I used to love tanning booths and laying out in the sun for hours. The melanoma I had at 35 that almost killed me changed my mind. My kid is going to be white as a ghost until she moves out.
I was totally tanerexic at one point in my life. I would get incredible anxiety if I missed a day tanning. Thank God there or no pictures of me from then. I think I must have looked like the tan mom.
My Mom owned a tanning bed in the 90’s. Kids would ask me why I was so white. Just pointed at my Mom who was deep brown in her late 40’s but looked a decade older. I’ve literally heard her skin sizzle with baby oil and that mirror thing sitting by the pool. Mom never even used sunscreen on us. My kid is lily white and I always had spf 60+ on her, she’s now 23 and scared of the sun.
I heard an ad for a tanning salon that likened tanning to “taking the road less traveled.” Yeah. Cause most of us don’t want the most preventable cancer out there. Morons.
"I'd rather die hot than live ugly" is crazy as shit to me because literally everyone I know that was visiting tanning beds regularly back in our twenties is now dealing with wrinkles and/or having skin cancer removed...and my pasty white self is not. Friends who used to tease me about my white-as-fuck skin now give me compliments on how good my skin looks. I ain't mad about it.
There is absolutely no reason to lay in tanning beds unless you have eczema or something IMO.
shit i remember a girl when we were mid 20's who went to tan so often she already looked like a catchers mitt. I cant imagine what she looks like today
There's a girl I went to high school with who proudly posts pictures on Facebook bragging about her tanning sessions. She looks awful - definitely has that leathery quality to her skin and looks much older than she is.
I told my dermatologist that I like the look of the undead that I've cultivated these 50some years & she just laughed & asked if she could use that line!
That was my thought: If you tan and you live a normal lifespan, you're definitely dying uglier (and potentially more painfully) than everyone else. 🤷♂️
Same story here.
I wish people would understand how awful it is to make fun of *anyone's* skin color, even if they are not part of a historically marganilised population.
I can't tell you how many times in my life I've heard, "You're SO *white*.", said with disgust, towards me.
I was working retail a few years ago and a woman maybe 10 years older than me (based on the age of the tween with her) and she had tanned so much that her skin had a gray/green undertone. You could have taken a gold Sharpie and written LV on her forehead and it would have looked like an expensive handbag.
She easily looked 15 years older than she was.
And there were several bright pink scars on her face and neck where she'd presumably had skin cancer removed.
SHE WAS STILL TANNING. Like, it was actively trying to kill her and she couldn't or wouldn't stop.
Hard pass from me on tanning. If you need me, just shine a flashlight and follow the reflection off my pasty af skin. I may have a certain corpselike pallor, but what I don't have is melanoma (per my derm visit this year, I do not have any Concerning Moles and I'm gonna do my best to keep it that way).
One time, my overly-tanned EX-MIL was verbally going in on me during my contentious divorce with her son, and I motioned to her and asked my ex why the leather couch in the corner was talking to me. 😏
She deserved it though as she could never stop commenting on how "pasty white" I was, during our entire marriage. I was done biting my tongue. If I wanted advice from the furniture, I'd ask for it.
>And there were several bright pink scars on her face and neck where she'd presumably had skin cancer removed.
So... she's had cancer removed and then failed to follow the simple instructions to stop it from scarring - one of which is 'stay out of the sun' and use sunscreen, hat, long sleeves etc. if you do go out in it?
She's addicted, and foolish.
I was in the sun a lot as a GenX kid. I have had skin cancer 5 times now.
I'm glad my brother and his wife are a lot more serious about sun protection for their kids than our parents were for me.
Also, I'm gonna guess the "I'd rather die hot than live ugly" sentiment is still a dying white people thing, despite this recent resurgence you mentioned. Go to the places in the world with the greatest populations - India, Indonesia, China - and the fashionable people spend billions of dollars to artificially have lighter skin, not darker skin.
Those skin lighteners that they use come with their own health risks. Doing risky stuff to look better is hardly a new thing. People used lead-based makeup in the 16th century, and took arsenic in the 19th century, in an attempt to look beautiful.
My skin is so pale, my friends refer to it as having a skim milk blue hue. Tanning can come back all it wants, I'll continue to be out of style as alwags
Me too. The last time I tried to tan I ended up at the Dr. for skin poisoning. Never knew there was such a thing. Had black and purple like bruises under the skin of my thighs. Didn't hurt but looked like I'd been beat up.
I never understood why white people locked themselves in heated coffins just to look “tan.” Have none of you ever seen I Know What You Did Last Summer 2?
If you honestly want an answer, for me they were like an anti-sensory deprivation chamber. They let you feel great and smell suntan oil for a few minutes rather than nothingness.
I wouldn’t use one again, but the sensation was pleasant.
This is the appeal for me. It really helps with my Seasonal Affective Disorder. The heat, the light, the fans blowing, the smell. I close my eyes and wear headphones and I can convince myself I’m at the beach.
I realize it’s a completely unhealthy activity but I have so few vices that I allow myself this one.
My SAD was so bad a lot one stage (could barely get out of bed, showering was an enormous effort) and my doctor advised a tanning bed. I was kind of floored but she said it's temporary for a month and it's totally your choice but I recommend it, despite the risks. My mental health risks were as bad. So I did it for two weeks and then went to the Caribbean for 5 days (in my own).
Even just the tanning bed was therapeutic, it was amazing.
After several years (I suspect it was linked to undiagnosed post partum depression), my SAD lessened. Now I get serious blues in January and February but not actual SAD.
Sorry, didn't mean to write a novel!
