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Tanning Question

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by Austin, Feb 8, 2011.

  1. Austin

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    I can't seem to find much info on tanning and a lot of it is trying to sell me stuff or talking about indoor tanning. I can't find a good info page with in depth info on it anywhere it seems. All I find is opinions or small bits of info.

    I was wondering if anyone with some knowledge could answer a few questions.....

    1. Is it possible to tan in winter in southern california? (always yields indoor tanning results)
    2. How much time in the sun per day (or every other day?) do you need to have a nice tan?
    3. When is the best time of day?
    4. If you have not had a tan in years, will it take longr to get one? I know some people can go to hawaii, get really tan, even if they were not tan before... but i have not been tan since I was like 12 lol.
    5. How long does it take to build a tan?
    6. Tanning lotion to wear while laying in the sun?
    7. What else can I do?
     
  2. KaraBulut

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    You can tan anytime the sun is visible in the sky. Some of the worst sunburns that you can get are in the winter because there's often less cloud cover in the winter and the coolness of the air disguises the fact that you are getting sunburned.

    It depends on your natural skin tone and how your skin responds to the sun. There are some people who can walk outside without a shirt on and develop a tan immediately. There are other people who will never tan- they just burn.


    There's no good time of day for sun exposure, only worse times. You should avoid sun exposure when the sun is high in the sky- generally between noon and 5PM. If you are out during these times, you should use sunscreen. If you are in the water, you should refresh the sunscreen often because not only does the water wash off the sunscreen, the reflection of the sun on the surface of the water will increase your sun exposure.


    Ethnic groups who have increased melanin in their skin- like latinos or greeks- will tan quickly even if they haven't been exposed to the sun recently. People with fair skin will burn and it will take short periods of sun exposure over a long period of time to develop a tan.

    See #2


    Something with SF15 or higher.

    Investigate spray tanning.
     
  3. Ridiculous

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    Do suncreens increase the time it takes for a tan to develop, or just a burn? I assume yes, since I think the tan is triggered by the UV rays that are blocked by the sunscreen.

    If it does increase the time taken for a tan to develop, wouldn't it be better off just not wearing protection but spending less time in the sun/tanning booth? (apart from the fact that the sunscreen would give you a bigger margin of error between a tan and a burn)
     
  4. Alex

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    Sunscreens usually protect most against UVB, which causes direct DNA damage and a tan after 2 days due to stimulation of melanin production. UVA causes short-term oxidation of melanin leading to a faster tan.

    UVA causes the fastest skin-aging, much faster than UVB.

    UVB is generally considered the cancer-causing type, however new research shows UVA also does this via free radicals and reactive oxygen.


    Anyway to answer your question, both types of UV causes tan but at different time. I would assume that you'd end with the same result. Lower exposure with no sunscreen or longer exposure with sunscreen would probably end up being the same. Maybe Kara can answer?
     
    #4 Alex, Feb 9, 2011
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2011
  5. roborama

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    sun tan = sun damage, and there are plenty of really great self tanners out there why do you want to kill yourself? but if you do want to tan naturally use LOTS of sunscreen
     
  6. Lady Gaga

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    Sun tan does not mean sun damage. The increase in melanin, i.e. what causes a tan is a completely normal and natural response to sun exposure that does not damage your body. It's when you get sun burned, or go to tanning beds that cause damage.

    Getting tan is our body's defense against the sun from damaging our skin.
     
  7. Austin

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    Exactly, but there is still controversy. Not sure if it does age your skin or not though. What I don't understand is that, how putting chemicals all over your skin, can be better than being out in the sun, which people have been doing for thousands of years.

