STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Andrea Julia · Coach

Tanning...is it really that bad?

Grace · Dooney & Bourke

I guess it depends how bad you think skin cancer is. (sorry, I had to say it) Dark hair and pale skin can be a beautiful contrast.

tara t · Marc Jacobs

i'm a tanner. i haven't tanned in years, but my skin gets icky when i don't tan. just about a month ago, i started to tan once a week.

FashionPrincess · Hermes

My name is FashionPrincess and I am a tanner

I think the key is moderation. I only tan in the middle to late spring to get some color. And when I start tanning I do it slowly as to not burn, since that is the hardest on your skin.

bex · Chanel

quote:
Originally posted by: FashionPrincess
"My name is FashionPrincess and I am a tanner I think the key is moderation. I only tan in the middle to late spring to get some color. And when I start tanning I do it slowly as to not burn, since that is the hardest on your skin."

I use tanning the exact same way... just in the spring to get some color... in fact, i need to start going ASAP...

blubirde · Chanel

I look at it the same way I look at smoking. They're both horribly bad for you but for some reason the instant gratification of them makes people overlook the long-term effects. It's up to you, just like smoking. I don't do either but I care waaaaayyyyy more about the way my skin looks than anything else (I'm kinda vain in that regard) so that keeps me from both tanning and smoking, even if the cancer thing wasn't an issue, which it is.

e_doli · Dooney & Bourke

yes, tanning is that bad. yeah, tanning once in a while is better than tanning every day, but it still damages your skin. any dermatologist will tell you that the only thing that really keeps your skin looking good is avoiding sun exposure.

aside from the obvious, skin cancer (which can kill you), you will accelerate the aging process of your skin. self tanner is the miracle that lets you look good and saves your skin.

doveanunu · Dooney & Bourke

I tan in the summer. However, I do not tan my face (a place a towel over it) and instead use self tanner there instead.

Maven · BCBG

A lot depends on your skin. If you tan easily, rarely burn, and have thicker skin, you can probably tan a bit without damage. If you are northern European with fair skin and light eyes and hair, and if you burn easily and freckle: don't tan. It isn't worth it. I fall into the latter category and I regret my mispent youth trying to get a tan. So far the damage hasn't been too bad--just occasional treatments with liquid nitrogen and some dark spots I'm getting removed, but my blue-eyed blonde sister, who went indoors at age 21 and never went out in the sun again, looks younger than I do, even though she's 5 years older.

Lilykind · Hermes

Tanning is evil

(sincerest apologies to anyone I've offended!)

I have medium skin with golden undertones (always tan, never burn) and I have spent my WHOLE LIFE trying to have pale porcelain skin (my skin is naturally about MAC NC35 or Shiseido O40) because I think the contrast of dark hair and pale skin is breathtakingly beautiful, plus it's so much healthier than baking in the sun or in a bed. The sun is probably the worst thing for your skin. I NEVER go to the beach, almost despite perpetually sunny California weather and I'm a complete nut job about sunscreen especially when I'm spending prolonged periods of time outside. I never leave my apartment without SPF 35 on. I am determined to look like I am still 21 when I'm 40.

Plus, IMHO, anyone of Northern European descent looks ridiculous when they're red faced after sitting in a tanning bed. All of my bosses are currently spending their lunch hours in the tanning bed and they all look red-faced for the rest of the day.

That said, a good self-tanner rocks.

lynnie · Chanel

I think pale skin is beautiful too if that is your natural coloring. I think people look good with some glow in the summer (maybe from a bronzer) but I don't like those artificially super tan faces. I am half-persian so although I tan easily, I always wear a high spf in the sun and spf15 on my face every day-I should probably use even more. My friends mom who is 56 has avoided the sun her whole life (the heat makes her pass out) and she has no wrinkles practically! I am considering buying Jergens natural glow (if i can ever find it! always sold out) on my body and either mixing it with moisturizer for my face or buying a good self tanner for the face. I think thats the route I'm going to go now. I don't want my face to be wrinkly. That's my main concern. Vanity. I doubt I'd get cancer (knock on wood!) from sun just because I'm not a high risk individual and I don't sun worship, but I still don't want to be wrinkly! I know 25 year olds that look 40 because of this...not...good.