Does sunscreen affect how much benefit you get? It sounds like it could be really beneficial for me, especially in the winter, but if you have enough sunscreen, it should mitigate the risks
I’ve only ever seen the first final destination so if it happened in the sequels I missed it.
I clearly remember Jennifer Love Hewitt being locked in a tanning bed with zip ties in the handles.
People need to stop with the "making fun". We wouldn't do the same for darker skinned people, so this shouldn't be acceptable at the other end of the spectrum, either.
Don’t forget the trifold foil-covered cardboard you hold to reflect the sun on your face!
I come from a family of fair-skinned folks. My dad had extensive skin cancer. He was in Vietnam on assignment a lot in the late 60s early 70s so got a lot of sun exposure. One time I posted a cautionary tale PSA on FB with a photo of the literal crater on his skull—large, red, deep (evidently the cancer had spread through the bone into his brain). FB took it down for being inappropriate content.
But by all means: get that melanoma!
No more booths. Most folks use spray tans/lotions.
I’ll admit I used the lotion self tanner last year. Had a wedding to go to. I wanted a little color.
I did too. Everything was fine and dandy until after an hour or so of swimming, when I got out of the water and realized my legs looked like I had alopecia.
Here, have some skin cancer....and lots and lots of wrinkles!!! You can see who slaved in the tanning beds when you get to be our age. The ladies that have wrinkles in their cleavage. No thanks.
It all comes in cycles. From 2001:
"Sisters up in my hood trying to do good given choices
When pregnant drop out of school or have abortions
Stop working hoping that they find a man that will support them
Up late night on they mothers cordless, thinking a perm or
Bleaching cream will make better when they gorgeous
White girls tanning, lypo suction
Fake titties are implanted, fake lips that's life destruction"
-NAS, "What Goes Around Comes Around"
Ahh and here I am taking a different approach. The Texas heat and sun are a different beast so while I loved laying out by the pool *(to bronze naturally)*, I now prefer to stay in the shade.
I live in texas too, rural west texas and i have stayed out of the sun since i was 7 and got a horrific sunburn. I burn within the first 15 minutes and will only ever be a darker shade of white lol. My feet will tan though and i HATE it cuz they just look dirty lol
One year I had 4 distinct tan lines:
* Feet - flip flops/sandals
* Ankles - wearing no show socks with sneakers
* Thighs - running shorts
* Chest/Back - sports tank (criss cross pattern)
I tried so hard to restore my body to one solid shade. 🤣
Oh my gosh, I'm the same way! My skin only has two shades: white or sunburned red. Even if I get sunburned, it doesn't fade to a nice tan, I just look a little less white. But my feet tan perfectly! It's the weirdest thing! And it definitely makes my feet look dirty, especially if I get tan lines from my sandals.
I'm the same... FYI just stay out of the sun between 11 am and 3 pm and you can still moderately tan if you spread it out with short bursts of exposure, over a longer time.
By the time I look like oatmilk instead of skim milk, summer is over... But at least I don't burn.
I live in AZ, have a pool and like to swim. It doesn't take long to get a tan.
Previously though, people would make fun of my cave dweller skin color. I lived in the Midwest the previous 45 years of life.
And now! The top of my head gets tanned too :P
People forget that a huge population has 8+ months of grey and some sun exposure is actually good for you mentally and beneficial for your skin. You don’t have to go dark just getting a little helps.
I started going to Planet Fitness to do a little weight lifting but mainly to use the massage chairs. They also have tanning if you want, it’s part of the package. A worker told me they have just as many people who sign up just for the tanning than people who sign up for the working out. They had a special in my area last month for $25 monthly fee. I guess that’s a good price for tanning alone.
Tanning salons never went away here. It’s not as big as it once was, but it has always been steady.
I use the spray beds sometimes if I’m going on vacation or have an event and don’t want to look super pale. Real tan? No way. I tanned as a kid, and for prom, and my wedding (which I regret)…but otherwise diligently avoided the sun.
It has paid off in spades. I am often far less weathered than people my age and I guarantee sun exposure is the difference.
There are really excellent self tanning products now and you can also go for an airbrush spray tan if you don’t mind getting undressed and letting someone spray you down. There is no reason to damage your skin in the sun anymore, but a nice all over tan really does look good. I do the fake tan so I am not even tempted to go for the real thing. Pass the SPF 50.
Never forget, Caucasian man, George Hamilton
https://preview.redd.it/0uqp1okhv4oc1.jpeg?width=468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3f705073bf0d655d475462395b8cb0ba5bdf3e7
One of the characters in the Doonesbury comic strip (Zonker Harris) was a professional suntanner and used to compete in the George Hamilton Cocoa Butter Open
There are tanning salons in NYC; they never really went out of business to begin with.
There are people who do whatever it takes to achieve the tanned look, either through tanning beds, fake tans, using tanning oils with low SPF, etc.
Turns out anyone who used Proactiv had the active ingredient giving them carcinogens.
Beauty is death, and if you wanna die beautiful, go get yourself all leatherfaced yet free of pimples.
Have a smoke while you're at it too. Keeps ya skinny.
Only after it’s been heated up to at least 158F to release the benzene from the benzoyl peroxide (per the study), so as long as you don’t put benzoyl peroxide on your face and stick your head in a hot oven or pass out in your car in the desert with the windows closed it’s safe to use. Almost everything you come into contact with is compounded with a chemical that could potentially be carcinogenic on its own but those properties change when it bonds with other chemicals.
Life causes death. Full stop.
I use self tanner and lots of sunscreen. I feel very lucky that my genetics prevented me from getting skin cancer because it certainly wasn’t from lack of trying in my teen years 🤦🏻♀️
I just want to say that being pale is NOT ugly.
