Super tanned people everywhere!

If I see people with a perfect, even, all over tan I know it’s fake tan.

Cross post but agreeing with @Jet2holiday . Gradual, every day, safe exposure is seen to be healthy. Hiding away indoors for most of the year then getting a blast of sun for a week on holiday seems to be the problem.

It is thought that skin cancer is more likely with the intense bursts in a year rather than a bit of sun every day. That might be why office workers actually have higher rates of melanoma.

Skin cancer rates are also higher in the northern countries of Europe versus southern countries. It’s very complicated but I don’t think hiding from the sun is the answer.

Sadly the people I have known with melanoma were not sun worshipers at all.

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear that and I can understand why it would make you feel really fearful about the sun. I've also had a parent with skin cancer, thankfully not melanoma, and it made me avoid the sun for a while. I've also had a parent die in a really horrible way from a disease so I'm not at all dismissive of your experience💐💐

I do hope you won't go too far the other way as a result of your experience though. All the research suggests that we do need a decent amount of sunshine to thrive. In that article I shared they talk about intermittent exposure being potentially the really harmful thing - i.e. avoiding the sun for ages and then going all in occasionally. Building up a gradual exposure is really different to that. It doesn't have to be extreme. Sensible sunshine exposure appears protective against various cancers and and may even reduce melanoma mortality (also in the paper). I hope this doesn't sound hectoring or patronising.

I'm quite surprised about some of the attitudes on this thread particularly when skin cancer is one of the most preventable cancers. Contrast it with a UPF thread where MNetters won't even eat a crisp 😆

You sound quite naïve @Scarylett Australia has higher rates of skin cancer than the UK, but there are more deaths here than in Australia.

OMG I can’t believe you wrote this, you are so wrong.

As kids - in the seventies - we were out in it all summer - nobody had skin cancer. It isn't like we live in Australia.

I thought skin cancer rates were increasing every year & particularly amongst older people who didn't know about the dangers when young?

Nothing wrong with a bit of sun as long as you are not out in it all day, every day. As kids - in the seventies - we were out in it all summer - nobody had skin cancer. It isn't like we live in Australia.

Nasals 100%. Can spot the tans from them a mile off, not a good look plus unsafe.

Thank you @smugmugg. I’m really glad your parent survived 🙏 💐

It's pretty much impossible to live your life in hot sunny weather and not get a tan to some degree, even with sunscreen and avoiding direct exposure as much as possible. I find all the hand wringing about how unhealthy it is completely bizarre tbh. For the vast vast majority of people, a light tan from simply existing on this planet during summer isn't going to give them cancer. Lack of sun exposure and outdoor activity is much more likely to be harmful. People need to get a grip

@Lauralou19Yes I understand that. In my part of the UK, it’s been mostly warm and sunny for weeks. Please don’t imagine I’m hiding inside my house (I have to go to work for starters 😂) So I do spend time outside but always sit in the shade/wear a hat/cover shoulders and arms. Inevitably I have picked up some colour anyway.

You have quoted me but didn’t really comment on what I said.

The point is that a sun tan isn’t completely safe, and that is the case whether you have deliberately got tanned or not 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Waitingfordoggo

I used to love tanning & would really work in my tan but after a parent had skin cancer a few years ago I'm so careful. They are super lucky to still be here with only minimal facial scarring. It terrified me tbh.

I don’t know. Is it something to do with the sun?

We've had a decent summer this year with many days in a row of hot weather. I've annoyingly been burnt twice this year despite copious spf.

That said, two new sunbed shops have opened in the two villages next to mine....

The majority of the population would have a tab this year even without actively sunbathing. I love forest walks over lying on the beach sunbathing and you would still get a tan if you spent the day in a forest in this weather. We’ve had non stop sun since April in alot of the country. It would be sad if people didnt get out and about enjoying the warm days. If you look outdoors, most people are out enjoying it. Life is about balance.

It’s interesting but worrying to see that lots of people still think it is safe to have a tan as long as they didn’t burn. 🫤

As PP said, lots of young people have a really weird attitude to UV levels. When they read that the levels are high, they can’t wait to get outside and lie in direct sun. I had to have a chat with my DD about this a couple of years ago when she was 17. I pointed out that she had completely misunderstood the point of UV levels being published. It’s not telling you ‘this is a great time to get a tan!’ It’s telling you to be very careful!

And PP’s grandma was right that there is no such thing as a safe tan. Like everyone else, I enjoy picking up a bit of colour, but I’m well aware that it isn’t safe so I avoid it as much as possible.

I lost my Dad to melanoma. It is a fucking horrendous cancer. In the span of about 6 weeks, he went from seemingly completely healthy and normal to non-verbal, incontinent and unable to do anything for himself (wherever a melanoma is situated on the body, it can enter the bloodstream and travel silently to any and all organs of the body, including the brain). And he wasn’t a sun worshipper. He did spend a fair bit of time outside doing sports and activities but he never sunbathed.

It broke my heart and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

I dont know anyone in ‘real life’ who spends their days obsessing over skin cancer.

All my friends are brown from the sun (not sunbeds or fake tans). I also haven’t heard any of my friends talking about getting burnt either. We are all sensible, put suncream on if your heading out in the sun, kids covered in suncream (that goes without saying) and most people get some shade for the hottest part of the day.

We’ve not had a summer this good in years so most people will be brown from just being out and about at the weekend. Every outdoor attraction must have had the best Summer they can remember so enjoy the sun and getting out and about. Staying indoors on sunny days isnt healthy at all and nor is getting burnt to a crisp. Most people know to take the sensible middle-ground.

I live near a strong Korean community, msny don't tan because they cover arms & legs. Always wear hats.

Jesus what do you want out of this thread op?! 😂 So what if people have been out in the sun and caught a tan? I’m not sure why you’re bothered by it - is this a tsk tsk thread about not wearing sunscreen? We went to Egypt and used factor 50 - still came back bladdy tanned. We live next to a beach and the kids have been there almost daily since the weather has turned - obvs with protection and they are STILL catching the sun. I’m not sure of the problem?

Odd for MN to see people almost boasting of how dark they are even after sunscreen, since most discussions about sun exposure usually result in a bun fight about cancer

It's MNs, they are competitive about everything. "I am a shade of mahogany despite never going outside and wearing factor 50" is the new "I do 20k steps before 7am pottering around the house".

If it wasn't for our blue eyes, you would put us as Mediterranean as we all have dark brown hair.

Err plenty of English people tan 😆