Tanning for beginners

[war_eagle]

I recently bought a tanning bed pass from my local tanning salon. I've never gone and was wondering how often should a beginner go every week and for how long? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Kalen]

I go every once in a while the dermatoligist says it helps clear up acne but i do know for a fact that if you ask one of the girls that works at the tanning bed they will be able to help you decide how long and such.

 

[Charisma]

Hey about clearing the acne, you should reaslise that you have to keep on doing it then, cause when yous top, you will get small 'acne attacks', so suddenly you'll have 5 zits or something coming to the surface. Don't ask me why, but it's a fact.

 

[NewMike]

Ok, what exactly do you need to buy in order to go? Glasses of somekind? Where do you get those?

I'm pretty fair skinned. What do I need to wear spf wise? What do you wear in the tanning bed? Do most ppl change when they get there?

Help a noob out!

 

[Kalen]

You should be able to get the glasses in the salon and as i said just ask the women there to help ya. If your shy just call the place and ask em.

And at the place i go to you change in the room. I think thats pretty much universal but i havent been doing it too long could be different.

BTW thanks for the tip about acne. I have trouble with it sometimes maybee the tanning beds the problem?

 

[Charisma]

Sure thing dude
READ HERE for more weird unknown stuff. Scroll down to the sun part, I noticed it happened to me after a long vacation in Turkey, and that's what I found out. Occasional sun is good imho. Just 'prolonged exposure' as it states. And I always thought tanning beds left scars if you had acne, could be wrong though.

 

[Kalen]

Nice site ill just have to experiment around with the tanning bed thing i guess.

 

[bman]

you dont wear sunscreen there. tell them to put you in for about 12 minutes.... actually it depends on what kinda beds they have. you MUST wear glasses, either they provide them and if they dont they will sell them. not wearing them will damage your eyes.

 

[NewMike]

What do you wear in the tanning bed?

 

[Byronic Hero]

Originally posted by NewMike
What do you wear in the tanning bed?

I'm wondering the same thing. I have my first appointment on Tuesday.

 

[LaidbackCharmer]

you wear nothing

 

[California Love]

Wear nothing, like LaidBackCharmer said. Personally, i dont wear the eyeprotection cuz it gives me white circles around my eyes.


Start with the time they suggest you. Once a week is enough to maintain the tan. I used to be a compulsive tanner and go 3x a week. The thing with tanning beds is that they are almost purely UVA. THis means that they bring pigment up to the skin, but do not darken the pigment. Therefore, too often is just overkill and will not yield effects.


A side note - Your tan will not forever improve. After about a month, your capacity will set in, and that is the most tan you will get from the bed. If you want to get "darker", then implement some real sun, which provides UVB as well as UVA.


Dont wear sunscreen, which defeats the purpose. Also, do not buy tanning lotions, which are overpriced and unnecessary.

 

[Byronic Hero]

Originally posted by California Love
Wear nothing, like LaidBackCharmer said. Personally, i dont wear the eyeprotection cuz it gives me white circles around my eyes.


Start with the time they suggest you. Once a week is enough to maintain the tan. I used to be a compulsive tanner and go 3x a week. The thing with tanning beds is that they are almost purely UVA. THis means that they bring pigment up to the skin, but do not darken the pigment. Therefore, too often is just overkill and will not yield effects.


A side note - Your tan will not forever improve. After about a month, your capacity will set in, and that is the most tan you will get from the bed. If you want to get "darker", then implement some real sun, which provides UVB as well as UVA.


Dont wear sunscreen, which defeats the purpose. Also, do not buy tanning lotions, which are overpriced and unnecessary.

So I won't burn from the tanning bed? I'm kinda fair-skinned if that makes any difference?

Wear nothing at all? Do they wipe out the insides of the bed? How can I trust the person before me?

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Tweek_1984]

I have dark blonde hair and I'm very fair-skinned.

Last year I was going on the sunbeds at my local health centre around 3 times a week.

I onyl went on the bed for around 7-10 minutes each session. But after about 2 weeks I was just getting burned and I was getting incredibly painful prickly heat as well as an unbelievably itchy back, so much so that I'd be in agony rolling around on the floor furiously scracthing my back.

So, I stopped and I doubt I'll ever go back.

Plus, tanning beds have been proven to cause skin cancer if used over long periods of time.

Whenever I look photos of myself after a holiday, i always look really tanned. So I suppose the best way to go brown if to get under the sun quite frequently. I reckon if you went on holiday to a sunny destination about 3 times a year, you'd keep a pretty decent tan throughout the year.

If you can't go abroad so often (like me) then if you're going to use the beds, then start with a 5-10 minute session once a week. But this all depends on the strength of the bed and you're skin tone.

 

[California Love]

Originally posted by Byronic Hero
So I won't burn from the tanning bed? I'm kinda fair-skinned if that makes any difference?

Wear nothing at all? Do they wipe out the insides of the bed? How can I trust the person before me?

Thanks for all the help so far.

You'll probably burn the first time. Take the amount of minutes that they suggest you, which will probably be under 10 minutes. Don't worry about the burn though. Its no biggie - might hurt a little in the shower and when u put on clothes, but it goes away in a few days. After a few times, your skin will be adjusted and you wont burn anymore. Just dont overdo the system. 2x a week max.