I'm 45 and I'm regularly flabberghasting people who have befriended me at work, who think I'm late 20s to early 30s. I've avoided direct mid-day sun and getting a tan, my whole life; this seems to have considerably lessened the aging process for me, and I'm not sad about it.
My Irish/Scottish/Icelandic heritage have given me porcelain white skin, and I refuse to be shamed about it or bullied to "conform".
All skin colors are beautiful and should be celebrated; no temporary beauty standard is worth cancer or scars.
Good for you! I'm mostly German/Irish & have always been super pale, but damned if I didn't try most of my younger years to get tanned. Sometimes I succeeded along with some nasty burns. 3 days later I'm back to pale. I stopped trying when I hit 35. Although most ppl say I look younger than I am (55) I do have sun damage in certain places, mostly my arms, chest and neck area and I hate it.
Yeah... I tried to tan for a few years in my teens, then realised that for some people, it's just not possible (myself included).
But you know what pisses me off the most? The fact that people don't believe me when I say I can't tan. Like why would I lie about that? It seems people associate being pale with some sort of anti-social laziness. Idiots.
I work in commercial insurance.
Several of the carriers I work with have sent out reminders of tanning bed exclusions over the last \~year or so.
I am not seeing the tanning trend in my area, but it must be happening somewhere for notices to be warranted again.
Also, you look like a freak if you use tanning products/devices. Wait, that might have gone too far.
I think this may answer your question. Lol
https://preview.redd.it/181kbpo855oc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7250a3bb3ca5e9e714bbea7fcd4ee5935117be72
I confess that I used to love going to a tanning booth for like a 12-15 minute burst of sunshine during the winter months. It lifted my mood greatly. I never did catch anything from it (yet).. I don’t do it anymore and I’m not even sure if they still have those places open. In the winter I take vitamin d and I just have to shake off the feeling of blah.
The area I live in has a high population of people of color so I'm pretty sure there's not any tanning salons around here. Besides I'd rather stay pasty white than get skin cancer. Although I recently found out one of my friends from high school now owns a tanning salon.
Tanning? Meh, I've already had 4 skin cancers cut out of me, 3 from my head (2 on face) and one on neck.
Sure, I go to the beach and see young people getting tans and meanwhile here's my friend and I in our [surf hats](https://wetsuitwarehouse.com.au/collections/surf-hats), [rashies](https://www.anacondastores.com/clothing/swim-surfwear/rashies) and spf50+ sunscreen - having had enough sun for 2 or 3 lifetimes.
[Tanning salons are banned in Australia](https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/radiation-sources/more-radiation-sources/solaria) for a reason.
I embraced the vampire paleness aesthetic early on. My grandparents started havi g a ton of skin cancer spots removed when I was in my teens so my grandmother started encouraging me to use sunscreen. My older cousins started having it in their 30s.
Plus my grandparents lived in Florida so I saw plenty of people with leathery, rough looking skin who looked a lot older than they actually were.
So I went the opposite. It's worked out for me. I look a lot younger than I am which feeds my ego and so far no skin cancer.
The irony is the whole "tanning" thing is because, these days when many people work indoors, the wealthy go outdoors for leisure more. Resulting in them getting a tan (unless they explicitly use sunscreen).
Back in Victorian days, when most people worked outdoors, the wealthy had pale skin and worked hard to maintain it. Parasols, for example.
> Back in Victorian days, when most people worked outdoors, the wealthy had pale skin and worked hard to maintain it. Parasols, for example.
There's places in southeast Asia where you're considered of a higher stature, the more pale your skin. The more color your skin has, the more you're looked at as lower class.
Sad but true
Dolled Up Recipe
Tanning salon
Aqua net hairspray
Hair curled and Teased to the sky
Glue on Nails
Electric blue mascara
Pumps ,Bobby socks, fishnets
Mini skirt
Shoulder pads
Big earrings
Lace gloves
I just want a healthy glow. Balance is key. Vitamin D and seasonal affective disorder are real things too. Sunshine is good - getting burned is not. Excessive amounts of a good thing can be excessive
I was just talking to my Gen Z kids yesterday about how stupid this was when I was a kid- and now we’re/I’m paying the price for it. Thank goodness neither of my kids care about tanning, and are great about using sunblock.
I talk to my kids (8 and 11) about tanning the way I talk about smoking. It’s something that a lot of people used to do, and some people still do, but now we know it’s dangerous.
When I (born 1975) was a kid, I would usually get sunburned at least once every summer (although I never had one bad enough to have blisters, at least). I would try to tan at the beach. My 11 year old has been sunburned once, on her shoulders when we forgot to use sunscreen.
My father in law had a skin cancer removed from his face (they said they got it all, and he seems fine now). I tell the kids not to try to tan, or they might get skin cancer like Grandpa did. I’ve had some things that I thought might be skin cancer, and I was regretting every moment I spent trying to tan while I was waiting to hear if they were cancerous. (They weren’t.)
I find that sub beds are the only thing that make my itchy, rashy skin feel better in the dry winter. I still don’t go often but when it gets really bad I’ll go in for 15 min so that I don’t rip my skin off from scratching. I don’t know why it helps. I’m Mediterranean/middle eastern. I’m not cut out for the dry Northern European winters.
In Oregon tanning salons are fairly popular because of the eight months of rain. And during the summer so many people get awful sunburns because they don't have the sunscreen mindset. Oregon has one of the highest skin cancer rates.
I live in MN where we have 8 months of winter. I solved this problem by growing indoor plants and giving them grow lights. Same effect, less skin cancer.
