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To Tan or Not To Tan?

cmiles89cmiles89 member
First Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment
in Wedding Hair, Makeup, & Beauty Forums
Brief background- I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it is notoriously rainy and overcast the majority of the year. This is normally (except last year, it was a crazy nice summer) not an incorrect assumption. And I am a stereotypical pasty, pale girl with little to no color, whatsoever. I have never tanned in a tanning bed in my life, not once (nor do I really have a desire to). Whenever I'm out in the sun, I use mega-sunscreen, no exception. I guess my question is whether I should try to get some color before my wedding at some point. Is it worth it? I like the idea of a spray tan but I would be terrified that it would turn out orange or come off on my dress, because that would be just my luck. I don't want to be insanely washed out in my pictures, but I still want to look like me.

Has anyone else gone from super duper pale to not for your wedding? Was it worth it?
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Re: To Tan or Not To Tan?

  • JoanE2012JoanE2012 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    cmiles89 said:
    Brief background- I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it is notoriously rainy and overcast the majority of the year. This is normally (except last year, it was a crazy nice summer) not an incorrect assumption. And I am a stereotypical pasty, pale girl with little to no color, whatsoever. I have never tanned in a tanning bed in my life, not once (nor do I really have a desire to). Whenever I'm out in the sun, I use mega-sunscreen, no exception. I guess my question is whether I should try to get some color before my wedding at some point. Is it worth it? I like the idea of a spray tan but I would be terrified that it would turn out orange or come off on my dress, because that would be just my luck. I don't want to be insanely washed out in my pictures, but I still want to look like me.

    Has anyone else gone from super duper pale to not for your wedding? Was it worth it?
    I'm of the opinion that you really don't want to look radically different than your usual self though.  If you are never tan, are people going to look and wonder what's up?  If you still want a bit of color, I'd recommend going to try out the spray tan ahead of time so you can figure out what looks best.  Maybe just a hint of color would enhance you while not really looking too different to everyone else. 

    Also, I didn't do a spray tan, but I have heard it does come off on the dress.
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  • heatheremandersonheatheremanderson member
    Name Dropper First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    From one pasty girl to another - avoid tanning.
    Regular tanning if you are not accustomed to it can cause severe burning.
    Some spray tanning salons offer a 'fair' colour option but often you may still seem to have an 'unnatural' colour. never spray tan/tan too closely to the wedding (that is when you get the wear off on your dress).
     
    There is an alternative..... jergans has a lotion that gives you a 'natural' glow. its not as stark as tanning but gives you a touch of colour other than pasty
     
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  • AddieCakeAddieCake member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    I self tan regularly using Jergens on my upper body and Loreal on my lower body. I am a pale skinned redhead, so having a dark tan would be clearly fake, but I like that these products give me a little bit of color so that I do not look pasty all the time. I definitely recommend experimenting long before  your wedding day if you're going to use any self tanning method. 


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  • emmyg65emmyg65 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    If you never, ever tan, why would you want to tan for your wedding day? Personally, I think pale skin is really pretty. But then, I'm a bit biased as a fellow pale person. :)
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Unless you regularly tan on a daily basis I think tanning just for your wedding would be odd.

    I tanned for my July wedding because A) I typically get a base tan prior to the summer and B) normally would be out in the sun during late spring and summer so I would naturally be getting tan. I mainly tanned to avoid tan lines that I otherwise would have gotten from being out by the pool or in my yard.

    If you want to remove the pasty aspect from your pale skin I would suggest trying out a spray tan once or twice to see if you like the results and to see how it may or may not come off on your clothes.

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  • tammym1001tammym1001 member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    I would say if you are always pale then it would be weird for you to get a tan just for your wedding. 

    I am getting a spray tan, but it's because I want to even out my skin color for the wedding day. If you got a spray tan on the day of then yes it would rub off on your dress. I'm getting married on Saturday so I'm spray tanning on Thursday evening. I will have showered already before the wedding so nothing will rub off. The color won't be as dark as if I got it on the day of, but I don't care about that. 

    Also, if you are going to do this then definitely do a few trial runs first to see how it looks on you and also how it wears on your skin. You will also need to match your make up to the tan so if you are having a trial you will need to tan before that and if you are doing your own make up you will need to tan before you go purchase your make up to match it up.
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  • Ven&RadioVen&Radio member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    As a fellow pasty white girl, don't tan. It doesn't sound like it would be very "you".
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  • GApeachesGApeaches member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I am also very pale and have done both the spray tan and tanning bed multiple times. I would say don't tan. I liked feeling tan at the time, but when I see old pictures of myself I notice how unnatural I looked. What skin tone does your fiance have? If he is also fair it might look funny if you are a bronze goddess and he is pasty Pete, you know? Just a thought :)
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    I will also add that it really depends on the time of year you get married.  It would have been really odd if I was tan like I was when I got married in July if I had instead gotten married in January.  KWIM?  People tend to expect others to have a bit of a tan in the summer months but not in the winter months.  It would look extremely noticeable and fake if you were super tan in the winter as opposed to the summer.

