Sunbeds

I'm interested in opinions and experiences you may have had with using a sunbed. Anybody that can share?

The only experience I have is not with myself, but my dad's girlfriend. She does it so much she looks orange.....very unflattering look lol. So just be careful about doing it too much!

I purchased a tanning bed several years ago. It is a commercial bed that had been completely reburbished. It looks brand new.

I not only bought it for some color but also because lying in the bed was very relaxing. Since I had a lot of stress, i began to meditate in it.

I have to admit that it has been yrs. since I have used it But, I am still happy to have it. The problem is that it is in our unfinished basement which is on the cool side making be too cold to tie in it. When I find a solution, i'll begin using it again.

As a side fact, I didn't turn orange but had a nice tan.

Yes, I am wondering about the turning orange part - since a sunbed is not quite like using these self-tan lotions.

I think your basement being cool is a bonus! After 10 minutes, I was so hot I could hardly breathe!

Sun beds increase the risk of skin cancer similarly to how frying in the sun does. I'm not sure how much it increases the risk... It is hard to find a place that does sun bed tanning anymore in Australasia, however. But then we have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world - being by the hole in the Ozone Layer.

Self tanning lotions that activate your skins melanin (thus not staining your skin orange but actually stimulating your skin to tan without the assistance of the sun) are a lot better for you...

I'm a redhead with fair, freckled skin. I've always wanted to tan, but, duh, it's a waste of time for me to even try. I did the tanning beds for a couple of years, and I'm sure they aged my skin!
Patty

then you should try the lotions that activate your skins natural melanin (what is responsible for the brown colour of a tan). It helps protect your skin against burning in the sun too. I would reccomend you try them in winter, though (so you know you can colour your skin evenly)

Sabrina, you would think that the basement being cool is a bonus but it is so much so that the top of my body (if you know where I mean) gets so cold. When that part of me is cold, I am cold all over. LOL

Maybe I should turn it on and let it run for several minutes to let it warm up.

When younger, I was always in the sun w/o SPF and was a sun worshipper. Even as an adult, I was always in the sun and used tanning beds a lot, especially when I bought my own. Luckily for me, a plastic surgeon examined my skin and said that I had minimal sun damage on my face. I am 41. I do think I am the exception rather than the rule.

I have tried self tanners. They worked very well but had to be so careful to apply it evenly. Also when using self tanners, it is important to exfoliate your skin to aid in even application. I didn't and did end up with some streaking on my arms and legs.

Peacemaker (Sherri)

sabrina
I tanned all summer outside. "yes i know ppl not good for me" but makes me feel great.
Last year used a tanning place. My word of addivice is clean the bed yourself , then spray the water they have on it again and wipe it down. So if you are allergic to cleaner. Plus never truth they cleaned the bed. As i got a boil on back of leg from tanning bed, It was a issue. HAd never had one in my life before. HAd to take the antiobiotic for amtrax. As it would not go away with reg antibotics.
DO i still go to tanning beds. YES am i orange. NO
It is so relaxing and helps with dark weather.
can it cause cancer they warn of that yes.
From where i grew up to me it does not matter!
Just always clean the bed yourself ........

my very best friend is/was a sun worshiper. she paid the price. she almost lost her nose 2 yrs ago to skin cancer. it was horrible. I tan just by walking outside. no laying in a bed or outside for me.

I don't recommend it. I used a boyfriend's parents sunbed at the age of about 20 (before I "knew better") I didn't use it much though. (and no change of colour.. I have very fair skin) As others have said, it isn't worth it. Excess wrinkles... or worse Pale is beautiful

Thank you to all for your comments.

I wish I felt my pale was beautiful ....... so despite knowing all the "bad" things - I went ahead anyway! I have just completed my 5th session and am looking pleasantly (but lightly) tanned. The first 2 sessions left me quite sore but I am liberal with soothing lotions twice a day. I have 5 more sessions to go (paid for) and then I would like to keep it up about twice a month as I don't really want to go very dark.

As far as cleaning the bed - I'm fanatical about that and clean it thoroughly before as well as after.

The one thing that bothers me just a little is my claustrophobia and dread of being in enclosed spaces. I have coped though and keep telling myself this is my choice.