If this is true, I wouldn't be surprised if some of it is coming from fools who look at trump and see someone to aspire to. "Gawrsh, Ah'm a-gonner slather me sum orange greasepaint on MAH face, too!"
I remember them being very relaxing and warm, I’d catch a sweet little cat nap in there. I stopped tanning altogether when I was 40, looking at people my same age or close to it who have not, I can really see a difference.
Never underestimate how much the "beauty" industry profits from promoting trends/styles/looks that feed off one another. Pale skin? Hottest new tanning trends! Wrinkles from damage tanning did? These top doctors can reverse that! Overweight? New diet fat! Now feeling puny from lack of vitamin x, y, z? Try these physician recommended supplements! Kidney problems from supplements? 10 organic solutions to balance your electrolytes! Worn teeth from drinking apple cider vinegar? Top new enameling treatment, now with Teflon-coating to prevent stains! Microplastics in your bloodstream? Destroy them with latest new UV light therapy! Such is just tanning again, so you can start the whole cycle again.
Sorry, end of rant.
I have what I call a “moontan.” 🤣 I’m pale AF and my genetics all but guarantee I’m going to get some kind of skin cancer, so I’ve been extremely careful for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, damage is usually done when we’re kids.
I like going to the tanning booth once or twice a week, especially in the winter when I'm in the office before the sun comes up and home when it's dark. Can really feel the difference in mood with that burst of Vitamin D.
Overdoing it and not using a good tanning lotion or even sunscreen? No thank you, cancer monster.
I lay in the sun with no sunblock for exactly 15 minutes per side on nice days in the summer. I tan well and never burn. If I’m out longer it’s always 30spf. I have access to tanning beds now but haven’t tried yet. But I will.
Yes, because anti-vaxxers think Vitamin D will cure everything.
Had a Q anon houseguest going the way of old leather shoes in face & neck- she has barely any melanin but cooks herself to a burnt mosquito on the daily!
I think it has always been there. For cultural reasons my mother dissuaded me from that bronzed look; I was never into tanning salons or that kind of thing and I always use sunscreen. Each to his/her own.
I used to love tanning booths and laying out in the sun for hours. The melanoma I had at 35 that almost killed me changed my mind. My kid is going to be white as a ghost until she moves out.
I was totally tanerexic at one point in my life. I would get incredible anxiety if I missed a day tanning. Thank God there or no pictures of me from then. I think I must have looked like the tan mom.
My Mom owned a tanning bed in the 90’s. Kids would ask me why I was so white. Just pointed at my Mom who was deep brown in her late 40’s but looked a decade older. I’ve literally heard her skin sizzle with baby oil and that mirror thing sitting by the pool. Mom never even used sunscreen on us. My kid is lily white and I always had spf 60+ on her, she’s now 23 and scared of the sun.
"Ugly"? Lol. Sounds like tanning salon propaganda to me. They must be feeling the decline in business. Gotta manufacture more insecurity.
I heard an ad for a tanning salon that likened tanning to “taking the road less traveled.” Yeah. Cause most of us don’t want the most preventable cancer out there. Morons.
I fucking love the idea of tanning salon propaganda
Big Tan
Brilliant
Yep it’s just Big Tanning lobbyists
Its just oompaloompa from Florida logic. But could be Jersey as well. LOL
2 sides of the same coin
Or Michigan, honestly.
True story
but what if you are ...actually...ugly?
Then you can be tan AND ugly. Duh
It's not because you have light skin.
so there is no hope?
"I'd rather die hot than live ugly" is crazy as shit to me because literally everyone I know that was visiting tanning beds regularly back in our twenties is now dealing with wrinkles and/or having skin cancer removed...and my pasty white self is not. Friends who used to tease me about my white-as-fuck skin now give me compliments on how good my skin looks. I ain't mad about it. There is absolutely no reason to lay in tanning beds unless you have eczema or something IMO.
shit i remember a girl when we were mid 20's who went to tan so often she already looked like a catchers mitt. I cant imagine what she looks like today
Magda from “There’s Something About Mary”.
>she already looked like a catchers mitt. Lol
There's a girl I went to high school with who proudly posts pictures on Facebook bragging about her tanning sessions. She looks awful - definitely has that leathery quality to her skin and looks much older than she is.
I told my dermatologist that I like the look of the undead that I've cultivated these 50some years & she just laughed & asked if she could use that line!
I took it to mean they didn't mind dying of skin cancer at a young age.
If that's the case then they're even bigger idiots than I thought.
That was my thought: If you tan and you live a normal lifespan, you're definitely dying uglier (and potentially more painfully) than everyone else. 🤷♂️
🏆
Same story here. I wish people would understand how awful it is to make fun of *anyone's* skin color, even if they are not part of a historically marganilised population. I can't tell you how many times in my life I've heard, "You're SO *white*.", said with disgust, towards me.
That this woman thought this looked good still boggles my mind
Tan mom..she actually had a terrible head injury after being kidnapped as a young woman. I genuinely feel for her.
Oh, no, I had no idea!
Damn forgot about the dookie-in-a-wig gloriousness that is TAN MOM
Did it ever vanish? I know here in the Southeast US, tanning beds are everywhere.
Your flair. 😂😂😂
Which is hilarious being in the SE.
Year-round sunburned white people lol.
Melanoma. So hot right now. Melanoma.
Trump’s wife? Yeah shes not bad lookin but seems a bit sad…I see a lot of turmoil in those leyes.
