Is tanning in "moderation" dangerous?

[Lou82]

Hi all, im new to the forum and had a question. I started going to the tanning salon around early May and I tried to keep it in moderation if there is such a thing. For the most part I only tan once a week for 10-12 minutes, the first two sessions i just did 5 and 7 minutes so i would not get overly burned. Two times since May I tanned twice in one week (3-4 days apart) which probably wasnt smart, but I have also gone 10-14 days in between sessions a few times too.

I do not feel I abused it and I never got overly burned or anything so I was wondering is this safe? With all the talk of skin cancer, skin protection and "say no to tanning salons" out in the media I am a little concerned and was just wondering if I should cut out tanning all together. I now find myself checking my skin for any signs of anything, so Ill admit I am freaking out a bit.

Thanks in advance.

[Gidget]

Hi, my best advice would be to do some search on this site and not only you will get your answer but also zillions of other information about tanning.

[unity]

You should never get burned, period. You keep saying you never got "overly-burned". Well that tells me you did burn though.

Research points to the fact the moderate and responsible tanning is not dangerous, but burning, especially repeatedly, is.

If you going as few times are you are, you really will never get to increase you time. During the start you want to start with very few minutes and go about three times a week. A lot of this depends on your skin-type, which only a salon can help you with to be accurate. But you dont increase you time each time necessarily. The first week maybe 6 minutes each time in a 20 minute bed, the next week 8 minutes. Once you have the color you want, then you back down your weekly sessions. By spacing out your tans too far you are really just loosing what you had from the last time and increasing your time will just result in burning.

[Lou82]

Originally Posted by unity

You should never get burned, period. You keep saying you never got "overly-burned". Well that tells me you did burn though.

Well after my first couple sessions there was a burn as I was red but it was not painful or uncomfortable. So you're saying you can actually go right into a tan without burning even a little bit?

Thanks

[eileen]

I only tan once a week for 12 minutes to maintain my tan for 5 years. If you care that much about your health then it's the whole picture you should be looking at. How is your diet, do skin cancers run in your family, do you smoke, do you exercise, and do you put lotions on your body that are not full of chemicals.
OR are you merely falling prey to the scare tactics of the media backed by companies that profit from the sales of sunscreen? I would find a Dermatologist that is open minded to the benefits of tanning when done in moderation if that makes you feel better.... they're are some out there they send us customers. :)

[eileen]

Originally Posted by Lou82

Well after my first couple sessions there was a burn as I was red but it was not painful or uncomfortable. So you're saying you can actually go right into a tan without burning even a little bit?

Thanks

Yes you can.

[unity]

Originally Posted by Lou82

Well after my first couple sessions there was a burn as I was red but it was not painful or uncomfortable. So you're saying you can actually go right into a tan without burning even a little bit?

Thanks

As Eileen said, yes you can. You can always get a great tan without even the slightest burn.

But let try to clarify something. Does this "burn" appear right after you leave the bed or hours later? Redness right after a tan is not a burn, but erythema which goes away. Its just the skin reacting to the heat more than anything. If redness develops later and lasts for several hours or days, thats a type of erythema, a sunburn, you want to avoid.

Lots of people, for whatever reason, think you have to burn first to get a good tan. While there is truth in the fact that a burn can result in a dark tan, you are also damaging the skin by doing that. A burn is NOT needed at all to get a tan, in fact the skin will have a darker and longer lasting tan without the burn since the skin can concentrate on building a tan and not repairing itself.

[Lou82]

Originally Posted by unity

But let try to clarify something. Does this "burn" appear right after you leave the bed or hours later? Redness right after a tan is not a burn, but erythema which goes away. Its just the skin reacting to the heat more than anything. If redness develops later and lasts for several hours or days, thats a type of erythema, a sunburn, you want to avoid.

My redness appears hours later and lasted a couple days :-(

I wish I knew about this prior to starting. I guess the only positive is that I dont consistently get sun burns.

Eilenn,

I diet, exercise, and work out consistently. I do not smoke. I dont put any chemicals on my skin and from what I know nobody in my family ever had skin cancer. I guess I am falling prey to the scare tactics, but as unity pointed out to me I did burn which is never any good.

[engfant]

Yep. That's the beauty of your skin. It tells you when it's too much by getting all red and hurty.

[soltanner]

Originally Posted by unity

As Eileen said, yes you can. You can always get a great tan without even the slightest burn.

But let try to clarify something. Does this "burn" appear right after you leave the bed or hours later? Redness right after a tan is not a burn, but erythema which goes away. Its just the skin reacting to the heat more than anything. If redness develops later and lasts for several hours or days, thats a type of erythema, a sunburn, you want to avoid.

Lots of people, for whatever reason, think you have to burn first to get a good tan. While there is truth in the fact that a burn can result in a dark tan, you are also damaging the skin by doing that. A burn is NOT needed at all to get a tan, in fact the skin will have a darker and longer lasting tan without the burn since the skin can concentrate on building a tan and not repairing itself.

Unity -

You and Eileen should make a nice hand-out/brochure for salons. You have a really good way of putting information without overloading people with statistics or yelling at them for not knowing something already. Your explanations are easy to read and comprehend.

Do you mind if I quote you from this post for a few leaflets in my salons [to my burn-before-turn clients]? I really appreciate the simplicity of your advice - if you've ever read anything I've ever written on here (please don't), I've got what's fondly known amongt my family & friends as The Gift of Gab, to everyone else it's diarrhea of the mouth. Ugh.

Thanks for all the wonderful help. You two are great. I love Engfant too - he knows a lot and is extremely funny (but I'm still a little scared of him, not sure why...maybe it's all the CAPS).

I still haven't figured out how to actually post a question (I run in Opera, and the instructions won't load - I've sent email twice, but alas to no avail. I guess they've read some of my posts), but I gather a plethora of information just by reading. Very happy to have this site to go to.