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  • speedyblazer11speedyblazer11 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    Was coming onto this board to ask then same question.  As a fellow pale skin lady, I was really against the tanning bed, but I have been unhappy with spray tan results (orange ish look and the peel that happens when it wears off).  I also use the tan in a bottle products but the come off on my clothes if i sweat. 

    I work outside so I have tan lines on my shoulders and neck so I think I am going to compromise my morals and just go lay in the tanning bed for like 15mins a week to even out a little. 

    Good luck with your choice!
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  • vt&dtvt&dt member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment First Answer
    My skin tone changes pretty drastically seasonally... I spend a lot of time outside and can be really tan in the summer, and can get pretty pale in the dead of winter.

    I'll be (hopefully) a medium between my two extremes for my wedding in March - partly because I like the way I look better when I'm a little darker, and partly to help prepare for our honeymoon in Cozumel - a base tan will help me burn less on the beach!
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  • mimiphinmimiphin member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    FI calls me "Casper the freaking ghost" and swears that I glow in the dark. We went on island this past summer for vacation and I tanned quite a bit, I hated it! None of my make-up matched for months and I just looked, wrong!
    For me I know that I will not ever tan again and will slather on the sunscreen to prevent it from happening. I am going to be happy walking down the aisle with my paleness, I was taught that the rule of thumb for weddings is the bride should look like she just woke up perfect that day, no heavy make-up (unless its her day to day look), no crazy new hair colours.

    I would try it out before the big day (6 months or so at least IMHO) and see what you think.

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  • KerisaHarman21KerisaHarman21 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Where in the PNW do you live??? I Live in Oregon, and I can tell you that I do go tanning, not only for Vitamin D (which you know we lack) but also for a little bit of color! I go to SunsUp Tanning and I can tell you what I loved most about tanning there (and working there for a little bit) was that I was great at customzing plans for brides and they didn't have to fork out a ton of money to get a little color for their wedding not to mention for their honeymoon! You don't wan to burn on your honeymoon!!! That would be the worst!! If you do go tanning make sure you go completely naked so you don't have weird tan lines, thankfully most times if you do get some, doing an upgrade or mixing up your lotion usage helps get rid of them quickly :)
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  • AshleyNicole1218AshleyNicole1218 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment Name Dropper
    As a woman who just haaaaaaad to be tan in her teens and frequented tanning beds to achieve it, and just a few months ago had to have a biopsy to remove 2 inches of basal cell carcenoma, I do NOT recommend tanning beds as some PP have. Please do yourself a favor and stick to the home lotion like Jergens or take a few trial runs in the spray tan booth.
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  • offthemarket915offthemarket915 member
    5 Love Its First Answer First Comment First Anniversary

    Don't use the tanning beds.   They are incredibly damaging to your skin. 

    Hire a good makeup artist who will bring out your features and make you look your best.

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  • cosenti7cosenti7 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    I am fairly pale but I am familiar with spray tanning for special occasions. While it can appear natural, I am leaning towards not tanning at all for my October 2014 wedding. You want to still look like you in your wedding pictures and unless you are always tanning or at the beach, it may not be "you." I am envious of my tan gfs but I want to look like me on my big day. Depending on where and when you go, you could have some mishaps. If you do go, go to an airbrush professional who will personally spray you with a light light tan, just so you have a touch of color. But I think a good makeup artist can make you feel great and confident being a beautiful, fair-skinned bride too!
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  • jessi3617jessi3617 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment
    I am very pale. I use to tan all the time. And have no slowed down. I will be tanning for about a month before the wedding so that I can get just a base color.
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    Try the True Blue Spa Moisturizing Gradual Tanner from Bath and Body Works. It really is just a nicee, gradual glow so you don't match your dress. It smells nice too.

    If you've protected your skin so well to this point, don't damage it in a tanning bed now! 
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  • thelastdreamerthelastdreamer member
    First Answer 5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment
    A good spray tan will not make you look orange. Read reviews online and try out a few places to find one that gives you the right color. Also, some have options that are less likely to come off on clothes, so you can ask about that. I love getting a spray tan and don't have an issue with it coming off on clothes after the first day. I have fairish skin with freckles and love how I look tanner, but it's not worth risking my health to tan a lot to me (I have a family history of skin cancer). 
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  • carliealissacarliealissa member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper

    Tan is on the way out and will only continue to be, with all we continue to learn about sun damage and cancer.  Pale skin is becoming increasingly beautiful (I mean as trends go).  I say embrace it.  Think Downton Abbey :)

     

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  • bananasplit472001bananasplit472001 member
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    I agree on this!
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