to think that people who sneer at fake tans...

[CeQueLEnfer]

... are partly responsible for the rise in skin cancer deaths?

I read the story today of Vinnie Jones and his wife both suffering from skin cancer and it got me thinking. There is no doubt that having a tan makes you look younger, healthier and slimmer, so I can understand why people want to have one.

But when people do the responsible thing and fake it, other people can be very nasty. References to looking "orange", "tangoed" and "chavvy" and other put-downs put people off having a fake tan in favour of a proper tan, in spite of the risks.

I think people should be applauded for going the fake route if they want a tan, not sneered at. And those who do sneer should think about the damage they are causing.

AIBU? What do others think?

"a tan makes you look younger, healthier and slimmer."

No, I'm afraid not. The phrase you are looking for is 'browner'.
A tan makes you look browner.

randall

Careful, that looked dangerously close to a joke. You'll get told to do one.

odd boots

comparing it to e-cigs isn't really a fair comparison. (although I do understand what you mean).

We promote healthier eating, why not promote healthier tanning?

How is fake tan a healthy alternative to the sun? 'it's full of chemicals that get soaked into your skin!

I am another person who didn't discriminate and sneers at all tans. Enjoy the skin you have ffs, tans do not make you look younger or healthier

Randall

Because we all need to eat, eating isn't a social construct that will go in and out of fashion, it is a basic life sustaining activity.

Because, to live, we need to eat. We don't need to tan.

How is fake tan a healthy alternative to the sun? 'it's full of chemicals that get soaked into your skin!

Actually, no. DHA (the active ingredient in fake tan) is just sugar beet. You can get organic tans with nothing artificial added. Not full of chemicals at all.

Do you think that people sneer at "fake tan" or only at "obvious fake tan"?

Soz. It's just the bitterness talking.

Nicotine is a natural ingredient too.

I wouldn't be surprised if we hear sooner or later that fake tan can be carcinogenic as well.

Everyone is entitled to different opinions about 'tans'.

But I think we can all agree the Op is wrong.

Lets untite

Natural does NOT = good for you or even just harmless

Tans are a matter of taste.
I doubt that fake tanning has prevented a single skin scanner - people arrive on holiday 'tanned' and think they have a level of protection so don't apply sunscreen and fry anyway.

And yy a tan makes you browner, not healthier, slimmer or more beautiful

I'm naturally pale. If I tan, naturally or otherwise, frankly I look like I've forgotten to wash - it doesn't suit me at all. YABU. Not everyone looks better with a tan.

If you believe that natural = good then you need to educate yourself. Organic does not equal good either, and I am a huge Organic advocate! Not only that, but be realistic, how many people who use fake tan by organic stuff?

I agree pacific

It does not make you, slimmer, more beautiful or healthier looking.

A young mum died aged 33 after developing skin cancer. Friends said she was a 'very regular' sunbed user who topped up her tan as often as she could, sometimes a few times a week. [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2488356/Young-mother-dies-getting-skin-cancer-sunbeds-aged-just-33.html#ixzz2le704QkO
Here]] is the story.

I think we should do more to encourage people to tan safely. Belittling people who tan safely is IMO perpetuating the skin cancer epidemic.

DHA has been used since the 60s as a self-tanner. In all that time, there has not been one single case of an adverse reaction. Not one. Some people may be allergic to the added ingredients, but you get that with anything.

Nobody is denying that sun bed use is a huge risk for skins cancer.

We should not encourage people to tan more safely, we should be grateful when this fairly recent obsession with brown skin for people who are not naturally brown-skinned has passed. As it will, like any fashion.

As an aside, when living in Africa and developing quite some colour just from spending a lot of time outside (in spite of hat and sunscreen etc), the local people used to laugh at me and my 'red skin' - to me it did not look 'red' at all (and I've had sunburn before and know what 'red' looks like

a bad fake tan can just make you look like a sideboard yabu and shallow nobody needs a tan it doesn't make you look better and slimmer WTF, people should wear sun cream to protect their skin sneerers are not responsible for people getting skin cancer,

Don't worry OP, according to the latest research the fake orange look is out of fashion. 1/3 of tanning salons had closed down this year and the sales of tanning products has dropped by almost 30%. Most celebrities had returned to their natural look. I wonder what going to happen to all orange mum's at DC school, can't imagine their natural colour.

OP do you work for fake bake ?