I feel healthier simply because I don't look like a ghost tinged with blue!

yea i am very pale...in fact most people say im translucent....lol lucky me that everyone can see every vein in my body....i am too afraid to try the the tanning beds and as for the lotion stuff...i dont want to turn orange....but i never heard the lotions that do the melatin thing.....if anyone has any brand names id love to hear them.....and something that can go on my face and neck ....i cant have a nice colored body and a deathly pale face...lol

The orange one was the coppertone that was introduced back in the 60's. Sunless tanning has come a LONG way since then with respect to looking natural.

I checked out the melanin thing (which was what I always heard) but turns out that the authorative sites say that it actually doesn't work on melanin. But I can certainly assure you that orange fake tans really is a thing of the past (or of really very poor quality products).

You can pick up good products from chemists (druggists I guess you guys call 'em). There are zillions of different brands like how there are zillions of different brands of moisturiser. A HUGE range in the price - too. I don't use 'em so I can't reccomend a good cheap one from personal experience. I had a friend who used to fork out quite a bit for an Elizabeth Arden one but she used Coppertone one day 'cause she was a bit broke and thought they did the same job - but that the Elizabeth Arden one did smell a bit nicer.

I had a bit of a look off the internet and I see that tanning doesn't have the negative connotations in the northern hemisphere that it does down here. Because Australasia is right by the hole in the ozone layer we have more exposure to UV light and our rates of skin cancer are the highest in the world. Basically... In Australasia... You would be insane not to cover up. Everytime you burn you are doing perminant damage which can result in skin cancer 15-20 years down the track.

That being said, I don't think there is much wrong with getting a tan so long as you don't burn your skin along the way. That being said, it is extremely hard to find a place in Australasia that has skin beds and everyone is moving to sunless tanning products (the lotions or sprays) because if you burn yourself under a sunbed the damage is the same as burning yourself with the sun.

http://www.dermnetnz.org/procedures/sunbeds.html

Sab, I switched to a new place and they have new beds that have a radio built in the bed. I can change channels while in there. Also built in fan. SO much better
By the way you should never burn in there. The tanning should be slow. So it does not burn you.
muffy

Sabrina,

I have been speaking to my husband about using the tanning bed again. He was wondering why I had not been using it. LOL I did explain to him how and where I get cold. The simple solution... wear a bra and underwear. I didn't want the tan lines, but he said that tan line are far to sexy not to have. LOL

So, I am going to try using my tanning bed again, but with some SPF as it has been at least 3 yrs. since I have really been out in the sun. If you have ever been burnt by lying in a tanning bed too long, you are lucky as the burn feels quite different than a regular sunburn. A burn from a tanning bed feels "deep" and will itch like crazy in the most inappropriate places where you just can't scratch in public. You also do not peel the same way.

I will happily wear my bra and underwear and use some SPF and enjoy my bed, my tan, and meditation once again. Eventually, I will again have a little color as I look a bit pale (but not a pretty pale, more like a sickly pale). As for the skin damage, I was always in the sun when young and into my 20s. A plasic surgeon told me that I have only mild skin damage that was far less than most other women. In that way, I am fortunate. At 41, I do not have wrinkles around my eyes, mouth, etc. I do have lines on my forehead that are due to my continual habit of raising my eyebrows. I have had those lines since my teens. And yes, I do not like them.

So, enjoy your time in the tanning beds. Just be sure not to burn yourself and practice moderation. If you prefer to use the beds frequently, use some SPF, especially on your face.

Here is to a nice tan,
Peacemaker

Yes, I know exactly why I burnt on my first 2 times - I lay there for a full half hour! That was mighty naive and foolish of me! I am now also using SPF on my sensitive parts (back of legs, breasts) and the highest factor on my face - not that my face is fully exposed anyway.

I am using the sunbed at my gym, so I get to hear all the gym sounds around me but sadly no radio. There is a built in fan though. Thank goodness for that.

Inny, I can't recommend a good lotion - all the one's I ever tried from cheap to ridiculously expensive had me turn various shades of orange.

What we do to make us feel better about ourselves!!

Sunbeds cause cancer!!

Just had to throw that into the discussion...
Okie

All good things seem to!