Fake Baking

[minniemex]

http://www.smileyarena.net/Library/extra_large/summer/pack2/getting_tanned.gif (http://www.smileyarena.net/download.aspx?id=12703) Not a topic covered here yet - what are your thoughts on it??

I do fake http://www.smileyarena.net/Library/extra_large/summer/pack1/tan.gif (http://www.smileyarena.net/download.aspx?id=12674)mostly because my husband is 100% scandinavian & burns sitting under a palapa if he had no color beforehand (Even with 50 sunblock!!) - We figure that the "burn" he would get is just as dangerous as the fake baking - no win situation either way - so in anticipation of our trip we always hit the beds -

[Gale in KY]

I tried fake baking once..went for 20 visits and you couldn't even tell I had tried to fake bake.
I am fair skinned and have never tanned well, just fry and then it peels off.
I usually get the spray on stuff..Mystic tan or other..that lasts about 3 days as the ocean water fades it quickly. Always use a strong SPF sunscreen over it...don't forget lips..they burn easily..use a lip balm with high Spf too.
Now, I use those moisturizers with self tanner in them on top of the spray on stuff..that helps keep the color until I can slowly work my way to the real thing. Jergens Natural Glow has an SPF of 20 and Juice Organics has one that is a bit stronger I think. I wait for about 3 hrs after I apply it,(usually use the moisturizer at night) then put regular sunscreen on too. After that dries you can put another coat of moisturizer..It might take me all summer to get a tan line..but it's better than looking and feeling like a lobster.

Oddly enough, my daughter in law tans dark almost overnight..but she got a burn in Tulum..we still aren't sure if it was wind or sun..I have never burned there, but I take my sun in small doses..and spend alot of time under a palapa.
I am paranoid about sunburn..after suffering from severe burns when I was a kid..No way am I going to get burned and let it ruin my time in Mexico..even if it means I have to stay under a palapa!

[joellybaby]

I am fair skinned and have never tanned well, just fry and then it peels off.

That sounds like me too! I'm planning to go with fake stuff too - not sure whether to have it professionally done when I'm in LA just before and then take some of the tan-moisturiser too. Will certainly need my sunblock to try to keep :cool: instead of :mad:. Most of the time I'm happy enough with pale and interesting but on the beach a bit of colour would be nice.

Personally, even if I thought they'd work for me (which I doubt as my skin just won't tan), I'd avoid sun beds the same as sun bathing. Tanning is skin damage, and though less painful than burning it will still seriously speed up wrinkling and increase your skin cancer risk in the future.

[Gale in KY]

I actually had to argue with the girl at Mystic Tan to get her to crank it up a notch..lol..she wanted to start with a light color...because of my pasty white skin..lol..I told her I was going out of the country and nobody would know I wasnt' brown skinned..lol! I compromised with a light base, then came back in three days for a darker spray..worked well for me.

Problem with this is that ocean water, and even pool water fades it quick..so it helps to use either an excelerator that you can get at the salon, or those color added moisturizers are great..still for me, a week and it's gone.

I have used Jergen's for face color all over with good results, not just on my face. Be sure to exfoliate a few days in advance of the spray for good results.

I have super dry skin too..so flaky is a problem the whole year round. Nothing worse than the sun/water mix for flaky alligator skin.

It's a toss up for me...I like both Loreal and Jergen's...and just bought some Dove..gonna try their product too..see how well it works.

I agree, the less sun the better, artificial or otherwise. Brown skin is damaged skin.

I keep wishing pasty white would be considered chic..but that hasn't really happened yet.:rolleyes:

[austxdan]

OK, I'll admit it. "My name is Dan and I fake bake". There, I said it.

I will again hit 'the beds' in a couple of days to try to get about 6 weeks of gradually increasing color in my pale blonde haired (back in the day) blue eyed physique. The way I see it, starting at about 5 minutes and gradually increasing up to about 20 just before we head south, may buy me some non-burn time in the 'Roo.

This is about the best I can hope for: (and I mean tan-wise, although a cold beer on the beach IS the best to hope for)
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g259/djmarquette/Tulum2006/DanAtLasRanitasSmall.jpg


Each trip I tell Chris that we'll have a tanning contest and I'm gonna win. Of course she has a built-in head start. This is Chris at about day 3 of last year's trip.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g259/djmarquette/Tulum2006/CatKinHaSmall.jpg

Yeah - you guessed it. I usually lose.

