before going back out, you'll be grateful that you did

I tried tanning beds when I was 17, for a month. Not only did I never ever get a tan, I just burned and went back to white. I'm personally not a fan of tanning beds, too risky. I will say to make sure you bring lots of sun block to the CI. Even with a tan, you can still burn to a crisp.

If you don't want tan lines, go naked, make sure to wear lotion. You can get a bottle of indoor tanning lotion cheaper at walmart than the salon. Start out between 5-7 minutes. When you select a salon to go to they should go through all the how to-s with you and give you advice. You start low on time though and work your way up, never tan more than once in 24 hours and always remember it is totally possible to burn

Thanks Ladies, this advice is awesome! I love being able to ask questions that I wouldn't be able to ask in person cuz I'm too embarrassed hehe I think I will get the lotions at Wal-Mart and start at 5mins. Also I looked around my area for a Tanning Salon and never realized it but I have a tanning Salon three doors down that's open until 9pm during the week! I can go after work and just walk haha I will judge how often to go by how my body takes the tanning. Guess I have to get over my shyness and tan nakie too huh? I have time before the wedding or cruise so I probably will go like once every two weeks I guess. You think tanning will help reduce the look of scars and stretch marks too?

The awesome advice is not to tan. It's been proven to cause skin cancer. Self tanning is the way to go.

Took long enough....

Well where I live, there isn't much sunlight after 5pm yet and I don't have the time with full-time college, full-time work and just buying a house and doing repairs, to lay outside in the sun. I don't know how I'd get the time to just lay outside or where to lay, I live right in the middle of a very busy village near an Army Base and I'm not comfortable laying outside in the front 'yard' right now I am trying to move out into the country but don't see time being available still. Where I'm at now the front yard is probably only enough room to lay a towel and that's it and if I was to put my arms out striaght to the side, I'd be on the sidewalk... I have never tanned before because I didn't think it was safe but it's tan for a few minute a few times or go to the islands and burn like a lobster everyday which would be even worse than the few minutes in a tanning bed.

I didn't want to be a debbie downer, lol....and I think there IS another thread on this that I commented on.

The rise in skin cancer in young women (like 20's) is insane, and it's largely because of tanning beds. The industry will tell you anything, but the facts are there to back this up. It is just not worth it; you all have your lives ahead of you; lives with the guys and girls you love, families who adore you, maybe babies and dogs and cats who need you and throw up on your stuff. Why would you want to add cancer to that future?

Experiment with the expensive self tanners, and you'll find one that works for you. And you'll live to tell the tale.

But I think I do plenty of other things to myself that would out weigh the dangers of tanning a few times before I go on Vaca. Otherwise I will burn like crazy and isn't that more dangerous than if you were to be tanned? Is tanning better for your health than burning? I don't want to spend 8 days on the islands in the shade and not being able to be touched by my new husband because I didn't want to tan a few times before the vaca. Same as birth control being dangerous for women but is it more so than pregnancy that's unwanted? I think it's all opinion. Risk in life is a daily venture, we outweigh the dangers everyday. In my situation I don't think tanning a few times before vaca is going to cause skin cancer. I think tanning alot for years, yes. 5-7mins once or twice a month for 2 months and never again? Very slight chance of getting skin cancer in that. What 4 times of tanning causing skin cancer? Probably not. 3 times a week for 4 months every year? I could logic that.