Let's talk about tanning.

rasp.berry · May 2012

My skin has yet to come out of hibernation because I'm always so busy, and as a result, hasn't seen the sun since last September. Needless to say, I`ve got a case of the pasties going on.

Are any of you doing anything to get a bit more of a glow to your skin? Are you doing it naturally by laying outside? Are you getting a fake bake at a spray tan salon? Are you taking on the huge risk of tanning beds?

At the moment, I'm thinking I'll try to make some time to lay outside (mostly to relax, but a little colour is a nice side effect). I don't think much will happen though because I get bored just laying there, and I don't tolerate the heat well (I get nauseous!). Also, I can only do it on the weekends and if it happens to rain, I'm SOL.

I'm too weirded out to try a spray tan. There's so many instructions and I'm worried about ruining my clothes/looking like an oompa loompa by accident. I've also never used a synthetic tanning lotion or anything, so I have no idea how my skin would react. And cancer ain't cool, so I think that's probably out too.

kelsey+brandon · May 2012

I selected the "natural tanning" option. I definitely don't plan on laying out, but I know I'll be at the beach at least once (b-party) between now and the wedding, so I'm definitely planning on getting a little bit of color.

mbishop7 · May 2012

I was tanning for a while, I've tanned on and off my whole college career. I recently sort of jumped on the "tanning is bad for you" bandwagon.. My winter white has gone, so I have some color. I think I'm just gonna stick with that for the wedding.

midgetthemighty · May 2012

I have never tanned in my life and I don't ever plan on it. I only get "accidental" tan from being outside.

acaponi87 · May 2012

I'm fake baking and getting some real sun too.

Teep · May 2012

I was planning on trying to get some natural sun, but the past few weekends here have been pretty overcast. I bought 8 sessions at a local tanning salon, I might not use all 8 though. I just want a little bit of color.

michellep1 · May 2012

I'm doing the tanning bed because the weather here is very unreliable. I want to go very slowly and have control over it so I can prevent any burn and get to the exact shade I want. I know there's risks but being of Mediterranean descent does help and I'd be very uncomfortable being pasty or burned on my wedding day, so tanning bed it is!

peachykeen26 · May 2012

Not tanning. Not interested in cancer or being a different shade of pasty white.

I only ever burn, so its pointless for me to try to tan. And, I don't want a spray tan.

daria24 · May 2012

Same as Peachy. FI has had skin cancer at 35, get your moles checked people! So we both prefer the alabaster look.

AbeandCarrie · May 2012

I have been going to the tanning salon a couple of time a week for about a month. I don't want to get really tan, I have just been trying to put some pigment in my translucent skin. I didnt want to blend in with my dress!

LiveLaughLove04 · May 2012

Ditto Midge. I may try some of the lotion that over a span of a few weeks in makes your skin slightly darker but I'm nervous to do that and end up with streaks of uneven color so I probably won't try it.

midgetthemighty · May 2012

The way I look at it, it's not me. At all. So why would I change that for my wedding day?

Two of my bridesmaids were talking about tanning spurred by one of them posting the story about that idiot lady who took her 5-6 year old to the tanning bed. They both said the reason they were tanning/using tan lotion was for my wedding. I commented and said I wasn't even tanning for my wedding but that they could do whatever they wished. I thought it was hilarious because I've never once said they should be tan. One of them tans all the time but the other is like me about it. Interesting what people feel they need to do for weddings.

LiveLaughLove04 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_lets-talk-about-tanning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:74439216-78f1-41b1-919c-71f5e8b14057Post:eb48674f-d32e-46f4-8133-f4d4deccdaa2">Re: Let's talk about tanning.</a>:
[QUOTE]The way I look at it, it's not me. At all. So why would I change that for my wedding day? Two of my bridesmaids were talking about tanning spurred by one of them posting the story about that idiot lady who took her 5-6 year old to the tanning bed. They both said the reason they were tanning/using tan lotion was for my wedding. I commented and said I wasn't even tanning for my wedding but that they could do whatever they wished. I thought it was hilarious because I've never once said they should be tan. One of them tans all the time but the other is like me about it. Interesting what people feel they need to do for weddings.
Posted by midgetthemighty[/QUOTE]
I think this is how I'm looking at it. I asked my sister if I would look weird with a white dress and she said absolutely not and that tanning just wouldn't look like me. So now I just need to actually remember sunscreen so I'm not a lobster. :)

rasp.berry · May 2012

I never really make an effort to tan either. At least not in the sense of laying outside for that specific purpose. I think that's why I've never really thought about it for the wedding until now. At most, I might try and take one sunny afternoon to get some rays, but more or less for the vitamin D and the stress relief of an hour to myself than anything else.

I don't tan particularly easily either. I have to use tons of sunscreen, so sometimes it doesn't do anything to my skin tone. If I don't use it, I burn. My daughter has my skin tone as me and is the same way, but my son gets super dark after just one afternoon in the sun. I throw sunscreen on him anyway, but I doubt he would be all that capable of burning anyway. He's darker than FI right now from spending his afternoons outside!