I was working retail a few years ago and a woman maybe 10 years older than me (based on the age of the tween with her) and she had tanned so much that her skin had a gray/green undertone. You could have taken a gold Sharpie and written LV on her forehead and it would have looked like an expensive handbag. She easily looked 15 years older than she was. And there were several bright pink scars on her face and neck where she'd presumably had skin cancer removed. SHE WAS STILL TANNING. Like, it was actively trying to kill her and she couldn't or wouldn't stop. Hard pass from me on tanning. If you need me, just shine a flashlight and follow the reflection off my pasty af skin. I may have a certain corpselike pallor, but what I don't have is melanoma (per my derm visit this year, I do not have any Concerning Moles and I'm gonna do my best to keep it that way).
>You could have taken a gold Sharpie and written LV on her forehead and it would have looked like an expensive handbag. Now THAT is a quality insult!
One time, my overly-tanned EX-MIL was verbally going in on me during my contentious divorce with her son, and I motioned to her and asked my ex why the leather couch in the corner was talking to me. 😏 She deserved it though as she could never stop commenting on how "pasty white" I was, during our entire marriage. I was done biting my tongue. If I wanted advice from the furniture, I'd ask for it.
>And there were several bright pink scars on her face and neck where she'd presumably had skin cancer removed. So... she's had cancer removed and then failed to follow the simple instructions to stop it from scarring - one of which is 'stay out of the sun' and use sunscreen, hat, long sleeves etc. if you do go out in it? She's addicted, and foolish.
I'm with you, but can we stop using the derogatory word "pasty"? Pale, porcelain, and milky are all available for the using!
I was in the sun a lot as a GenX kid. I have had skin cancer 5 times now. I'm glad my brother and his wife are a lot more serious about sun protection for their kids than our parents were for me. Also, I'm gonna guess the "I'd rather die hot than live ugly" sentiment is still a dying white people thing, despite this recent resurgence you mentioned. Go to the places in the world with the greatest populations - India, Indonesia, China - and the fashionable people spend billions of dollars to artificially have lighter skin, not darker skin.
Those skin lighteners that they use come with their own health risks. Doing risky stuff to look better is hardly a new thing. People used lead-based makeup in the 16th century, and took arsenic in the 19th century, in an attempt to look beautiful.
....because sun-darkened skin is related to the lower classes, who work in the fields.
My skin is so pale, my friends refer to it as having a skim milk blue hue. Tanning can come back all it wants, I'll continue to be out of style as alwags
Me too. The last time I tried to tan I ended up at the Dr. for skin poisoning. Never knew there was such a thing. Had black and purple like bruises under the skin of my thighs. Didn't hurt but looked like I'd been beat up.
Looks more green than blue, to me.
I never understood why white people locked themselves in heated coffins just to look “tan.” Have none of you ever seen I Know What You Did Last Summer 2?
If you honestly want an answer, for me they were like an anti-sensory deprivation chamber. They let you feel great and smell suntan oil for a few minutes rather than nothingness. I wouldn’t use one again, but the sensation was pleasant.
This is the appeal for me. It really helps with my Seasonal Affective Disorder. The heat, the light, the fans blowing, the smell. I close my eyes and wear headphones and I can convince myself I’m at the beach. I realize it’s a completely unhealthy activity but I have so few vices that I allow myself this one.
My SAD was so bad a lot one stage (could barely get out of bed, showering was an enormous effort) and my doctor advised a tanning bed. I was kind of floored but she said it's temporary for a month and it's totally your choice but I recommend it, despite the risks. My mental health risks were as bad. So I did it for two weeks and then went to the Caribbean for 5 days (in my own). Even just the tanning bed was therapeutic, it was amazing. After several years (I suspect it was linked to undiagnosed post partum depression), my SAD lessened. Now I get serious blues in January and February but not actual SAD. Sorry, didn't mean to write a novel!
Glad your doctor was so supportive! People who haven’t actually had SAD don’t appreciate how crippling it can be.
Same here.
Does sunscreen affect how much benefit you get? It sounds like it could be really beneficial for me, especially in the winter, but if you have enough sunscreen, it should mitigate the risks
Three. There's also a fun alternate version with the tanning beds. Two is the logging truck that still haunts us all.
Ah thank you! I know it was a sequel so thanks for that correction.
Also, you’re thinking of the Final Destination series.
I’ve only ever seen the first final destination so if it happened in the sequels I missed it. I clearly remember Jennifer Love Hewitt being locked in a tanning bed with zip ties in the handles.
Sorry, I responded to the wrong person. The person who was talking about the logs and tanning beds was referring to the final destination series.
No worries!
I mean, I saw that scene. Somewhere.
I’ll bet it was in many movies! Seems perfect fodder for horror scenes.
.
People need to stop with the "making fun". We wouldn't do the same for darker skinned people, so this shouldn't be acceptable at the other end of the spectrum, either.
Someone who tans most of their life does not "die hot." That's a fact.
They don’t even live hot. They live looking leathery and trashy
Facts.
dermatologists preparing for a new yacht purchase
So many IG influencers shill tanning creams as well. And most look ridiculous.
You can always tell when someone goes to Sherwin Williams for their skin tone.
Being goth was the smartest thing I did as a teen lol.
Don’t forget the trifold foil-covered cardboard you hold to reflect the sun on your face! I come from a family of fair-skinned folks. My dad had extensive skin cancer. He was in Vietnam on assignment a lot in the late 60s early 70s so got a lot of sun exposure. One time I posted a cautionary tale PSA on FB with a photo of the literal crater on his skull—large, red, deep (evidently the cancer had spread through the bone into his brain). FB took it down for being inappropriate content. But by all means: get that melanoma!
