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Temptalia Asks You - What do you think of tanning?

What do you think of tanning? Is at-home self-tanning (e.g with a lotion) all good, or do you think people shouldn’t tan at all? What about tanning through the sun, booth, etc.?

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lala Avatar

I personally think people shouldnt tan (the tanning bed thing is bad) at all. If you want that glow to your skin they do sale products that can give you that look. Just dont go too cheap or else you’ll be looking like “oompa-loompa”…

I think we each was made to have our own like cute/sexy thing about us…it so happened that my skin is one of those…I have a permanet eva mendez tan when she’s tan lol!..every state, every place..they say how beauitful my skin complexion is…too bad I havent fount the perfect fondation :/…which I dont need thank god!!!…the MSFN is helping me in that department though (thank gosh!!).

but if you dont need it(porcelain beauties) say no to it…i love olive skin that automatically gets tanned. brazilian/italian/jewish/ hispanic/latin/etc are lucky to be able to switch back and forth naturally.

Emmie Avatar

I totally agree with Lala. I’m so jealous of your skintone!
I’m super pale, naturally (NC15) but because of my Italian blood, anytime I’m in the sun I tan sooo quickly! It’s weird to look at myself with a tan, haha.

lala Avatar

beautiful skin you have emme!!!! …each season you get to play w/ different styles of makeup…summer jlo glow to winter dita von teese!! ooh lala lala I’m jealous of you! <3333

Chica Avatar

Tanning beds are horrible, I’d never use one and I don’t understand why anyone would want to.
I’m half spanish so when i’m over there visiting family I tan really quickly(even tho I’m constantly topping up the factor 20) but in the UK i’m pale olivey kind of tone and don’t really want to look any more tanned than that.
I like the idea of lotions but the only one I’ve tried ( Johnsons holiday sun) streaked really badly down the back of my legs and I refused to wear skirts all summer lol :o)
Anyone who does use a tanning moisturiser – which one works for you?

Shefali Avatar

Hi Chica – last year I tried Dove’s self-tanner and it worked well but you have to be consistent and put it everyday. I liked it, but the tan never got deep enough b/c I have olive-toned skin and it just never really made a big enough color difference for me to say that I love it. But in all other aspects it was really good.

missy H Avatar

i think tanning is really bad for you especially with the sunbeds. did you know that 20mins on a sunbed is equal to spending 4 hours in the sun? i’d rather have pale healthy skin like nicole kidmans than an unhealthy orange glow. saying that i do use nivea gradual tan which is very natural and much safer plus it has a lovely apricot scent 🙂

Jillian Avatar

I’m in the same category as Emmie; pale skin that tans easily. When I was younger, I would often lay in the sun to tan or even visit a tanning booth. I looked good with a tan. But now, especially since I work at night, I don’t even bother with tanning.

I’ve used the Jergen’s Natural Glow a couple times, but I guess I’m just too lazy to use it everyday! Besides, I have very oily/acne prone skin and am afraid to use any tanning products on my face. How wierd would that look to see someone with a totally tan body and a pale face? Hahaha.
So…I just wear sunscreen and try to avoid future wrinkles.

Shefali Avatar

I’m from India and have olive-toned skin so I tan really easily, even when I don’t try. I love my skin tone and don’t believe in tanning. I used to in my teens and early 20s, but knowing all the damage that tanning causes (except with self-tanners), I definitely avoid it at all costs. Plus self-tanners turn my skin orange.

Aim Avatar

I hate tanning. While it’s a personal choice, it makes me really sad to see someone really young (teens or early 20’s) with a hardcore fake-n-bake on. I grew up in Southern California, and tanned easily. However, my natural tone is very pale. I just have that ability to tan. Back in the day we used to slather ourselves in baby oil and lay out in the backyard all day long. When I was about 18 I started going to the tanning booth to get that same tan in a shorter time.

Now I’m 35 and have pretty bad sun damage. I have to work really hard to hide the brown spots, and I’ve had a deep wrinkle in my forehead for about 10 years. I always thought “well who cares – I’ll look good now and it won’t affect me til I’m old anyway.” Yeah well I’m definitely not old, and here I am thinking about a laser peel to try to prevent skin cancer.

