White people I have a question

[Deleted]

LOL at the thread title.

[otowngirl]

I tanned for about a month several years back. *Hangs head in shame* I do recall there being certain "levels," but I don't know about the "layers" thing. Weird.

[anasara]

No idea but it doesn't sound good.

FWIW my mom's Irish & dad is Brazilian so they cancel each other out & I stay basically the same color all year long.

[darkling_glory]

Yes, there are levels. It is how strong the beds/bulbs are. I'm not sure about the layers thing though.

I'm darker skinned and can go at a higher level bed (for more minutes) than my pasty white husband.

I only tan before vacations to the beach!

[cjeanette]

No, I don't. I remember there were european beds and such back when I went in HS.

[jenny1223]

I have no idea what that means but I would be confused, concerned and judging as well.

[HoneySpider]

I'm with others, I remember there being levels to the beds, but no idea what the layers thing is.

[Deleted]

There are different levels of tanning beds. I don't know what the "layers" thing means.

( I do not tan, but I did for a few months as a teen, and it was dumb.)

[heyrebekah]

I have no idea.

[ijack]

no clue. but I'll ask my husband's cousin's boyfriend - he's white.

[Awkward]

Jul 6, 2012 13:29:05 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Jul 6, 2012 13:25:45 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

I only tan before vacations to the beach!

Why do you tan before you get to the beach???

I hope you wear lots of sunscreen on the beach!!

I was going to say that makes about as much sense as saying "I only smoke cigarettes before I'm going to go smoke cigarettes" if she's not wearing any sun protection at the beach. Neither is a good idea.

[Nonny]

I have no idea. My one foray into tanning resulted in a n00b employee putting me into a bed for three times as long as my poor little skin could handle (I got out after about twice the time when realized something was wrong, and the bed kept going). I was burned so badly that I missed two days of work, and I forced the owner of the salon to pay me for those missed days.

[darkling_glory]

Jul 6, 2012 13:29:05 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Jul 6, 2012 13:25:45 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

I only tan before vacations to the beach!

Why do you tan before you get to the beach???

I hope you wear lots of sunscreen on the beach!!

Because most of the year I'm not an "outdoors" person. So I go to the beds to build up a little bit of a base tan over a week or so. That way I can hang out doors without getting burnt.

Same with my hubby. He's so white that he can only go for 4 minutes at a time until he builds up a bit of a tan. Then he can enjoy the beach with some SPF 50 and not get burnt.

ETA: We both wear sunscreen on our face each and every day (its in my moisturizer) and we definitely wear sunscreen at the beach. But sometimes you forget to reapply and get burnt. The base tan prevents that. At least, in my experience.

[cjeanette]

Jul 6, 2012 13:31:25 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

I haven't used a tanning bed since it was cool to put the little Playboy bunny stickers on.

I was classy. I did the palm tree.

Which makes no sense as I have always hated palm trees.....

[cjeanette]

Jul 6, 2012 13:29:05 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Jul 6, 2012 13:25:45 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

I only tan before vacations to the beach!

Why do you tan before you get to the beach???

I hope you wear lots of sunscreen on the beach!!

I assume so you don't look super white in a bathing suit.

[Deleted]

Does she have psoriasis or another skin sue treated with lights?

[Roc A Bee]

No clue. I've tanned for a month or so when I was younger. It was before a wedding, I think. Now I'd just use self tanner of I really cared.

[heygrey]

Jul 6, 2012 13:31:25 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

I haven't used a tanning bed since it was cool to put the little Playboy bunny stickers on.

i had a bunny on one hip and a star on the other.

ah, to be 17 again.

[cjeanette]

Oh and there was a dolphin sticker!

[aspentosh]

Jul 6, 2012 13:33:54 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

Jul 6, 2012 13:29:05 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Why do you tan before you get to the beach???

I hope you wear lots of sunscreen on the beach!!

Because most of the year I'm not an "outdoors" person. So I go to the beds to build up a little bit of a base tan over a week or so. That way I can hang out doors without getting burnt.

Same with my hubby. He's so white that he can only go for 4 minutes at a time until he builds up a bit of a tan. Then he can enjoy the beach with some SPF 50 and not get burnt.

ETA: We both wear sunscreen on our face each and every day (its in my moisturizer) and we definitely wear sunscreen at the beach. But sometimes you forget to reapply and get burnt. The base tan prevents that. At least, in my experience.