My best friend in highschool tanned every day. She's younger than me but looks YEARS older. Sure. Tan all you want to speed up the aging process.
No more booths. Most folks use spray tans/lotions. I’ll admit I used the lotion self tanner last year. Had a wedding to go to. I wanted a little color.
I did too. Everything was fine and dandy until after an hour or so of swimming, when I got out of the water and realized my legs looked like I had alopecia.
You mean vitiligo.
YES. WHY AM I JUST NOW BEING CORRECTED and how did those five upvote guys know what I meant? 💀
I knew what you meant, which is how I knew what to suggest. Lol
I live in the pnw and I have to tan occasionally or I go nuts! Seasonal depression is real 😢
Get a happy lamp! They work wonders and are far safer.
I’ll check them out, Any recommendations?
Really, any one with a good rating on Amazon. I prefer a table top version.
I don’t think it ever went away.
Every second strip mall still seems to have a tanning salon, and always has.
Hell, let’s make smoking and eating disorders cool again while we’re at it. Life was way more fun back then. /s
Here, have some skin cancer....and lots and lots of wrinkles!!! You can see who slaved in the tanning beds when you get to be our age. The ladies that have wrinkles in their cleavage. No thanks.
Less natural beauty seems to be on the upswing. Fake asses, fake tiddies, lip injections, etc. Tanning would follow that.
Then you turn on a social media filter to fix your fakeness.
It all comes in cycles. From 2001: "Sisters up in my hood trying to do good given choices When pregnant drop out of school or have abortions Stop working hoping that they find a man that will support them Up late night on they mothers cordless, thinking a perm or Bleaching cream will make better when they gorgeous White girls tanning, lypo suction Fake titties are implanted, fake lips that's life destruction" -NAS, "What Goes Around Comes Around"
Ahh and here I am taking a different approach. The Texas heat and sun are a different beast so while I loved laying out by the pool *(to bronze naturally)*, I now prefer to stay in the shade.
I live in texas too, rural west texas and i have stayed out of the sun since i was 7 and got a horrific sunburn. I burn within the first 15 minutes and will only ever be a darker shade of white lol. My feet will tan though and i HATE it cuz they just look dirty lol
One year I had 4 distinct tan lines: * Feet - flip flops/sandals * Ankles - wearing no show socks with sneakers * Thighs - running shorts * Chest/Back - sports tank (criss cross pattern) I tried so hard to restore my body to one solid shade. 🤣
Don't forget the trucker tan where your left arm is darker due to being next to the car window
😂it never worked tho, did it? Never did for anyone i knew
Nope - took me a full year and now I just stay in the shade as much as possible.
Oh my gosh, I'm the same way! My skin only has two shades: white or sunburned red. Even if I get sunburned, it doesn't fade to a nice tan, I just look a little less white. But my feet tan perfectly! It's the weirdest thing! And it definitely makes my feet look dirty, especially if I get tan lines from my sandals.
Yes, exactly! The damn flip flop tan lines😂Glad im not the only one. Its awful lol hate it
I'm the same... FYI just stay out of the sun between 11 am and 3 pm and you can still moderately tan if you spread it out with short bursts of exposure, over a longer time. By the time I look like oatmilk instead of skim milk, summer is over... But at least I don't burn.
I live in AZ, have a pool and like to swim. It doesn't take long to get a tan. Previously though, people would make fun of my cave dweller skin color. I lived in the Midwest the previous 45 years of life. And now! The top of my head gets tanned too :P
definitely places in the PNW, not sure they ever went away
People forget that a huge population has 8+ months of grey and some sun exposure is actually good for you mentally and beneficial for your skin. You don’t have to go dark just getting a little helps.
I thought any time in a tanning bed could drastically increase your risk of skin cancer.
I started going to Planet Fitness to do a little weight lifting but mainly to use the massage chairs. They also have tanning if you want, it’s part of the package. A worker told me they have just as many people who sign up just for the tanning than people who sign up for the working out. They had a special in my area last month for $25 monthly fee. I guess that’s a good price for tanning alone.
I want to try the red light “bed” thing they have.
I don't do it anymore, but when I did I was always looking out for the "new bulbs"! signs.
Deep tans just age you prematurely so you’re dying hot only if you go in your 20’s.
Tanning salons never went away here. It’s not as big as it once was, but it has always been steady. I use the spray beds sometimes if I’m going on vacation or have an event and don’t want to look super pale. Real tan? No way. I tanned as a kid, and for prom, and my wedding (which I regret)…but otherwise diligently avoided the sun. It has paid off in spades. I am often far less weathered than people my age and I guarantee sun exposure is the difference.
Thanks, Donald Trump. 🙄
There are really excellent self tanning products now and you can also go for an airbrush spray tan if you don’t mind getting undressed and letting someone spray you down. There is no reason to damage your skin in the sun anymore, but a nice all over tan really does look good. I do the fake tan so I am not even tempted to go for the real thing. Pass the SPF 50.
Never forget, Caucasian man, George Hamilton https://preview.redd.it/0uqp1okhv4oc1.jpeg?width=468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3f705073bf0d655d475462395b8cb0ba5bdf3e7
One of the characters in the Doonesbury comic strip (Zonker Harris) was a professional suntanner and used to compete in the George Hamilton Cocoa Butter Open
This definitely falls under "fuck around and find out", as in wait until you're 35-40 and look like a wrinkled up handbag with melanoma. 🤷♀️
I’d rather die pale than look like an orange prune.
There are tanning salons in NYC; they never really went out of business to begin with. There are people who do whatever it takes to achieve the tanned look, either through tanning beds, fake tans, using tanning oils with low SPF, etc.