Seriously, use the lotions and sprays. Don’t chance having skin cancer or wrinkles or nasty age spots on your forehead in 10 years. It sucks.

Critty Avatar

I am pasty, pasty white and don’t tan at all. I sometimes burn, but I usually just stay the same pasty white shade. I used to use the Jergens self tanner but then I became allergic to the chemical that gives the fake tan. I liked the Jergens because I could get a little bit of color without going orange. I don’t mind fake tans, but I detest tanning beds. I have many relatives who are my age, but they look a lot older from their tanorexia damage. I love my bronzer in the summer too 🙂

Tekoa Avatar

Oiy! Tanning beds are very bad! One does not need to damage their skin to look like a golden diva. Tanning lotions are a much better idea, though I’ve never used them.

Tanning just isn’t for me. I’m NC 15 and I personally enjoy being very pale. In fact I tend to emphasise it. Dita Von Teese is my fashion hero. 🙂

naomi Avatar

I think tanning is absolutely disgusting- naturally tanning (by working outside, etc) is fine – but intentionally seeking out to tan is just plain wrong in my opinion. Not only is it bad for your health, but it causes premature aging, skin damage, etc.
Last year a caucasian woman I knew (who would literally tan to the point where she would look african american) died from severe skin cancer, at the age of 38.

I suppose it could be argued that makeup is the same- we intentionally wear it to look different… but i don’t know-i think we should just be happy with what we were given: pale or dark.

Stacey Avatar

I prefer being my own, pale NW15 self. I don’t actually like summmer anyway because I burn so easily.. and I certainly don’t need anymore freckles!! Maybe for a special occasion I would use self tanner only so I didn’t look like I could glow in the dark. I’m surprised some people still use tanning beds and I think they should be banned. There’s no need for them anymore because there are so many products available these days.

xbrookecorex Avatar

I personally feel like everybody looks hotter (and thinner) with a tan. I’m very pale, and VERY self conscious about it. The only time I will wear shorts and show any skin is when I’ve been tanning. I tanned (in beds) all through highschool and part of college, and it took my mother those 6 years to scare me out of it by sending me articles and youtube clips of people with skin diseases and stuff from tanning beds.

Now I haven’t been tanning in 2 years, and I MISS IT like crazy, but am also pretty scared out of it, and know I shouldnt do it. Now I load on bronzer on my face, and don’t show the rest of my body.

I’m too lazy to try using a lotion or spray-on type, I just figure it will look streaky unless I put a lot of time into it, and then it’s going to wash off anyway.

Amanda Avatar

I use to like to tan in the sun, but it alwyas took forever for me to show some colour. Which is pretty weird becasue I’m very pale. Now Im so afraid of skin cancer I dont tan at all and alwyas wear my sun screen. Ive tried a few sunless tanners but there not for me. Being orange just isnt for me.

kat Avatar

I don’t like tanning and I won’t do it myself. If I get a tan it’s because I’m jogging or running around outdoors. I can see justification in getting a tan to prep for an exotic, sunny location if you are pale though. To adjust your skin I guess 🙂

Jennifer Avatar

I’m not a fan of tanning – I think everyone looks best with their natural skin color. I’m exceptionally pale, but with self-tanner, I feel like I don’t look like myself, so I’ve given up using it. Like Tekoa, I’m NC15 and proud of it – I’ve gone to great lengths to keep my skin in good condition. And I don’t think anyone should EVER tan in a booth – it’s even worse than tanning in the sun, which isn’t great either.

Cristina Avatar

I have been told just how bad tanning really is but I’ll be the first to admit I tan alot.
Every other day.
I love my tan and it gets me great compliments.
It hides my imperfections, and hides my cellulite…Not that I have any rite ladys. 😉
It makes my face clear up and I love haveing that glow.
I over mositerize so it’s ok. rite??
Love your site temptalia ;>

raven Avatar

my personal opinion is stay away from damaging light. I personally have not sat out in the sun in over 8 years and as far as tanning @ home or a tan salon, never.