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

quote:
Originally posted by: e_doli
"yes, tanning is that bad. yeah, tanning once in a while is better than tanning every day, but it still damages your skin. any dermatologist will tell you that the only thing that really keeps your skin looking good is avoiding sun exposure. aside from the obvious, skin cancer (which can kill you), you will accelerate the aging process of your skin. self tanner is the miracle that lets you look good and saves your skin. "

I agree here.. I was a tanner for years.. and I have just recently decided.. that each time I leave the booth, I feel the skin cancer growing on my body. Also since I found tan towels, I finally have a self-tanner that looks real. I will not go tanning ever again!

sfclinevandy · Coach

Tanning is my vice. I am naturally alabaster (Honestly, that's the name of my Clinique foundation) with almost black hair so in winter I like the contrast. HOWEVER, in summer I feel like an albino and crave color. I used to tan a lot in college but now only limit it to building up a base before I go on vacation. I think a dark tan from a tanning bed is fake looking though and looks mutant-like... nothing like the tan you get from laying in the real sun.

I own a ton of self tanners and love Mystic and just started being airbrushed. It doesn't last as long as the real thing but I know it's not so dangerous.

-- Edited by sfclinevandy at 12:10, 2005-04-14

Elle · Hermes

I have medium tone olive skin and I rarely burn, actually I usually get a tan even with 50 spf on. My (blond haired blue eyed) mother is an avid tanner (like 3 times per week for the last 15 years or so) so I went a couple times in HS with her. I have never burned so badly in my life! I am preparing myself for when she tells me she has skin cancer. I feel like it's just a matter of time.

I also find that tanning in a tanning bed gives an orangey cast to the skin - not attractive. And besides, I went to highschool with literally hundreds of girls who tanned themselves and bleached out their hair religiously - I am thoroughly looking forward to going to my class reunion to see how all these now-bald-and-saggy girls turned out!

Prissy · Dooney & Bourke

I use to tan during the spring/summer months a couple times a week until 2 years ago when I had a scare with skin cancer. I say don't do it. Grant it I hate being pale white and using self tanners but its worth it, I have my life and my family. You have to also think about skin aging. I alreay have a few lines on my forehead.

CarrieS · Marc Jacobs

Tanning is bad for you. I know this, but I still do it once a year, for a month. I love being tan! Self-tanners are too much hassle (time and energy-wise) for me to deal with, and I work 60 hours a week when the sun is out, so I can't get tan the old-fashioned way.

Technically, I shouldn't be doing it because I had a mole removed on my arm a little over 2 years ago that was pre-cancerous, but the desire to be tan always takes over every year.

This is my only really bad health habit. I don't smoke and I don't drink that much, so eh, I guess.

I'm aware of the risks involved but choose to do it anyways. I'm always checking my body for new or changing moles too, so I would be able to catch something if it were too happen. Not that that is a "safe" way to tan....

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

i have naturally very pale skin and dark brown hair. sometimes i really dislike the contrast, and wish i were golden and glowy, but i have vanity too, and want to avoid wrinkles for as looooong as possible. i turn 28 next wednesday, but because i've gotten so into wearing sunscreen every day and not tanning, i look about 10 years younger. sometimes people still think i am in high school, depending on how i'm dressed (not that i want to be mistaken for a teenager). so, take care of your skin! you will be so happy you did as you get older. i tanned occasionally when i was younger, and then stopped in 9th grade or so, and even from that i now have some freckles around my eyes and on my nose.

there is the miracle of self-tanner or shimmer lotions, and whenever i feel too pale, i think about how beautiful liv tyler looks.

poptart · Coach

YES!!!

Sorry, it's for your own good. Here's my evidence (some more anecdotal, I admit):

1. My mom is super pale, and she never tans, and she's 51 and she looks GREAT. Same with my Grandma. My friends' moms who tan look ... bad.

2. I read in shape magazine this month that a study just came out that shows 20 minutes in a tanning bed is equivalent to 4 hours in the sun.

3. You can pick a "tanner" out as soon as they hit 30, IMO. And it isn't pretty.

4. My dermatologist can tell the parts of my body where I've had bad burns w/o me even telling him. This has happened to me with 2 different docs. (thank gosh I've always protected my face, but I hope I don't get skin cancer on my shoulder or the top of my thigh)

bex · Chanel

i think it depends on your genes when it comes to tanning and aging... my sister is 45 and doesn't look a day over 35. she looks fabulous! and i remember when i was a little girl watching my sister bake herself with hawaiian tropic or iodine and baby oil... my sister has no wrinkles and no signs of skin damage- even her derm tells her.

my brother is the exact same way... he is 44 and looks great. he also would BAKE himself outside until he was a lovely red color... the next day he would have a killer tan... again, no wrinkles and doesn't look over 35...

of course, my parents also look young for their age and i always get "what high school do you go to?" when i am 26. i really really think it depends on your genes and how well you take care of your skin... are you using an SPF and still tanning? them IMO its not that bad...

subwolley · Kate Spade

Tanning is bad! It will catch up with you one day, and then you'll look like you're made of leather. Not good.