Getting A Tan -- C/D

OK, I know it's probably dangerous to use super high SPF stuff for long periods of time. But, having English skin acclimatised to English weather, anything more than 20 minutes tops in the sun and I lobster out. (As seen the weekend of Liz's memorial service.)

But then again, I've never been into sitting in the sun for the purposes of getting a tan. Occasionally I let some sun fall on my skin for Vitamin D purposes, but otherwise, it happens only by accident.

messing around outdoors for kicks, walking/swimming/cycling/drinking/picknicking/frisbeeing/surfing/kayaking/whatever, and getting a tan as a result and suddenly catching sight of the contrast between your lilywhite soft bits and your goldenbrown exposed parts = classic

skin cancer dud though. wear suncream people! you can wear suncream and still get a tan!

Maybe I am jealous of people who can tan, but having seen what UV light does to cells in a petri dish after even short exposure, I use the sunblock, stay white as a ghost, and try to like it.

Most white people in the UK, however, are either type 1 or 2. The former doesn't tan at all, ever, the latter tans with difficulty and the sun exposure required to get tanned is still risk of skin cancer tanning.

multiple xposts - i've never had a problem getting high-factor sunscreen in the us.

what? no. that must have been a long time ago. actually, australia only had up to 15 SPF until a few years ago.

for me tans are DUD DUD DUD. i dont get the whole 'oh you look healthier with a tan!' no. you look like your going to get cancer with a tan.

and besides that i dont know why people cant be happy with the color they are. its stupid.

oh, and please dont say 'suncream' anymore. it makes me think of drunken english boys in ibiza. gross.

I read the Skin Type Thing somewhere... possibly while waiting in the doctors office or something. I should look it up. I seem to recall I was type 2 but can't remember what the criteria were.

At my sister's wedding one of the other bridesmaids said she hadn't had time to get a tan but at least she could count on ME to be the palest face in the room. Nice, eh? After two beach weekends in a row I look much more like a healthy, sporty human being, but then I come from a summer town where everyone's brown as a nut and *I'm* the crazy one -- in NYC I don't stand out NEARLY as much. I don't "tan" tan (and certainly not INDOORS in a TANNING BED), but laying at the beach/pool with a book and a drink is one of life's perfect moments, as far as I'm concerned, and you do gather some sun that way.

And you can get SPF 36/45/etc at any normal drugstore! I use Bullfrog gel, the heavy-duty waterproof stuff. I think it's good for at least 80 minutes of water/sweat? Very necessary.

I've had two dermotologists tell me they hate sunscreens that are over SPF 15 because they've convinced a generation of intelligent young people trying to avoid skin cancer that they don't have to reapply their sunscreen just as often as they did 10 years ago. It's not necessary to have over SPF 15 (according to these two) because if you are reapplying as regularly as you are supposed to you'll be just fine. Obv. higher than SPF 15 isn't going to hurt but it wears off your skin just as much as SPF 15 and an awful lot of people don't seem to realize just how often you have to reapply. I thought it was funny!

I like laying out in the sun and reading and jumping in and out of the pool and such. I'm notorious for using oils instead of "suncreams" so it's good they've got higher SPF oils now.

I don't go out in the sun much at all. The sunscreen is just for those occasions when I know I'm going to be in the sun. (like, argh, this weekend, argh.) How often are you supposed to reapply?

i find my co-workers' obsessions with "getting a little sun" infuriating. when i wore said SPF 60 to play golf a few weeks ago, i was sort of mocked. like "WHOA, 60 SPF? DONT YOU WANT A LITTLE COLOR!?!?" -- no, i dont.

people usually tell me this when i bring out the spf 50. i know that there's at least some truth to it from the time that i got stuck using my friend's spf 8 and nothing bad happened (i reapplied lavishly and often), but it's a psychological comfort to have the super high factor.

I'm a type II anyway, so I have to go through varying stages of burning before I start to tan. Except on my face, which seems to be type III.

I dislike the feel of sunblock on me, so I go more for hats and long sleeved/legged lightweight linen cover and shade.

