Do you use self tanners?

So simple question: Do you use self tanners? Tanning beds? Tan at the beach? Or are you super anal about sunscreen?

My friends and I made a video the other day, and I was pretty much glowing white. XD I've even had issues getting foundation light enough for my skin tone. So I was thinking, maybe give the tan in a bottle a go. Thus the question. Also, I'm just a really curious person about other people's habits. 

I say be yourself, and keep using the sunblock.  I've never understood people's obsession with tanning.

i just put on those tan wipes when i go on holidays & have to 'expose' myself, especially my legs. even tho im pretty brown already. i would never harm my skin with uv rays if i can help it tho.

I am the same way!  I am super white, but I don't mind.  If I was made to be tan, I would be.  Since I'm not, I don't try to change it.  I always wear sunblock religiously because I want to have nice skin (not wrinkled) when I am older.  As for the lotions, it's the best option, but I honestly can always tell when people use fake tanner...it never looks natural.  

I would tell you to just accept your beautiful pale skin...there is nothing wrong with it! 

I'm half Polish, so I go from white to burnt red to slightly darker white when I'm in the sun for extended periods of time. For the most part, I actually like being pale though, so it works.

I've never tried any self tanners because every kind I've seen has turned people orange, streaky and/or splotchy.

Last summer I was in a wedding and, since I'm so pale I glow, I decided to get an airbrush tan.  We chose the lightest shade because I didn't want to be dark just have some color since the dress was strapless and knee length.

It looked great but the process was annoying.  I couldn't get wet for six hours after the spray.   It was August so very hot and humid and I basically had to sit inside with the air conditioner running for most of a day. 

I wouldn't do it regularly but it was great for a special occasion.

Clinique makes a great foam self tanner that I swear by. I used to use it religiously, but age as made me comfortable with my pale Irish self, but every once in a while a nice *fake* tan can help :)

I love my pale skin and wear sunscreen religiously. I tanned when I was younger, but it was more "burned" than "tan." I outgrew it, fortunately. I think pale skin is beautiful!

I got a spray tan done with a group of friends at a tanning salon...3 days before my wedding haha! Big Mistake! I had light brown and dark brown stripes all over my body from where my clothes rubbed on the tanning liquid. The whitest girl in the group turned orange even though the place advertized that it would not turn orange. And the 2 other girls ended up with stains under their boobs and armpits that still, 3 months later, have not gone away. I have also used tanning lotions and they were just as horrible, if not, more than the professional spray tan.

I use a gradul tanner in the winter. I think the one I have right now is Loreal. It's a lotion which bronzes you fairly gradually, normally 3 or so applications before you really notice it. It doesn't actually do a whole lot (which is good because you avoid the fake look), but it keeps me from looking completely pastey in the winter.

I like being pasty, although my mother and sister are several shades whiter so next to them I look tan.

I think tanning beds are really terrible for your skin. I've never tried tan in a bottle but I don't particularly like the idea. I think your skin is your skin and you should treat it well.

I used to go tanning and get tanned at the beach til my mom got a melanoma.  She got it removed and was lucky it was only stage one.  Now I use mystic tanning spray.

Although a beautiful glow looks lovely it does age the skin and increase the risk of skin cancer.  I'll stick to the spray.

I used to be a freak about tanning!  I hated the way I looked in my pale skin, and got so dark people asked me what my nationality was.  I didn't even look like my twin sister anymore!

But I have since changed my ways and decided I didn't want to look like a hag when I'm 30!  I've used tanning lotions sporatically since then.  The L'Oreal one is good, as well as the Jergen's one that builds the tan slowly.  However, be sure to distribute VERY evenly, and if it's too much pressure - there are some great spray-on tanning booths out there! 

I think embracing your natural skin color is always best, but if you're looking to spice it up for a special occasion - go for it!

I'm so white I think I glow in the dark.  I tanned a little bit (tanning bed) in my 20s but now I regret it and wish I hadn't.  I did the fake tanner thing a couple of times - I used Fake Bake airbrush tan (aerosol) and it results in a fairly realistic tan - at first, but after about a day, it turns into the typical patchy, uneven orangy tone that is a dead giveaway for self tanners.  I had to use an exfoliant and scrub it all off.  I also used the gradual tanners in lotion, but it gave off a terrible smell, esp. when exercising.  From now on I will just live with being gloriously white, and when the tan girls mock me I will smile to myself in the secret knowledge that I will likely outlive them.  :)

Ok I'll admit it I visit the tanning bed once or twice a week it is included in my gym membership.  I am a naturally pale person but I tan easily.  When I don't tan my legs are so pale they look bluish because you can faintly see the veins.  I only tan once or twice per week because then I don't actually look tan I just don't look freakishly white.  Plus in the summer it helps me not to burn in the real sun.  Before I started tanning even with 45+spf sunblock I would still burn at the beach.

I tried the Jergan's "Natural Glow" about a month before my wedding.  My skin looked great for a week until I noticed that my knees and elbows had turned dark orange!  Fortunately, I had plenty of time for it to wear off.  But I highly reccommend exfoliating very well before starting any kind of self tanning lotion.

Original Post by trikki:

I use a gradul tanner in the winter. I think the one I have right now is Loreal. It's a lotion which bronzes you fairly gradually, normally 3 or so applications before you really notice it. It doesn't actually do a whole lot (which is good because you avoid the fake look), but it keeps me from looking completely pastey in the winter.

I use this one on my face and I like it a lot. It's really good as far as not making you look splotchy.

The only down side is that my face is noticeably tanner than my neck and chest! I don't bother with those parts. I never know where to stop applying the lotion, because I might wear a vneck one day and a strapless dress that night. Too much of a pain for me.

My Elmer's glue kind of white is my signature color.  Most of the women in my family look very similar and it's hard for non-family members to tell us apart sometimes.  Most can pick me out of a line up because of my skin tone though.

I put moisturizer on daily with sunscreen in it and additional sunscreen when I'll be out for longer periods of time.

I've embraced my paste. And like a few posters, I wear sunscreen all year round, became a habit years ago. I use Banana Boat.

Original Post by kbella24:

I am the same way!  I am super white, but I don't mind.  If I was made to be tan, I would be.  Since I'm not, I don't try to change it.  I always wear sunblock religiously because I want to have nice skin (not wrinkled) when I am older.  As for the lotions, it's the best option, but I honestly can always tell when people use fake tanner...it never looks natural.  

I would tell you to just accept your beautiful pale skin...there is nothing wrong with it! 

After looking at your pictures, I think you are a perfect example of why you don't use tanner. Your fair skin is super gorgeous!!!!!!!

Original Post by schnooder:

Original Post by kbella24:

I am the same way!  I am super white, but I don't mind.  If I was made to be tan, I would be.  Since I'm not, I don't try to change it.  I always wear sunblock religiously because I want to have nice skin (not wrinkled) when I am older.  As for the lotions, it's the best option, but I honestly can always tell when people use fake tanner...it never looks natural.  

I would tell you to just accept your beautiful pale skin...there is nothing wrong with it! 

After looking at your pictures, I think you are a perfect example of why you don't use tanner. Your fair skin is super gorgeous!!!!!!!

Thanks schnooder!