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It's officially October, and for those of us from the northern half of the United States, any sun we didn't soak up by now is all but gone. At least, any natural rays. And with the wintry chill comes the (our) age-old question: To tan, or not to tan?This year, the anti-tanning squad has some new ammunition: Three recent studies say there's no such thing as a safe or healthy tan. The authors are calling for a ban on tanning beds for those under 18, as well as advertising limitations. And it's not like we haven't heard this stuff before -- at this point, everyone knows that tanning can lead to wrinkles and skin cancer, and sunless tanning options and bronzers abound.
According to the pop-culture barometer, though, the fake bake is still shining bright -- season two of E! reality series "Sunset Tan" just wrapped (tagline: "In Hollywood, you can never be too rich -- or too tan."). "Project Runway" contestant Blayne had serious concerns over a few weeks away from the booth, and Sarah Palin has a tanning bed installed in the Alaska governor's mansion. Society generally seems to agree -- one study found that people perceive those with tans as healthier than their paler counterparts (ironic, no?).
So what do you say? To tan, or not to tan? And -- be honest -- do you judge people who feel differently?
Also on Lemondrop ... Bad Sunburns Indoor tanning has negative health effects, but outdoor tanning has those plus the risk of humiliation. These poor people's sunburns robbed them of their epidermis, their dignity and their right to not be mocked by their friends.
Bad Tans
It took two deputies and a putty knife to get this guy's hat off his head for the mug shot.
smokinggun.com
Carl never understood why everyone called him "Wife Beater." He wasn't even married.
webshots.com
Never say the Pledge of Allegiance at the beach when you're drowsy.
mscasey.com
The "S" stands for "Socially Retarded."
flickr.com
Rule number one for applying sunscreen: Always get help for those hard-to-reach places.
flickr.com
Nicole Richie takes a stroll on the beach and tries to even out her ass tan.
photobucket.com
Sunbathing topless would have been better for numerous reasons.
webshots.com
Speedo or bike shorts -- either way you lose. So do we.
flickr.com
Clearly, the idea of "mom jerky" didn't sound too good to Calvin.
Photobucket.com
Life is hard.
smokinggun.com
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Friday 03 October
By Michelle
Having had a bout with skin cancer this summer (at age 20, no less), I do tend to judge people who are fans of the "fake-and-bake" method, or tanning in general. Maybe it's because I'm bitter - I've hardly ever laid outside to tan, and not once have I ever set foot in a tanning salon and still managed to get melanoma - but then again, maybe it's because I feel like I know better.
I'm definitely in the "not" category. Though I'm borderline-offensively pale, I'm proud of it, and would never risk skin cancer again to try and blend in with the orange crowd.
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Friday 03 October
By daisy
I absolutely judge people that go to tanning booths and bake. I tend to look at them as vain, uninformed and unconcerned with the dangers of skin cancer. I am excruciatingly pale, but I also look 10 years younger, and people ask me all the time "how do you stay so young looking" and I always tell them, I avoid tanning. It is absurd to me that people view unnatural skin tones as more attractive and healthy, when in fact they are not. I have this argument with my husband frequently (he feels tan lines are sexy) and I tell him, well in ten years when she is all wrinkly and looks like leather and I still look younger, then tell me who is sexier.....
for the record, self tanners don't bother me and just because someone has unnaturally darker skin will not cause me to be prejudiced against them. It is the women that seek out and can't live without their tanning booths that bother me. They obviously don't care about their health. All they care about are their looks.
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Friday 03 October
By Kristin
This is totally ridiculous. I have tanned in a tanning bed since I was like 14 and I love it. As you see in the first comment you can get skin cancer even from staying out of the sun. So yall go ahead and be pale and still get skin cancer, and i'll be tan and more than likely, not get skin cancer. It all depends on your nutrition and vitamin levels in your body and truth be known sunlight is the best, and only true form to get your full vitamin D absorbtion needed for a day. You should read up a little bit more before you go judging people because they are tan. Id rather be tan any day, being pale makes people look sick or unhealthy, its gross.
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Friday 03 October
By Nikki
I am 21 and I used to tan in tanning beds every day since I was a freshman in high school. In February of this year I had two melonma removed from my side, then went through several months of radiation. You will suffer from choosing to fake bake. It may not be right now but eventually you will have some consequence to pay. I now do spray tan and love it just as much.