* OK it works like this Tracer, you're basically right BUT it's not based on hours. For example SPF 15 gives you 15 times the protection of your normal skin, ie take the amount of time it takes you to get burnt and multiply that by 15 and then you have how long you can stay in the sun with one application of SPF 15.

i am trying my hardest to wear sunscreen every day but it's so nasty hot out and the sunscreen sometimes makes me feel so sticky and dirty (even the "grease-free feeling!" one). i've gotten a TINY bit of color so far this year, but no burns yet, which makes me feel quite accomplished! i really don't mind being white, though, and even if my arms or chest get a little bit of color, my legs will remain day-glo for all eternity.

living in miami and thus having tons of anecdotal evidence, i can claim with confidence that if you buy sunscreen stronger than SPF 30 you are wasting your money. SPF 45, 50, 60, whatever - they don't protect you for any longer than 30. i guess you might want to pay for more peace of mind. still, if you can fool yourself that easily, i envy you.

ihttp://www.uefa.com/ml/images/Players/220X220/30548.jpg

I am type II.V I think. My problem is that the subtle italianness of my skin colour means I look a sickly yellow for all but June-September, so when I do get the chance to tan (I go quite a nice golden colour) I like to take it if at all possible.

I'm not sure what it is. I break out in tiny little bumps and hivey things. They look a bit like acne, or razor burn maybe? And itchy. The most recent time this happened I couldn't figure out, to be honest, if it was caused by sunscreen or bug spray or some kind of plant I came into contact with, but it's just that certain cream formulas have something in them that makes my skin go nuts so I just try to avoid. I do have an SPF 30 spray formula that doesn't seem to bother me but it wasn't until very recently that things over SPF 8 came in formulas other than thick cream (so, what I'm saying is that it's not the higher SPF per se, it's whatever is in the creamy formulas).

Have they perfected the whole-body skin transplant, yet?? Jesus Christ, get on that already.

Depends on who's doing the looking. I find people with some color (whether congenital or acquired) to be much more pleasing to the eye. White legs? Dud!

HI DERE

Let's hang out!

Also - I get those bumps, too, although I will get them any time I spend any significant time in the sun, even if I don't put any sunscreen on. This is apparantly called "sun rash." Bright sunlight also makes me sneeze. I spend all summer running from shady spot to shady spot and will alter my walking route to stay out of direct sunlight because clearly, I am not meant to be out in it.

White legs? Classic!

I'm pretty sure I've never had a real red-or-whatever sunburn but there is a burning kind of feeling that I get in the sun that is greatly alleviated by sunscreen. I just reapply whenever it feels like it's coming back, if I can.

-- Fiery Jacques (fieryjacque...) (webmail), Today 6:08 PM. (fieryjacques) (later)

hell yes!

who he?

hahaha! it's all over the uk, to an extent, but mostly restricted to the types who aspire to be footballers' wives. also there seems to be a higher proportion of orange people in liverpool, manchester and essex. (i am not having a go at any of these places: i think liverpool is ace and some of the bits of essex without any people in are utterly gorgeous. just saying, like.)

i would love to understand the thinking behind it though. going and getting a fake tan - it's a bit dumb, but if you want people to think you've been on holiday and therefore have lots of money or if you're going on holiday soon and don't want to be the blue/white one at the beach the first day or something, fine, whatever blows up your skirt. but these people are ORANGE. do they not KNOW they are ORANGE? are they just brazening it out until it fades? but then they will try another one, which will also be ORANGE. and all their friends are ORANGE.

Liverpool has about 3 tanning parlour per resident. There are high streets with every other shop boarded up bar a line of tanning salons.

http://www.dinnerworld.be/upload/files/shop/1135862404/thumb_frikandel_extra.jpg

I'm a type three. Is that possible when you're blonde? Then again, I don't sit in the sun much. As a kid I hated the summer/sun so I avoided it as much as possible (by sitting in front of the telly for hours on end). But yeah I don't get a sunburn easily.

http://www.robertuniverse.com/imagesstudy/Umahro%20portrait.jpg

Seriously though, anyone else find the whole modern tan obsession a bit much? I mean as I understand it, tans in the 19th century were just a sign that you spent your time toiling the fields. It was only when Coco Chanel came back from a trip to Africa bronzed that they took off.

anyone still do this? i think this is the first time in England for a decade (at least) that there's even been a chance of this happening from just walking around outside for a few hours a day.