Kfudge0714 · May 2012

I always make an effort to tan... its just something I do. That being said I will be tanning naturally and using a tanning bed.

rachellola77 · May 2012

Thinking about doing a little bit of fake-baking before the big day for a small amount of color. I tanned way back when in high school this way and have done some spray tanning in college but it's a lot of work to make sure you exfoliate and hold out on your shower long enough (has anyone seen the friends where Ross gets his front side like 4 times ha!) I know it's all kinds of bad for you but I find it's also a great stress reliever (which is REALLY needed) It would be nice to be able to get some color from gardening & just being outside but my dress is strapless and I'm not going to be prancing around in a tube top doing yard work.

raemae24 · May 2012

I'm tanning, only because I don't want to be the exact same shade as my dress! I know it isn't incredibly healthy, and personally I find using sunless tanner way easier. But for my wedding, for my one white dress moment, I want to have UV based color. I'm a BM in a friends wedding in late summer, and I'll be using sunless tanner for that.
I'm a huge fan of St Tropaz for my body (http://www.sephora.com/self-tan-bronzing-mousse-P261322?skuId=1256890). It gives you great color (read: Dark!), so I think its perfect for in the summer and lake season. It takes work to get it close to perfect, so if you're going to go this route you NEED to do a few test runs first until you get the hang of it.
For face I use this (http://www.sephora.com/alpha-beta-r-glow-pads-P282415?skuId=1325216). I love them, and they actually help treat/prevent breakouts. So easy to use, kinda fool proof.
Honestly I've trieds tons of products, so if anyone has a question let me know!

cwill6212 · May 2012

I used to use the tanning bed. But recently, after reading more reports about the risks, I've grown a little leary. I don't typically burn or anything like that... but I've opted to spray/airbrush tan for the wedding. I don't like it as well, but I don't live in a sunny place where I can get a little color the natural way from being outside.

chrmun · May 2012

I've got about 4 hours of softball per weekend between now and then, so I'll be tan.

On a spray-tan note: I was in line behind a woman at Nordstrom the other day and the poor thing had orange stripes on her legs. She looked like she had been graffitied.

ECOlson · May 2012

I've already had six moles removed (I'm only 27!), so no, I will definitely not be trying to get any sun on purpose. If I do, it'll be from my runs outside or something like that.

janeash · May 2012

I'm going to try and get as much natural tanning done as possible (if we can keep the sun out up here), but FI and I are also doing 5 tanning sessions each just to get a bit of colour. They had a buy 5, get 10 special on this month so I'm using 5 and he's using 5

MoistPantiesDischarge · May 2012

Tanning always makes me so moist!

SasTwatch · May 2012

I have the best sunscreen in the world.

tgerl · May 2012

I'm doing spray tan, but not from a machine. I'm doing the type that is airbrushed on by a person. I had one last week and it was great. I finally found a place that does a great job (I've had a lot of bad ones so be cautious if you try this option).

poonplower3000 · May 2012

I didn't want to spray tan for my wedding because it often rubs off on clothes, and that could be bad in a white dress.

I did tan for a month and I am glad I did. I don't normally get a lot of sun but I just got kind of tan. Also, I wanted some sort of base color for my tropical honeymoon.

brittneyh4 · May 2012

FI and I are going to tan just to get a tiny bit of color. I don't want tan lines/straps (strapless dress) so I'm going to be vain for a bit and do it. I've never gone to a bed before, so I feel kind of weird about it. A lot of people suggested I go before the HM anyway, or I'll just burn right away.

rasp.berry · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_lets-talk-about-tanning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:74439216-78f1-41b1-919c-71f5e8b14057Post:0eb00a63-524f-4db8-8503-471e6414e983">Re: Let's talk about tanning.</a>:
[QUOTE]I've got about 4 hours of softball per weekend between now and then, so I'll be tan. On a spray-tan note: I was in line behind a woman at Nordstrom the other day and the poor thing had orange stripes on her legs. <strong> She looked like she had been graffitied.
</strong>Posted by chrmun[/QUOTE]

Ick. This is my concern with spray tans.

caitlintaylor07 · May 2012

If you are interested in spray tan, I highly suggest spending a little extra $$ and get it done by a professional airbrusher. I fake bake, but I will also be getting airbrushed the morning of my rehersal dinner.

Just be sure that you do it within enough time of your wedding that you won't have to shave your legs after you get it. Shaving is what makes it streak.

MMRoberts11 · May 2012

I've NEVER had a good spray tan if it's via machine or human. With that in mind, I have a farmers tan so I'll be tanning a bit to even myself out. Michigan weather is hit or miss so I'll just fake bake. I also want a base before we leave for our HM so I don't fry so I need to tan for that.

MiksChick23 · May 2012

I am very anti-tanning bed. Don't want to make my skin cancer risk higher just to look better. This attitude changed when I had friends and family have melanomas removed.

I do, however, welcome a natural tan. Not so much by laying out for hours to attain it, but the kind that comes with a day on the boat, or 18 holes on the golf course. I plan on spray-tanning for the wedding so I'm even. My tan is more pinkish than anything. I do not brown well.

PS - Airbrushed spray tans only rub off the day you get them done. Once you shower (and pat dry to avoid streaking), they won't rub off on clothing. I wouldn't do a booth tan though, those tend to be uneven and darker in weird places (like hands).

SheilaDancer43 · May 2012

I've been tanning on and off in tanning beds for years. I used to literally go everyday in spring and summer...it was just in my routine. Also, growing up in Florida, I went to the beach everyday over summers. I go to the tanning bed way less often now, but I'm still going, and I'm not near a beach in Alabama. I'll be laying on the beach/by the pool before the wedding though.

Let's talk about tanning.

Re: Let's talk about tanning.

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