    "Edward Giovannucci, professor of medicine and nutrition at Harvard states that according to his research, people who have sufficient vitamin D due to UV exposure, and other intake, may prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer. His research also suggests that diet accounts very little for vitamin D3 necessary for curbing cancer. Michael Holick, Boston professor of dermatology, claimed that moderate exposure to sunlight probably reduces risk to many forms of cancer, diabetes, seasonal affective disorder, and other diseases.[18] These researchers are vigorously opposed by most dermatologists, for example, Dr. Elewski, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, argued that minutes of exposure to sunlight can be dangerous, and that people can get all the vitamin D they need through supplements. Large clinical studies have found vitamin D produced both through exposure to sunlight and through dietary supplements dramatically decreases cancer risk, and helps cancer recovery" (from wikipedia lol)


    Thank you, Kara, for the answers. But I have one more question, which some people have asked. If I do not use sunscreen, but go out for a shorter amount of time, is this the equivelant of using sunscreen and staying out longer? Or is there a difference in the tan that develops?
     
  8. Aya McCabre

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    Speaking from a country with one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, the only safe tan is a fake one. A tan is a natural response..... to damage. I can't say how safe or unsafe different types of tanning are (since all tanning is so strongly discouraged here) but please please stay away from tanning beds.... they are waaaaaay worse for you than normal exposure to sunlight.
     
  9. Ridiculous

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    Yes, New Zealand is minus an ozone-layer, so no environmental sun protection for us. It's like a permanent sunbed here.
     
  10. KaraBulut

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    The short answer is yes, suncreen will slow the tanning process. In theory you could stay out longer but the longer answer is that there are other factors at play.

    Not all sunscreens are the same, unfortunately. There are some sunscreens that are effective against visible light and UVB spectrum. There are others that are broad spectrum that have more complete coverage for visible, UVA and UVB. In general, you want to a sunscreen that will block as much radiation as possible. If you're fair skinned, you might want to use a sunblock instead of a sunscreen.

    The tanning response is the body's attempt to moderate radiation exposure from UV light. Sunscreens have an SPF factor that indicate how much radiation is being blocked, so an SPF of 15 would indicate that 14/15 of the UV radiation is being filtered by the screen if applied correctly. Unfortunately, this can't be translated directly into a time because UV exposure varies by time of day, time of year and global location. As another member mentioned, people in Australia and New Zealand get much more radiation exposure than someone in North America.


    We don't think of sunlight as radiation but that is exactly what it is. Humans have adapted to tolerate this form of radiation and in some wavelengths, we do benefit in things such as Vitamin D photosynthesis. The problem is that we can't pick and chose from the the good wavelengths and the bad wavelengths. When you are exposed, you are being irradiated and damage is occuring in your cells and in the supportive proteins in the skin. This causes premature aging and puts you at risk for cancer.

    Most humans will produce sufficient Vitamin D after 15-20 of sunlight exposure. Anything beyond that is not needed.
     
  11. Austin

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    So if you want a tan, but want to spend the least amount of time possible in the sun, what kind of sunscreen if any? :s
     
  12. flymetothemoon

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    I would suggest using something but something with a low SPF if you want to protect yourself but still get a tan and you don't plan to stay out in the sun for too long. Hawaiian Tropic makes a tanning lotion that has an SPF of 4, which won't do much as far as blocking the sun's rays but does still offer a little bit of protection from sun damage. If you're really pale, though, I'd suggest going for maybe an SPF of 15 so you don't burn because even a short time in the sun can burn someone who's really pale quite easily.
     
  13. Pseudojim

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    i'm just going to put the throwaway comment out there that... Vanilla white skin is hot and sexy. And as the government ads on TV say here, "there's nothing healthy about a tan".

    [youtube]EF40KBHFpn4[/youtube]

    look after yourself!

    ---------- Post added 20th Feb 2011 at 07:31 PM ----------

    there are so many things wrong with this reply, i don't know where to start
     
  14. LostandFound

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    Tanning ages your skin. Sure you'll look good now but in ten years you'll look twenty, thirty years older. That doesn't look good.

    A better thing is to look natural. If you enjoy going to the beach, go the beach and the tan will come. If you enjoy being outside, go outside and the tan will come.
     
  15. roborama

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    yay i feel good im not the only one to lecture you:slight_smile: see here at ec we care! ive had a family member who almost died and lost an ear because of skin cancer, that doesnt need to be you