 

[Shiftkey]

Ask the salon girls any questions you have. It's hard to say how often and how long you should go without seeing you. I started going about a month ago, and I have type 2 skin - meaning I don't tan easily and I have naturally light skin. Type 1 means you can't tan, you only burn (probably closer to Tweek's skin type). Type 3 is average, type 4 you tan easily, etc. I was advised to start at 8 minutes. I was a little pink from that and it was slightly uncomfortable in the shower (not as much as after getting a full blown sunburn though). After that I would add a minute or two every time I went, which was every 2 or 3 days. Now I'm up to 20 minutes (the legal and safe max) and have a decent tan that virtually everyone I know has commented on.

If you're a type 2 like me, you'll probably do the same thing I did. You might also notice that some body parts tan slower than others (my arms tan slow for some reason :/ ) - this is normal. The best way to solve this is to supplement real sun. Another side effect I've noticed is that my skin complexion has improved.

Don't wear sunscreen (this damages the tan beds actually), don't wear clothes, DO wear the little glasses they provide or you'll permanently damage your eyes (even if you close your eyes). When you get home, immediately moisturize with a good quality, water-based moisturizer, and moisturize after every time you take a shower or go swimming. This helps you keep your tan longer and helps prevent burning. You can just get a bottle for less than $10 at a drug store or department store that'll last a long time.

Wear nothing at all? Do they wipe out the insides of the bed? How can I trust the person before me?

They wipe it down and spray it with sanitizer (at least the one I go to - you should ask THEM this)

 

[Byronic Hero]

Originally posted by Shiftkey
Ask the salon girls any questions you have. It's hard to say how often and how long you should go without seeing you. I started going about a month ago, and I have type 2 skin - meaning I don't tan easily and I have naturally light skin. Type 1 means you can't tan, you only burn (probably closer to Tweek's skin type). Type 3 is average, type 4 you tan easily, etc. I was advised to start at 8 minutes. I was a little pink from that and it was slightly uncomfortable in the shower (not as much as after getting a full blown sunburn though). After that I would add a minute or two every time I went, which was every 2 or 3 days. Now I'm up to 20 minutes (the legal and safe max) and have a decent tan that virtually everyone I know has commented on.

If you're a type 2 like me, you'll probably do the same thing I did. You might also notice that some body parts tan slower than others (my arms tan slow for some reason :/ ) - this is normal. The best way to solve this is to supplement real sun. Another side effect I've noticed is that my skin complexion has improved.

Don't wear sunscreen (this damages the tan beds actually), don't wear clothes, DO wear the little glasses they provide or you'll permanently damage your eyes (even if you close your eyes). When you get home, immediately moisturize with a good quality, water-based moisturizer, and moisturize after every time you take a shower or go swimming. This helps you keep your tan longer and helps prevent burning. You can just get a bottle for less than $10 at a drug store or department store that'll last a long time.



They wipe it down and spray it with sanitizer (at least the one I go to - you should ask THEM this)

Wow. Thanks shiftkey.

I had my first appointment yesterday. Went 10 minutes. Didn't use goggles cus a friend of mine said it would give me the raccoon look. I will definitely wear the glasses next time though. Does the racoon look actually exist or is it not that important?

I didn't burn much from yesterday. I'm a little tender in spots but it isn't bright red and I can shower fine. I think that is pretty good for a first time.

 

[Need-2-B-Pimpin]

I live in sunny floridia so the coldest it gets here is 40...i can go outside and take my shirt off and lie down and try to tan, but my previous attempts have proven to be barely noticeable. I don't want to pay money to do something I have a backyard and a sun for, so any advice? I stayed out about half an hour each time.

 

[Shiftkey]

Wow. Thanks shiftkey.

I had my first appointment yesterday. Went 10 minutes. Didn't use goggles cus a friend of mine said it would give me the raccoon look. I will definitely wear the glasses next time though. Does the racoon look actually exist or is it not that important?

I didn't burn much from yesterday. I'm a little tender in spots but it isn't bright red and I can shower fine. I think that is pretty good for a first time.

No problem.

Yes, use goggles! You get raccoon eyes from sunglasses, not goggles Sunglasses don't work in tanbeds anyway. If you try them on, you'll notice that they cover your eyes very closely. The skin around your eyes is not covered, only your eyelids, which don't really need to tan anyway. If you don't believe me, look at the girls at the salon and ask them if they wear the goggles.

I suggest going again when the redness goes away. Wait too long and you won't make any progress, go too soon and you'll be in pain

I live in sunny floridia so the coldest it gets here is 40...i can go outside and take my shirt off and lie down and try to tan, but my previous attempts have proven to be barely noticeable. I don't want to pay money to do something I have a backyard and a sun for, so any advice? I stayed out about half an hour each time.

Tanning in the sun is more risky than tanning in a tanbed, just fyi. The sun emits more UVB, which is what causes your skin to burn and get cancer. Tanbeds emit mostly UVA, which is what gives you a tan, and 8% or less UVB. The higher quality beds where I go emit only 3%.

That's another thing you should ask the salon girls about - which beds have the least UVB in their salon. Not all beds are created equal.

If you really can't afford paying a couple of bucks per tan, my advice would be to stay out for longer than a half hour Expect to be out for more than an hour or two (I don't know your skin type though, so take this advice with a grain of salt). And realize that not everyone can get a tan from a couple of tries. It's something you build on like gaining muscle or losing fat.