But I have hope! This COULD BE the year !!! :D


Dan

[firecop680]

I fake and bake also Dan. I figure it beats a really bad sunburn while in Tulum!!!

[Gale in KY]

Wow Dan, if I was as dark as you..I would be a happy traveler..lol! One would think with dark hair and eyes, I would tan easily..but nope, tanning beds just don't do a thing..I was very disappointed after all those visits, stayed in for 20 minutes each time from the start..and nothing, no burn, no color, just nothing.

[austxdan]

Wow Dan, if I was as dark as you..I would be a happy traveler..lol!

It helps that I sit in the shade for all my pictures :D .


Dan

[minniemex]

Wow Dan, if I was as dark as you..I would be a happy traveler..lol! One would think with dark hair and eyes, I would tan easily..but nope, tanning beds just don't do a thing..I was very disappointed after all those visits, stayed in for 20 minutes each time from the start..and nothing, no burn, no color, just nothing.

Gale - I would say that they ripped you off - their bulbs had no sun left in them - I was talking to the owners of the one I go to & they say there are salons out there that "buy" their used bulbs - mine also provides little stickers to put on your body (in a hidden place)(mine can go anywhere,as I wear a bathing tent) & I have always seen improvement after each session - I would say give it another try & if it does not work it is the bulbs & not you!! Also, using a tanning excelerater or lotion works great also - you lose 50% of your tan to dry skin!

[Armchairshrink]

I'd love to use a tanning lotion because I guarantee I am the palest one here (no, really, I am incredibly pale!) but my skin is such an odd shade that even most makeup and all tanning products I've used have left me looking orange. REALLY orange. Even the ones who say they will not leave you looking orange. I think it's becuase I'm too reddish?

Anyway I don't really tan much, but I do freckle! I never thought about tanning beds. It's a possibility I guess - I know it's somewhat damaging but it would be nice to not be completely embarrassed by my glaring whiteness.

[Gale in KY]

MM..I assumed that was the problem until I used my sister in laws bed..she has her own..and got the same result this past summer. It is just my skin type I think. I have the same result after being in the sun 30 minutes a day for an entire summer..nadda color.

Armchair..I would imagine if you have a reddish skin tone, your result from a self tanner would tend to be on the red/orange side. Come vacation with me, we will look pasty white together!:rolleyes: I always envied those with a rich golden brown tan..doubt I will ever have one. :confused:

[bill2354]

I'm just an average guy of Anglo-Saxon deascent with a shaved head and I've never 'faked it' because I keep reading that it's not healthy. I use 45 UV protection and wear a hat, and while I will burn a little, it never has been a problem.:D

[AdGuy]

Okay...I realize I have an 'unfair advantage' living in the Sunshine State but I never indoor tan. Having a pool and spending alot of time outside on my horse farm definitely helps. Just not sure I could lie still for 20 minutes a day in one of those coffins! :eek:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i317/FloridaAdGuy/12-06-2006Pictureson512MB046.jpg

[mayaflya]

We just got back from a week at Tankah and Kantenah Bays. I spent a month (twenty sessions) pre-tanning...working up to 12 min, max. I had what I considered a pretty good base tan going...I'd been getting comments about my tan BEFORE going to Mexico. My wife had trouble getting the time in her schedule to do more than three tanning sessions in before our trip. She wasn't quite tan...but not pasty white either. We both used SPF 30 sunscreen with Mexoryl anytime we were in the direct sun. This stuff was simply amazing. Neither one of us burned or got red, both of us deepened our tans, and it didn't irritate my eyes like other sunscreens do.

Mexoryl was recently (last summer) FDA approved in the US...but we have not been able to find any local outlets for it...had to buy it online from a Canadian Pharmacy. It was about $15/150ml....but well worth the extra cost. It is supposed to be uniquely effective against the UVA rays that hasten skin aging.