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Monday 06 October
By Lyuba
I'm 13 and I might not know a lot at this age, but honestly Nikki, Britt, and Danna GET A LIFE!!!! Don't you think you become more vulnerable to get skin cancer if you use a tanning bed then going outside and tanning there!??!?! HONESTLY!! People these days!!!
Friday 03 October
By Christina
I've done both, outside and indoor tanning. I don't judge to a point of indoor tanning. I think those that tan everyday in a tanning bed or at least more than three times a week are a bit vain just because they don't think they are tan enough when they are... but I don't see the harm of doing it maybe once a week or just once a month. For me, when I tan, it's more of a relaxing thing to me. I feel less stress when I'm in the tanning bed. I'm not sure why but I really like it. I also like how I get a little bit tan but not like fake, fake tan and I don't think going once in a while is going to just give you cancer. But either way, everything nowadays causes cancer. Should we just all lock ourselves up in our rooms and only drink water and eat what we know 100% does not cause health problems? What do you expect? Either way, it is a person's judge if they want to tan or not and I don't think that should be what changes who the person is to my eyes honestly, now that I think about it. "Oh, I don't like you because you tan."... How stupid does that really sound? It's horrible how people nowadays have became so judgmental in stereotypes. It makes me sad to be here because of how we all are sometimes.
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Saturday 04 October
By Christina
I meant to say *person's choice not person's judge"
Saturday 04 October
By Robert
I'm no doctor, but when it comes to Cancer--I have a sneaking theory that it is a man made disease. Sure, the sun blasts radioactive particles down to Earth that are proven to cause cancers and other abnormalities in living things--but human beings have been living under the sun since.. Well, ever.
I myself am quite pale, and am wary of the sun. Living in Florida, I have developed a simple philosophy--if you can be in the shade, stay in it. My skin is fragile and prone to burning. However, I'd rather take a brisk stroll down the sidewalk than down a bottle full of that Diet Soda you're drinking--the one with the processed, fake sugar and added coloring.
Most things are fine when taken in moderation. Tanning beds are unnatural, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are bad for you. Again, I'm no doctor, but
why not simply accept the color of your skin for what it is rather than beaming yourself with artificial rays to gain a shade or two?
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Saturday 04 October
By britt
don't tan people its common sense i hate seeing unnatural skin tones .besides changing your skin tone won't make you look better anyway ..just learn to love the skin in your in
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Monday 06 October
By Dana
I tan about 1 time a week just to keep a color going. I don't have time to go out and sit in the sun. I work all day and by the time I get home it's dark. We will be leaving for vacation at Christmas and I don't want to worry about burning and not having fun with my family and friends b/c I was burnt outside. I have Olive skin and can take the sun very well. Judge if you must but I love to feel the warmth and know that I am content with me. I do go to the doctor and as of right now I am still fine. But you have to be comfortable with your skin. I prefer to tan 1once a week for me, I take it as MY TIME for ME. 15 min of no one asking for my time. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THAT TAN AND ALL THAT DON'T.
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Tuesday 28 October
By Mike
Well, I'm against fake n bake.... I find it rather funny that people enjoy runnin around looking like an Oompa Loompa... Orange skin is NOT sexy... Yes, tan lines CAN be, but for the most part, I find that a natural and even skin tone is more attractive than tan lines or ORANGE skin... My ex went tanning like 5 times a week and I honestly think she was MUCH more attractive before she started doing that. It's unhealthy, and get expensive for the obsessive. Once or twice a month to keep a slight tan is more than enough. I feel sorry for those of you who feel you need to microwave yourselves to look good.
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Monday 06 October
By little starlet
I tottally agree on the tanning thing, you can litterally 'get burned'
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Tuesday 07 October
By michael giessel
Although UVA is less carcinogenic than UVB, the amount of UVA delivered in a tanning bed is a logarithmic multiple of the UBV emitted in natural conditions, and it is delivered to skin not well adapted to ANY exposure. I will take my chances with natural sunlight any day. It's more "natural".
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Tuesday 07 October
By naked at noon
no, it's not ironic that we perceive people with tans as healthier ... they ARE healthier ...
