I was wondering if you guys would share some of your tanning regimens that involve utilizing a combination of both booths and natural sun? (Both those of you who compete and/or do it for aesthetics only. For those who use the artificial tanning products, I think that I’d be most interested in what you do just for establishing a BASE tan).
Hey…a LOT of people “tan”…but like everything else, a LOT of people do it wrong!
I can’t understand how people can just sit there in the sun. Not that it makes them bad or stupid, but I’ve got to be doing something. I tried sitting & getting a tan & I went back inside afterr about 15mins.
Back when I didn’t care about skin damage and wrecking my tattoos I tanned purposefully. I did it like this. I lived in Hawaii so a booth wasn’t required. First day, 10 minutes on a side with mild sunblock. Second day 15 minutes, third 20. After that you can judge by reactions how much to increase it by. I started off with what we liked to call the 60 Cycle Tan…as white as a guy can get…I was stationed on submarines at the time so 60-90 days of just flourescent lights really gets you pale. You might be able to start off at more than 10 minutes on a side at first. I don’t like booths because the light source is too close so you get pale shadows where the skin folds that real sun won’t give you. It just looks like a fake and bake tan that it is.
And what does nayone know about the fake tanner creams etc. It be nice to be tan and not fry ones skin
I’ve only burned ONCE - happened back in '82 when I fell asleep in the sun and woke up 2hrs later, with a slight burn on my legs. So, I don’t burn - but I don’t spend hours in the sun either. Like Drax, I can’t stand laying in the sun - I gotta be doing something. But after just 10-minutes, I can get a tan. I have naturally dark skin (so does Ko). SO, before a show I usually use the tanning bed 10 days out, and can just be in there for just 15 or 20-minutes and boom I’ve got a REALLY good base. And then it’s just a few coats of Pro-Tan that I need and I’m “stage ready”. BUT I moisterize HEAVILY, too.
I also like to use the tan bed occasionally, it's good for my acute dermatitas.
From my experience they’ve all looked too fake to cut it. I tried atleast three different brands and they all made me turn orange!
sunless.com has lots of info about all the sunless tanners
Ok, how many of you are old enough to remember the old Doonsbury cartoon, where Zonk became this national champion tanner? That was one funny series. Any way, I just got this image of Mr Lion becoming the next Zonker!
I will preface this message with the following: sun or bed tanning will damage your skin and I’m fully aware of this fact. And believe me, I hear the preaching from my dermatologist all the time. However, I do like to tan and I use tanning beds. I usually start in May and go every other day starting at about 4 minutes, working up to 20 minutes. This way, I slowly obtain my tan without burning. My tan looks no different whether I tan outside or in a bed. Once I’m at 20 minutes, I’ll maintain it by going every 2 - 3 days. The salon I go to has both regular and high intensity beds. I just stick with the regular beds. I cover my face with a dark, thick, doubled, towel. I don’t like those bulbs so close to my face. I use a sunless tanner on my face, usually Este Lauder or Lancôme, and never had a problem with it looking fake.
Patricia is right. The most important thing to do is keep your skin moisturized. I use a heavier moisturizer on my body at bedtime, then a lighter moisturizer during the day. Also, if using a self-tanner, you should moisturize first before applying the product.
Remember, tanning bed bulbs are changed on a regular, or sometimes not so regular, basis. A good salon will inform the customer of the new bulbs and will lower the tanning time for the customer. You will get burned if your tanning time does not get adjusted.
Oh, I usually tan through the end of September. I personally don’t like to tan all year round.