I'm of Northern European descent and burn easily. Last year, even with spf 45 to 60 sunscreens, we both burned to some extent. This year, no problems....other than we're back home and it's snowing outside ;-(

[PhyllisB]

No fake baking for me either.... just good ol' SPF 30.... no major problems burning except the end of my first trip, when I got cocky and thought I could skimp on the suncreen just a little so I could have an even MORE awesome tan when I got home, better to make friends and coworkers envious.... but karma had the last laugh and alas I came home quite red!

But that was my own dumb fault. Last trip, no problemas!

I don't spend much time in the sun either so I'm usually very white when I'm down there. I just never really cared, I 'spose. Everyone looks tan when you're wearing sunglasses! :)

p.

[HthreeO]

I am very fair complected also. I used to tan to prevent the BIG BURN . The beds I use have different levels. some are supposed to not burn but focus on browning. I actually got a nice brown going but these beds are more expensive. I don't know if it is a scam or not but it actually worked for me. This trip I did no tanning on pupose because of las ninas. I wanted to be close to their skin color to be in tune with their sun needs. i personally think that pale white skin is georgeous. I did not get much sun exposure until i started going to mexico frequently. Having lived there last year and aging 5 years in 1, I vote stay white if you can. Your skin is your biggest organ. protect it and who cares if you are your natural skin color. BTW pale white skin has been fashionable in the past. it used to represent (victorian era??) wealth as the wealthy were not working and exposed to the elements.

[AdGuy]

"Your skin is your biggest organ."

Speak for yourself HthreeO! :p

[minniemex]

"Your skin is your biggest organ."

Speak for yourself HthreeO! :p

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_11_9.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_213.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_11_8.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_1.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cus/e_1_49.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_34_2.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cus/e_1_49.gif

[minniemex]

Am loving your new signature!!


http://8.uploadmirror.com/uploaded/3/142/glitter_maker_04_04_2007_12_09_31_60405.gif (http://www.glittermaker.com/)

[beachreader]

BTW pale white skin has been fashionable in the past. it used to represent (victorian era??) wealth as the wealthy were not working and exposed to the elements.


Well, being fat used to be fashionable as well, since only the wealthy could afford to eat more then they needed to. How times have changed!

I'm half-Swedish, half-Scottish (more or less), but I can get a decent tan going if I try hard. I don't bother fake baking anymore, but I do use 30 most of the time. I do a complete coat before I even put my suit on in the morning (so, like 7 a.m.), then reapply to the important bits three or four times during the day. I bring a little thing of 45 so I can do some paint-by-number work the next day to cover up the bits that did burn a little, but I usually stick with 30 the whole time, maybe move down to 15 after 5 days or so.

With this, I stay out in the sun for an entire day in Mexico and I love the feeling. Here in NJ, by midway through the summer, I could go down to a 4 or 8 and still get no more color. I guess a person only has so much color in them!

Yes, I know I'm going to be wrinkly and age-spotty, but I do take very good care of my face skin (hat and products all the time), so I guess I just figured I'd pick my battles, and brown flab looks better than white flab any day. :D

[beachreader]

By the way, Lee, where was that horribly crowded beach your picture was taken on? I see six whole people and a boat! I'm guessing that wasn't in front of Tita Tulum...

[Jessie James]

I do not burn easy, but thanks to my not hitting the tanning bed the other year prior to hitting the beach in Playa and Tulum I fried for the first time in my life. So I will always hit the tanning bed a few time before I go. I never want to suffer like that again. The sun gets a hell of a lot hotter there than here in Minnesota.

[AdGuy]

By the way, Lee, where was that horribly crowded beach your picture was taken on? I see six whole people and a boat! I'm guessing that wasn't in front of Tita Tulum...

You're right...that was actually taken up in PDC at Mamita's Beach Club (or whatever that trendy place is called!). We spent a couple of hours there on our way down last June. After 100 minutes of the Euro-techno-funk booming music and crowds, we grabbed our gear and headed to Half Moon Bay!

[beachreader]

That music is annoying, isn't it!

[Armchairshrink]

That sucks, our hotel gives us free passes to Mamitas. I'm not a fan of electronic music, my boyfriend might like it. When I was there in 2003 I don't recall that kind of music but it looks like the place has tried to go more ... eurotrashy.

[HthreeO]

"Your skin is your biggest organ."

Speak for yourself HthreeO! :p
OK I was being serious but I walked right into that one. It is critical to take care of your skin. Skin cancer is scary business and can spread to other parts of your body blah, blah, blah.

the old saying "beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors" comes to mind.