UVB rays from sun + human skin = vitamin d production ...
vitamin d is highly preventative for dangerous skin cancer, like melanoma, as well as many other cancers ...
it's frightening that there are "health" writers peddling outdated and disproven ideas ...
i agree that natural sunlight is best ... but i think no tanning is more dangerous than a tanning bed ...
naked at noon :)
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Tuesday 07 October
By Senil
I've got soft, porcelain white skin without any scars or discoloration from the sun, not a trace of wrinkles, and perfectly even skin tone, and I get compliments on my complexion on a regular basis - evidence to the fact that fair skin, if well cared for, doesn't look unhealthy or gross. Yeah, it takes a lot of work (washing my face twice a day with a good cleanser, using moisturizer and sunscreen, good makeup, etc), but the payoff is amazing - and while the difference will of course be obvious in ten years when I dont have a line on my face, it's obvious even now. I get compliments on my complexion two or three times a week, on average (from perfect strangers, usually, as I work in a restaurant) - and my skin is China doll white here, people. If I looked sickly, I don't think people would bring up my complexion at all, except perhaps to poke fun at the possibility of me blinding someone in a bathing suit. Pale skin is neither colorless nor 'gross', and it doesn't look unhealthy - unhealthy skin looks unhealthy, and sickly people look sickly, regardless of their skin tone. Personally, I look at all of the bottle blondes with their ugly orange and brown tans and my first thought is "cancer" - quickly followed by "moron" and "fake."
You can get your required vitamin D by exposing your hands to the great outdoors for 10 minutes a day two or three times a week - put sunscreen on the rest of your body. You can also get it from food (fish, especially), as well as dietary supplements. It isn't that difficult. I don't take any dietary supplements, and I certainly don't go out of my way to consume enough vitamin D, yet my levels are just fine.
tl;dr The ones with the brown and orange tans are the gross unhealthy ones. Natural skin tones require a lot of care, but they have the better rewards and healthier appearance - yes, even the pale ones. If you neglect your skin and mistreat it, it's going to look bad regardless of your skin tone. Those of you that tan on a regular basis will have the worse outcome, by far (be it cancer, discolorations, leathery skin or wrinkles) - it'll just take a while longer.
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Thursday 30 October
By Sarah
I agree that anything manmade is not too healthy. Although tanning beds are very very relaxing I think it is really unhealthy to lay in one. I have done it before but honestly it was not for the tan. It was time to myself and relaxation from everyday life. I think it is a personal choice that you have to decide on your own. I dont care either way, but I know that I have pretty fair skin and if I made tanning a habit than I would suffer later. Not everyone is like that, but it is healthier to stay away from fake UV tanning beds. The sun is much healthier and I say if you are going to tan, then lay out in the sun instead of tanning beds.
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Tuesday 07 October
By Nihan
What orange crowd?
People, our bodies do need to stay in the sun to absorb some vitamin D.
Most of us here is spending big amount of our time in a three wall cubic under a fluorescent light before a 20 inch screen. By the time we all get off work, it is dark already. Not being exposed the sun light is even more dangerous that being exposed. I am not a big fan of tanning saloon but definitely love to stay in the sun and get some tan
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Thursday 09 October
By Rose
I am with all the people who think obsesive (i really hope that is spelled right, i stink at spelling) tanning is unhealthy. It is horrible for your skin! There are people in my family who have had or have skin cancer, and I am going to do everything I can not to get it! I have HEALTHY snow white skin, and I am completely comfortably with it. I would choose pale skin over tan skin any day. Besides, pale skin goes with my whole persona, I have red hair and green eyes. I don't have anything against spray and other artificial tanners. I think they are a wise choice. Wouldn't you do that any day over the very real risk of skin cancer?
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Tuesday 07 October
By Bruce
I just had a basal cell carcenoma removed and that was just for being out in the sun working when I was younger. The dermatologist said no outdoor activities in the sun without sunblock. I also have a higher risk of more basal cells returning. Not fun when you get a scar on your face for a tan you don't really need. Just a few minutes outdoors is sufficient for your vitamin intake from the sun.
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Wednesday 08 October
By Krista
I go tanning like 3 times a week and all you that say you look better natural and tan, NO WAY! And you dont get orange from a tanning bed you get tan. It looks good and makes you feel good. Its just like dying your hair or getting your nalis done
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