We're outdoorsy, but we're both extremely pale and burn easily. We did a tanning bed a few times before our vacation to Turks and Caicos and this was the first vacation where we didn't burn. We always apply sunscreen and take breaks, but the Irish and Scottish skin doesn't care.

[WOT?*]

Dr. Google is my friend.

Tanning beds have levels. Level 4 is the highest you can get. Level 1 is the basic, standard bed and has the fewest lamps (24-32) and highest UV rays so you need to go more frequently (3-4 times/week). Level 2 has more lamps (and bakes you a bit better so you only need to go to maintain your tan 2-3 times/week; it has about half the UV rays of a level 1. Level 3 has 60 or so lamps, using 160w reflective lamps. They result in a tan in about 10 minutes and a deep tan in 4-5 sessions. They are significantly lower in UV. Level 4 is the highest level and blocks out over 99% of UV rays. They tan fastest and require least maintenance of the tan (2-3 times/month). It is suggested to alternate between levels 3 and 4 "for best tanning results."

My first assumption re: the layers as it associates with tanning would be referencing the layers of her skin or dermis that are affected by the tanning. I assume that because the level 4 is a higher-level machine it reaches further into the skin for tanning results, beyond the outermost layer of the epidermis. My assumption is based primarily on the fact that less maintenance of the tan is required; skin sloughs off and therefore more layers of the skin must have been affected and treated for less maintenance to be needed. Whether it's referencing tanning deeper into her first layer of epidermis (the cornified layer, which ranges from 10-30 layers) or whether she's referencing going through the multiple layers and approaching her basal epidermis (the part joining the inner dermis to the epidermis) I have no idea. And all this is just a guess anyway.

[Deleted]

I have no idea what that means. There is a free tanning bed across the hall from my apartment, and I have never set foot in that room.

I am so white that I practically glow in the dark.

[Deleted]

Jul 6, 2012 13:33:54 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

Jul 6, 2012 13:29:05 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Why do you tan before you get to the beach???

I hope you wear lots of sunscreen on the beach!!

Because most of the year I'm not an "outdoors" person. So I go to the beds to build up a little bit of a base tan over a week or so. That way I can hang out doors without getting burnt.

Same with my hubby. He's so white that he can only go for 4 minutes at a time until he builds up a bit of a tan. Then he can enjoy the beach with some SPF 50 and not get burnt.

ETA: We both wear sunscreen on our face each and every day (its in my moisturizer) and we definitely wear sunscreen at the beach. But sometimes you forget to reapply and get burnt. The base tan prevents that. At least, in my experience.

Getting a "base tan" is a bad idea. www.mayoclinic.com/health/tanning/AN00589/

[hannamarin]

Base tan to prevent burning is a myth. Your skin is still being damaged. You are still smoking light cigarettes.
If you want to look good in your suit...spray tan. Or remember, "white is beautiful" (so is black, yellow, green and blue"

[darkling_glory]

Jul 6, 2012 14:01:11 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

Jul 6, 2012 13:33:54 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

Because most of the year I'm not an "outdoors" person. So I go to the beds to build up a little bit of a base tan over a week or so. That way I can hang out doors without getting burnt.

Same with my hubby. He's so white that he can only go for 4 minutes at a time until he builds up a bit of a tan. Then he can enjoy the beach with some SPF 50 and not get burnt.

ETA: We both wear sunscreen on our face each and every day (its in my moisturizer) and we definitely wear sunscreen at the beach. But sometimes you forget to reapply and get burnt. The base tan prevents that. At least, in my experience.

Getting a "base tan" is a bad idea. www.mayoclinic.com/health/tanning/AN00589/

Eh, like I said, I'm not an outdoors person so I rarely have a tan. I figure a week in the sun and a few sessions at the tanning salon each year are the equivalent to the amount of sun a normal person gets.

I'm not very worried about it.

[Awkward]

Just reading this thread is making my moles itch.

[kelly072206]

I worked at a tanning salon briefly and there are definitely different levels of beds based on the wattage of the bulbs, but I have no idea about the layers thing and I thought I had heard everything there was to hear about tanning while I worked there.

[Deleted]

White people are weird.

signed, a white person

[Deleted]

I think she means she's been 4 times (so she's put 4 "layers" on her tan).

I have never used a tanning bed.

[milkrations]

I'm white. I'm proud of my pale skin and have never used a tanning bed. When I put on a bathing suit, I can blind people with the whiteness of my thighs.