[AdGuy]

That sucks, our hotel gives us free passes to Mamitas. I'm not a fan of electronic music, my boyfriend might like it. When I was there in 2003 I don't recall that kind of music but it looks like the place has tried to go more ... eurotrashy.

Not to mention, Jen and I picked up Vibrio cholerae from the ceviche there. :eek: That souvenier, when combined with the loud music, preening people, and crowded conditions, cause me to run far from Mamitas!!

[beachreader]

I did have a great Tikin Xic at Mamita's, but on the one beautiful beach day we had in Playa in December (it rained most days so we did other things) we moved next door to the new "Kool"--it's the old Tucan.

Wonderful chairs, teak with thick cushions and little pull-out trays, not those old plastic ones like Mamita's. Cost us I think 100 pesos for the day and the service was great.

Everything was perfect, in fact (we had front-row seats), but that house music is just so banal it drives me out of my mind. We even asked the guy if they could change the music, he said no, this is what the management feels creates the atmosphere they want there. Yick.

Still, those chairs are so nice, next time I find myself in Playa staying at a non-beach hotel, I'll probably go back there.

[minniemex]

Not to mention, Jen and I picked up Vibrio cholerae from the ceviche there. :eek: That souvenier, when combined with the loud music, preening people, and crowded conditions, cause me to run far from Mamitas!!

Is this what you were referring to??

This bacterium infects only humans and other primates. It is related to V. cholerae Serogroup O1, the organism that causes Asiatic or epidemic cholera, but causes a disease reported to be less severe than cholera. Both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of the organism are normal inhabitants of marine and estuarine environments of the United States. This organism has been referred to as non-cholera vibrio (NCV) and nonagglutinable vibrio (NAG) in the past, although at least 139 "O" serogroups have been identified. (Note: for V. cholerae O139, see Chapter 7). http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_2_6.gif

[sonofabeach]

I usually fake bake to get a tan and then tend to keep it a while due to hanging the beach, working in the the yard, the pool, and cruisin' topless in the Jeep.

SPF-0 all the way!!!!!!!

[austxdan]

OK, so yesterday I started the "fake baking" route. I stopped at one place real close to the house, and didn't like the prices and the lack of beds. I leave in about 6 weeks and am doing the math based on that. So I am hitting another place a little farther out, but more reasonable.

BTW - is it just me or does tanning salon pricing seem a little like figuring out what cell phone "package" you are buying? :eek: That fine print can kill ya.

So I "pinked up" a little the first day, but this is the first time I am doing the whole "5 different levels" thing. You go from 1 to 2 to etc and after 5 you go back to one and increase the time. Hmmm, different as before I always just kept adding minutes. We'll see.

My whole reason for this is that I love to be outside in MX. I do use a TON of sunblock, but I can be on the beach or in the water for a full day just to relax. If I don't have a base I'll be bacon by sunset. (I know, I use a lot of bacon analogies :confused: ).

So I'm off to toast. Back later.


Dan

[beachreader]

Mmmmmm, bacon....

[minniemex]

Mmmmmm, bacon....

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_12_18.gif


= Dan) My whole reason for this is that I love to be outside in MX. I do use a TON of sunblock, but I can be on the beach or in the water for a full day just to relax. If I don't have a base I'll be http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_12_18.gifbacon by sunset. (I know, I use a lot of http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_12_18.gif analogies :confused: ).

I'm with you on this one Dan - without fake baking first, I or my husband cannot stay out in the sun http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_12_18.gif all day either!

[austxdan]

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_12_18.gif
I'm with you on this one Dan - without fake baking first, I or my husband cannot stay out in the sun http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_12_18.gif all day either!

Minnie -

You are hilarious. I'll have to try to come up with something really obscure sometime to give you a challenge for a "smiley".