The best compliments received are when I so out without makeup. Somehow age comes up in conversation and I tell my age, 53, heehee and they are quite surprised and want to know my secret of looking young.

Winnie Avatar

Tans are a funny thing and varies hugely across the world. In Hong Kong (where my family are from) kits are sold to ‘whiten’ faces. The paler, the more beautiful. While in Japan you have the Shibuya girls who tan their faces to the extreme (google them, they are scary!).
Personally I don’t tan because being chinese my skin is naturally Olive. We all know lying in the sun tanning is bad for you but the discolouration of the skin (as a result of lying in the sun) is actually a sign that the skin is being damaged! So think about that one next time you’re lying in the sun.

Erin Avatar

Please do not tan every other day! Ouch, and how expensive.
It’s not a question of if you will get skin cancer, it is a question of when.

Tanning should be a once or twice in a year thing, if that. I worry a lot about exposure to the sun.

Tanya Avatar

I dislike tanning, its icky. BUT like many I would slater on the baby oil (yep no spf at all) and lay out until a dark red’ish brown when I was a teen. Now instead I slater on SPF 100, at a minimum, anytime I am outside. I know a majority of the damage has been done and I have had a few irregular beauty marks removed. Now I just try and pamper my pale skin 🙂 Makes my tattooes look better to be pale 🙂

Kristen Avatar

Tanning is one of my worst habits. I have tried to do lotions and things like that, but laying in the tanning bed really does make me feel better. Something about the light. I always say, fat looks better tan.

Faiza Avatar

Its funny that you should ask that. I’m from Pakistan and I have like a warm skin color. When I went to Pakistan I noticed how women over there would do anything to have fair/white skin. They even went to the extremes to get a foundation 2 or 3 shades lighter than their own skin and use chemicals for skin LIGHTENING.

Over here in America it’s like the complete opposite, lol. So therefore I refuse to tan. I am so happy with the skin color I have I just wish I could get rid of this acne that i have :(.

I think tanning booths/ sun tanning are horrible… why give yourself something else to worry about (wrinkles, freckles, sunspots, and to top it all cancer)? However I think lotions are fine as long as there are no harmful chemicals. 🙂

M. Avatar

I tanned a few times many years ago in high school, but absolutely wouldn’t dream about doing it now. I’m at the age where sun damage is starting to show, and I don’t want to help that process along at all. I use strong sunscreen every day (even in winter!), and avoid long exposure to the sun if I can help it. I do, however, love a bit of a glow and use products out there to help with that. But sun exposure and/or a tanning bed are just out of the question. I don’t want skin cancer!

Aurora Avatar

i used to tan whenever i go for a swim.. but after getting dark spots i decided to call it quits! its nice to hav a golden tan..afterall it’l giv u dat healthy sporty look.. but being fair as snow white isn’t dat bad too ya? and most fair skinned ladies look younger den their age 🙂

Jenny Avatar

I’ve never gone out of my way to be tanned. I’m Asian and have to agree with what others said about certain cultures. In my culture, the women seek to be pale (whitening soaps/creams/chemicals). I’m sure my culture influenced me not to tan. I slather on a good coat of sunscreen even if I’m not under direct sunlight. Besides, my co-worker (she’s in her late 50’s) tanned everyday for YEARS and her skin is bad. She has really bad tell-tell age spots on her arms, forearms, chest/neck area and especially her face. She’s even had skin cancer.

Sal Avatar

I don’t think theres even a reason to go lay in the sun or in a tanning booth anymore. DIY self tanners are pretty good these days from what I hear.. it’s just a matter of shopping around and looking for one that doesn’t look too orange or streaky on you.
I don’t tan. Not on purpose anyway :p I’m Indian so I’m generally mocha all the time.
I’ve heard funny things about carrot juice and tanning though. lol

Tosha Avatar

As a makeup artist, I cringe when I hear young girls going to the tanning salon to bake under those beds. I’ve seen girls with wrinkles deeper and more coarse than ones that my grandmother has.