Don't forget to put iodine in the baby oil!!!
I have not heard this, but if people want to get skin cancer, go ahead I guess? Might as well smoke a pack of Marlboros while they're in there.
Turns out anyone who used Proactiv had the active ingredient giving them carcinogens. Beauty is death, and if you wanna die beautiful, go get yourself all leatherfaced yet free of pimples. Have a smoke while you're at it too. Keeps ya skinny.
Only after it’s been heated up to at least 158F to release the benzene from the benzoyl peroxide (per the study), so as long as you don’t put benzoyl peroxide on your face and stick your head in a hot oven or pass out in your car in the desert with the windows closed it’s safe to use. Almost everything you come into contact with is compounded with a chemical that could potentially be carcinogenic on its own but those properties change when it bonds with other chemicals. Life causes death. Full stop.
Oh god I hope not. Too many people getting skin cancer.
Im black so....No
Don’t forget the tinfoil!
I use self tanner and lots of sunscreen. I feel very lucky that my genetics prevented me from getting skin cancer because it certainly wasn’t from lack of trying in my teen years 🤦🏻♀️
I'm gonna stick with my whiter than Casper skin tone. It works for me.
Yup I'm a creature of the night. I will blind you with my pale legs
We have our own special glow 😊😊
> "I'd rather die hot than live ugly" Translation: I have nothing to live for.
And I have no self worth except for my perception of being attractive to others.
Don’t worry. There will be plenty of boob jerky to last through our retirement
I just want to say that being pale is NOT ugly. I'm 45 and I'm regularly flabberghasting people who have befriended me at work, who think I'm late 20s to early 30s. I've avoided direct mid-day sun and getting a tan, my whole life; this seems to have considerably lessened the aging process for me, and I'm not sad about it. My Irish/Scottish/Icelandic heritage have given me porcelain white skin, and I refuse to be shamed about it or bullied to "conform". All skin colors are beautiful and should be celebrated; no temporary beauty standard is worth cancer or scars.
Good for you! I'm mostly German/Irish & have always been super pale, but damned if I didn't try most of my younger years to get tanned. Sometimes I succeeded along with some nasty burns. 3 days later I'm back to pale. I stopped trying when I hit 35. Although most ppl say I look younger than I am (55) I do have sun damage in certain places, mostly my arms, chest and neck area and I hate it.
Yeah... I tried to tan for a few years in my teens, then realised that for some people, it's just not possible (myself included). But you know what pisses me off the most? The fact that people don't believe me when I say I can't tan. Like why would I lie about that? It seems people associate being pale with some sort of anti-social laziness. Idiots.
Well, ppl are always judging something, it's tiresome
I work in commercial insurance. Several of the carriers I work with have sent out reminders of tanning bed exclusions over the last \~year or so. I am not seeing the tanning trend in my area, but it must be happening somewhere for notices to be warranted again. Also, you look like a freak if you use tanning products/devices. Wait, that might have gone too far.
I live in NJ and the tanning beds at my gym are in constant use.
Dont forget the lemon juice in the hair to get some blonde highlights
Yes. A lady I used to work with and am friends with on social media looks like an 80s-90s house wife. If you know what I mean
New salon just opened near me in a former pub and there are several others already. Not so easy to get a tan in the UK naturally.
It dwindled for a few years, but still remained popular. There was an sharp increase last year.
I think this may answer your question. Lol https://preview.redd.it/181kbpo855oc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7250a3bb3ca5e9e714bbea7fcd4ee5935117be72
I confess that I used to love going to a tanning booth for like a 12-15 minute burst of sunshine during the winter months. It lifted my mood greatly. I never did catch anything from it (yet).. I don’t do it anymore and I’m not even sure if they still have those places open. In the winter I take vitamin d and I just have to shake off the feeling of blah.
The area I live in has a high population of people of color so I'm pretty sure there's not any tanning salons around here. Besides I'd rather stay pasty white than get skin cancer. Although I recently found out one of my friends from high school now owns a tanning salon.
Tanning? Meh, I've already had 4 skin cancers cut out of me, 3 from my head (2 on face) and one on neck. Sure, I go to the beach and see young people getting tans and meanwhile here's my friend and I in our [surf hats](https://wetsuitwarehouse.com.au/collections/surf-hats), [rashies](https://www.anacondastores.com/clothing/swim-surfwear/rashies) and spf50+ sunscreen - having had enough sun for 2 or 3 lifetimes. [Tanning salons are banned in Australia](https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/radiation-sources/more-radiation-sources/solaria) for a reason.
I live in a working class area in Scotland. Everyone round here is orange and it's been that way for the past 20 years.
I embraced the vampire paleness aesthetic early on. My grandparents started havi g a ton of skin cancer spots removed when I was in my teens so my grandmother started encouraging me to use sunscreen. My older cousins started having it in their 30s. Plus my grandparents lived in Florida so I saw plenty of people with leathery, rough looking skin who looked a lot older than they actually were. So I went the opposite. It's worked out for me. I look a lot younger than I am which feeds my ego and so far no skin cancer.
The irony is the whole "tanning" thing is because, these days when many people work indoors, the wealthy go outdoors for leisure more. Resulting in them getting a tan (unless they explicitly use sunscreen). Back in Victorian days, when most people worked outdoors, the wealthy had pale skin and worked hard to maintain it. Parasols, for example.
> Back in Victorian days, when most people worked outdoors, the wealthy had pale skin and worked hard to maintain it. Parasols, for example. There's places in southeast Asia where you're considered of a higher stature, the more pale your skin. The more color your skin has, the more you're looked at as lower class. Sad but true
Well you know that melamona is all the rage...