FYI - it's in the mid-30's and rainy/sleety here in Austin today. And lemme tell ya, it ain't much warmer in the tanning salon either :eek: . Since I am still early on in my base (like only the 2nd trip), the bulbs didn't even get warm enough to keep me from shivering. Brrrr (ok minnie, insert icon of bald, pale guy shivering in a tanning booth). :rolleyes:


Dan

[minniemex]

Come on Dan - http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15/15_8_213.gifDon't http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_8_15.gif your http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/28/28_3_7.gif in that http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_1_121.gif Pump up the time!! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_2_81.gif

[firecop680]

Dan I am with ya!!!! I love the outdoors in Mexico and I want all the time I can get in it!! I am in the bald club also, so don't forget to lotion up that head!!!
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_5.gifI burnt my head last year and you can't even shave for 5-6 days after that. It almost ruined my whole trip!!

[bellydancer]

I'm fake baking now even though my trip is not til August. I always start the spring off in a tanning bed so I can wear shorts til I'm out in the sun enough to get a real tan. Tommy's gonna try the tanning bed this year for the first time. Someone on this thread said something about lying in a coffin to tan...now days you don't have to do that...I use the stand up beds. No more lying on hot beds and sweating. They even have straps to hold on to so you can get underarms tan too...just be very careful the first time or two cause you can really get blistered on that white tender area under your arm.

[SassyGirl]

Nope. No baking for me, period! When I am in the Caribbean I slather on the SPF-50 before I even leave the cabana! And I reapply and reapply all day and sit in the shade as much as possible. Plus, I wear a hat and sunglasses.

I don't tan that much anyway so there's no use in trying and I am more concerned about skin cancer and getting wrinkled then I am about being tan.

[minniemex]

Firecop - Love your new signature! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/14/14_3_9.gifhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/14/14_3_14.gif

[Lynnette]

I fake bake for medical reasons.....really, I do. If I don't go with a light tan, I get serious sun poisoning, no matter what number sunblock I use. There is nothing worse than missing 3 or 4 days of vacation due to the rash and itching. I tan easily, so only about 6 sessions does it for me. I'll usually start "tanning" about two weeks before I leave.

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;10732;60/st/20070426/e/Isla+%26amp%3B+Soliman+Bay/k/ea95/event.png

http://http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;10732;60/st/20070426/e/Isla+%26amp%3B+Soliman+Bay/k/ea95/event.png

[patmex]

Yep. I fake baked for two weeks before my trip. Had a decent bit of color (I'm blonde haired and blue-eyed and burn easily). I used 15 SPF and 30 SPF in Tulum and still burned.

None of us used sunscreen on our last day on the beach and, man oh man, did we burn, even on Day 7, even the dark haired, dark skin, dark eyed ones.

[minniemex]

Ouch!!

[beachreader]

I couldn't even imagine being out in the sun down there without at least something on, unless it was after 5:00 or something. You guys were... brave? bold? crazy? One of those. :D

I feel your pain, though. My last bad sunburn, one where my chest turned almost purple, was in the DR on a cloudy day. I'd always known what they say about cloudy days burning worst than sunny ones, but I'd never believed it, mostly because it had never happened to me before. For some reason, that particular day, the old adage proved true. That was a nasty burn and I've never gone out (in the tropics) without a base coat of 30 since.

[austxdan]

OK folks, so this weekend saw my first 3 preparatory tans at a new place. I've gone to a cheapy Tan salon near the house for the last couple of years, and I guess you get what you pay for . . . not much.

But this year I went with Darque Tan. They have the whole 5 different types of beds thing going, where you progress from a level 1 to a level 2 to a level 3 etc and then after the level 5 you go back to a level 1 for longer time.

I've been quite surprised by the level of knowledge that the "Trixie's" at the front desk have. After spending 7 minutes in a Level 2 bed she looks at me and says "I'm only gonna give you 5 minutes on Level 3 since its only a 12 minute bed". Last years place would just fry me.

And this was the first time I ever got to use a standup bed. And yes, Chris is quite amused that after 5 minutes in a standup my arms DID get tired ;) .

So, I'm on my way. And I'll win this tanning contest this year. . . maybe.


Dan

[beachreader]

I haven't fake-baked in a while, but last time I did I used one of those stand-up booths. Dan, didn't they have the rope handles hanging from the ceiling? I hung onto those and felt like I was in a weird kind of science-fiction dungeon or something. Maybe you're too tall for those things to help you?

I also found I had to stand on a phone book (the Trixies at the front suggested it) in order to get my feet in the lights. Since I play golf, getting my feet tan was a big priority.