I just did a review of Fusion Beauty’s GlowFusion dye-less tanner here if you want to check it out:)

claudine Avatar

i dont tan in the sun or tanning beds but i do use self tanner a light one during winter and a professional airbrush solution for a darker tan in summer i use body bronzers and body make up too (airbrush) lol sounds like alot of work but i got used to it 😉

Carole Avatar

Tanning is just sun damage any way you look at it. Tanning beds should be outlawed because they are much worse than just being in the sun and so many people don’t know that. Sunscreen rules.

Stephanie Avatar

I’m very pale, but would never go in a tanning bed. I do feel better with some color so I do use sunless stuff occasionally. For just a little color the L’Oreal Sublime Glow moisturizing mist spray is good and very natural looking. A lot of products can look orangey and nasty, but that one is good and also the Oil of Olay Overnight lotion for a good amount of color. I’ve used the Jergens before but it wasn’t that great and smells so bad! I don’t mind being pale in general, but if I’m wearing shorts or something I need some color (periwinkle legs do not look good!)
My mother has been treated for precancerous cells on her chest and face and said it is very painful, not to mention the scabs from the treatments look gross and you can’t cover that shit up! I don’t want to go through that, thanks!

Jenn Avatar

While I personally can tan under a regular light bulb I do not feel ill toward tanning beds. Like anything when done in moderation it is ok, however if you are prone to hyperpigmentation from the UVA rays I suggest stay away but once or twice a year is OK provided you follow the recommended exposure time and tanning bed…(ie: if your pale dont use a super bed for 10 minutes)

Erin Avatar

Spray tans are actually really cool! Just make sure to lotion up so you don’t have spots, and it’ll give you the special event look you are craving without turning you into leather.

Carolina Avatar

Tanning beds are cancer machines! Don’t do it!
I don’t do any kind of tanning other than the natural going to the beach sort of thing, but I don’t resent people who like it. I have a mediterranean complexion, and in the winter I tend to go a pale side of olive which is not at all flatering, but I’m not bothered enough to apply self-tanner. But nowadays you have a really wide range of self-tanners that work in different ways, to make sure you end up looking natural, so for those that prefer a tan, I would really recommend them.
As for me, I use the SPF15 every single day and at least SPF30 for summer. Although that prevents some tanning, the use of protection also makes your tan last longer and be more homogeneous.

Grace Avatar

I’m pretty pale, NW15 sometimes less, and I never tan… just burn. I wouldn’t change this at all, the closest I come to it is using a light hand with bronzer to contour my face. This aside, I love ladies who naturally have darker skintones – it looks great on them! What I don’t love is when someone looks overly baked or orange, it’s just not pretty and when you can tell someone uses a tanning bed too often it just reeks of cancer.

In my book, sticking with what you have is probably the best – there’s a way to rock any skintone.

Monica Avatar

Personally, I am a big fan of the tanned look but obtained in a safe way such as self tanners or via make up. I am really against tanners who go to tanning beds or lay out in the sun. There are 1 million + new skin cancers found each year, which is a shockingly scary figure. And the tanning beds & the sun = UV-A rays. The oompa lumpa look and leather skin aren’t cute. And plus it ages you. I’m all about SPF! You only get one skin and if you damage it early on, then you’ll have to go through expensive methods to correct it.

Charlotte Avatar

I don’t tan. I don’t understand why people do it. I generally don’t think tans look good; and tan lines look worse! I am naturally pale and love it.

Kirsten Avatar

I am NW25 but get deep brownish color in the summer. I use a tanning bed moderately, about 3 times a week but ONLY in spring and summer. In winter and fall seasons i just use bronzer and blush on my cheeks more often so i dont look overly tanned when theres snow on the ground. I am aware of the dangers of tanning but its true that the more melatonin in your skin the better you feel, and it can be addicting. everyone tends to feel a little better with some sun on their face and self-tanning lotions dont always look as good on me.

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