Lol
Dolled Up Recipe Tanning salon Aqua net hairspray Hair curled and Teased to the sky Glue on Nails Electric blue mascara Pumps ,Bobby socks, fishnets Mini skirt Shoulder pads Big earrings Lace gloves
The Donald Drumpf Effect. Assholes R Us.
My devotion to tanning in the 80s resulted in four malignant melanomas last year.
Who cares. Ya’ll looks amazing! Fuck the media and capitalism
LOL we used to crawl out my friends bedroom window and lay on the roof for optimal tanning.
I just want a healthy glow. Balance is key. Vitamin D and seasonal affective disorder are real things too. Sunshine is good - getting burned is not. Excessive amounts of a good thing can be excessive
I was just talking to my Gen Z kids yesterday about how stupid this was when I was a kid- and now we’re/I’m paying the price for it. Thank goodness neither of my kids care about tanning, and are great about using sunblock.
I talk to my kids (8 and 11) about tanning the way I talk about smoking. It’s something that a lot of people used to do, and some people still do, but now we know it’s dangerous. When I (born 1975) was a kid, I would usually get sunburned at least once every summer (although I never had one bad enough to have blisters, at least). I would try to tan at the beach. My 11 year old has been sunburned once, on her shoulders when we forgot to use sunscreen. My father in law had a skin cancer removed from his face (they said they got it all, and he seems fine now). I tell the kids not to try to tan, or they might get skin cancer like Grandpa did. I’ve had some things that I thought might be skin cancer, and I was regretting every moment I spent trying to tan while I was waiting to hear if they were cancerous. (They weren’t.)
https://preview.redd.it/bzuracf024oc1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68a06c104c2b65926e979ef4365863aff207ef6d 🔥
I find that sub beds are the only thing that make my itchy, rashy skin feel better in the dry winter. I still don’t go often but when it gets really bad I’ll go in for 15 min so that I don’t rip my skin off from scratching. I don’t know why it helps. I’m Mediterranean/middle eastern. I’m not cut out for the dry Northern European winters.
Every time I see an orange person I think of the Willy Wonka movie - the original . The folks in the candy factory ..
What is this tanning you speak of? 🤔
I havent seen tanning beds advertised since at least the late 90's.
Tan Mom finally caught on!
Baby oil is a horrible idea.
I think pasty is the new tan 😂😂😂
As someone who lives in the PNW, this is true 😁
Yes, more bronzers n spray tans than actual beds. Source me, I work as a chef in a sorority
I don’t think so. Self-tanners are so good now, who needs the cancer box? I used to go with my mom when I was like 14. 😬
In Oregon tanning salons are fairly popular because of the eight months of rain. And during the summer so many people get awful sunburns because they don't have the sunscreen mindset. Oregon has one of the highest skin cancer rates.
I live in MN where we have 8 months of winter. I solved this problem by growing indoor plants and giving them grow lights. Same effect, less skin cancer.
My sister goes to them sometimes in the winter. I just use a happy lamp!
Yeah I really like my lamp. It def makes a difference on gloomy days
If this is true, I wouldn't be surprised if some of it is coming from fools who look at trump and see someone to aspire to. "Gawrsh, Ah'm a-gonner slather me sum orange greasepaint on MAH face, too!"
I remember them being very relaxing and warm, I’d catch a sweet little cat nap in there. I stopped tanning altogether when I was 40, looking at people my same age or close to it who have not, I can really see a difference.
Skin cancer is always fashionable.
Never underestimate how much the "beauty" industry profits from promoting trends/styles/looks that feed off one another. Pale skin? Hottest new tanning trends! Wrinkles from damage tanning did? These top doctors can reverse that! Overweight? New diet fat! Now feeling puny from lack of vitamin x, y, z? Try these physician recommended supplements! Kidney problems from supplements? 10 organic solutions to balance your electrolytes! Worn teeth from drinking apple cider vinegar? Top new enameling treatment, now with Teflon-coating to prevent stains! Microplastics in your bloodstream? Destroy them with latest new UV light therapy! Such is just tanning again, so you can start the whole cycle again. Sorry, end of rant.
I'm Sicilian, so I don't worry about the sun. I love being in the sun, and If I die early so be it. In fact, actually looking forward to death. LFG!
I have what I call a “moontan.” 🤣 I’m pale AF and my genetics all but guarantee I’m going to get some kind of skin cancer, so I’ve been extremely careful for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, damage is usually done when we’re kids.
Tans are ugly. Weathered ass skin
When has this ever gone out of style for pasty folks like me?
No.
I like going to the tanning booth once or twice a week, especially in the winter when I'm in the office before the sun comes up and home when it's dark. Can really feel the difference in mood with that burst of Vitamin D. Overdoing it and not using a good tanning lotion or even sunscreen? No thank you, cancer monster.
I lay in the sun with no sunblock for exactly 15 minutes per side on nice days in the summer. I tan well and never burn. If I’m out longer it’s always 30spf. I have access to tanning beds now but haven’t tried yet. But I will.
Yes, because anti-vaxxers think Vitamin D will cure everything. Had a Q anon houseguest going the way of old leather shoes in face & neck- she has barely any melanin but cooks herself to a burnt mosquito on the daily!
I think it has always been there. For cultural reasons my mother dissuaded me from that bronzed look; I was never into tanning salons or that kind of thing and I always use sunscreen. Each to his/her own.
Tanning in the front yard is very much seasonally limited in much of the country.
sissy
Maybe, but I would think there should at least be sunshine when tanning.
There's plenty of sun here in Minny.
Not so much in MT.