to use a sunbed for 6 sessions before I go on sun hol?

[Irishchic]

It is to prevent me burning as i have not sunbathed in years. Worried about link to cancer with sunbeds, but surely just 6 or so sessions would not be enough to cause that?

weareallchangingnamesforthis No I do not think so, who is mo?

never mind

I definitely wouldn't. I also don't sunbathe and avoid midday sun altogether. Despite that, I already have a lovely colour from the last 4 or so weeks of UK sunshine. I use factor 30 here but would probably go higher if I was going abroad to a hot country.

I dont understand in this day and age why anyone uses sunbeds?? Crazy, dont do it!!

I'm pretty pale and would say to do a fake tan at home or get a spray tan just before you go. You haven't said where you're going but in Europe I'd generally start off with factor 30 suncream then maybe go down to factor 20 about halfway through the hols. Also make sure you wear a hat in the sun ad I once got sunstroke in Mexico and trust me, it was not pleasant.

Have a great holiday.

Is the risk of skin cancer on sunbeds any higher than the risk from a similar amount of UVA and UVB exposure from the real sun though?

I always assumed that sunbed users have higher cancer risk because they are absorbing more rays overall, and because in 5 minutes on a sunbed you can get teh equivalent of several hours lying in the sun. But if you just lie in the sun instead aren't you still at risk? Or is there something particularly bad about the sunbed rays that's not in sunshine?

Genuine question, please excuse ignorance.

Oh for heavens sake a couple of sunbed sessions before you hit the beach is hardly going to harm you! Im a fair skinned celt and would not dare board that plane without my trusty spray tan as it would take at least 8 or 10 sunbeds to reach my desired shade (latte). I love having a tan and can't see why anyone would pay £££s to sit under a flippin tree wearing a huge sunhat - get a life!

What ladybird said.
I've just come back from holiday, I have a great tan and didn't burn at all, I never do.
I pay for the sunshine when I go abroad, I'm not going to sit in the shade with a huge hat either.
Oh, and I used factor 6.
I'm also in my 50's and live in Scotland and I'm not leathery, just natural wrinkles.
That'll be the smoking though .

Sunbirds are awful dangerous things. Don't use one. There is no reason to. Wear suncream when you go abroad!

Some of you are pretty sad saying that you pay hundreds of pounds so you can slightly change the colour of your skin a holiday should be about doing new things in a new place not frying in the sun so you can go home looking a bit beige.

Each to their own Krum.
And yes I've done a lot of travelling, living abroad etc. in my youth.
I'm too lazy and old now to be hitch hiking with a rucksack on my back now, I like my comforts.
Lying on a sun lounger with a good book soaking up the rays, with the occasional trip to the pool bar and lots of swimming is my ideal holiday now.
And I'm not a bit beige, I'm a lovely natural brown and feel fab.

Why does being brown make you feel fab though?

Everybody looks better with a bit of colour.
IMO.

I used sunbeds in my 20s and I do regret it. I definitely would not use a sunbed now and I am surprised when people my age do. They increase the risk of sun cancer, not a risk worth taking.

I thought that the sun tanned look was unfashionable now, I rarely see anyone over the age of 30 with deep bronzed skin and a sun tan looks very ageing.

I don't sunbathe and I wear my children's factor 40 sun tan lotion. I don't burn but I do find that my skin still tans, I would rather it didn't to be honest!

Nah, they just look older.

Please don't. Use sunblock. Have a St Tropez tan if you want one - don't use a sunbed, not worth the risks AT ALL.

But look at the Olympians.
All those beautiful young golden people. Ok they don't sunbathe as such, they just train in the sun.
The mens' rowing teams wouldn't look so whoaar if they all had white peely wally bodies now, would they?
Long brown legs and brown rippling muscles... I'm all of a flutter now

Each to their own, indeed. Just wanted to clear up a couple of, er, FACTS though.
Using a sunbed before going on holiday will NOT:
a) prevent you from burning, or
b) 'prepare your skin for the sun'.
The more you expose your skin to UV rays (whether from a sunbed or the actual sun) the more likely you are to get skin cancer.
HTH

i used sunbeds from age 13 to 18 then didnt bother again until pre wedding to build up some colour. the ones where i live now are not very good anyway. Now im older i suppose its just not a priority anymore but they can be worthwhile both my husband and a friend have had them recommended by gps one for severe acne the other for other skin problems, i myself found them very good for my depression but i do worry about skin cancer these days.

I havnt ever myself or known anyone to burn on a sunbed but i do burn quickly in natural sun if i have base colour i dont so for that reason it could stop you burning on holiday its entirely up to you, if you know the risks and still choose to thats fine just like smoking, drinking, eating junk we are have our vices.

Ladybird, and lady beagle- the effects of UV add up on your skin over time. They cause damage at a cellular level, damage you don't always know about until its too late.

Sun beds are harmful and can be deadly. Melanoma are not always that easy to find. I've had one, a childhood friend has died from one two years ago and a friends brother passed away this year from one.

OP it's not worth it- accept your whiteness or fake it. Better to have pale skin than a tan coloured coffin.

Beagle you are talking rubbish.

What about Greg Rutherford's lovely alabaster complexion? Rebecca Adlington's? Beth Tweddle's? Some of the cyclists are also quite naturally pale, but they still have great bodies.

I hate tan propaganda. Three cheers for natural skin colours, whatever they may be.

Using a sun bed is not the same as other vices!
It's not addictive, something we must do, or beneficial in any way.
It's very easy to not go to a tanning salon.
I hate that people who love tanning defend it by putting down people who either sensibly choose not to tan or naturally don't tan (although tan people dont believe some people don't tan, why would they lie ) why defend what you do by calling people who don't ugly?

Personally I've never used a sunbed, I've never needed to.
Nobody said that people that don't tan are ugly, in fact it's the other way about on this thread.
Anyway, my tan won't last long, it never does, but it's nice while it lasts.
I don't use fake tan either so by October I'll be back to my normal winter palour.

I wouldn't anymore. I used sunbeds in my late 20's, the only time in my life I wore skirts.

A tan covers up my scars, spots, makes my body hair less obvious and hides ingrown hair scars. But I don't get the chance to get in the garden so much these days, and I'm more sensible in my old age.