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?

People who are vocal in their dislike of fake tan are to blame for those who develop skin cancer as a result of excessive sunbathing or use of sunbeds?

Let me think for a moment.

No.

People's vanity and/or ignorance is responsible for their developing
skin cancer.

I don't think that it is entirely fair to say that people who feel the need to tan are stupid or even unusual in being influenced by the fashion industry and it's marketing. I doubt very much that any of us are uninfluenced in some way (hair style, clothes choice, make up, hair removal etc all are pushed mostly successfully).

I certainly recall feeling pretty miserable about my day-glo white skin as a teenager. It takes a fair bit of confidence to ignore prevailing norms, and pale and interesting can be difficult to carry off. If all of the models, celebrities, your friends etc are tanned then the temptation to slap on a bit of brown die may be very strong (I tried it once, it looked terrible and I've never done it again!).

I think it's reasonable to say that the prevailing fashion for a tanned look (hopefully waning now) and those that have pushed it have almost certainly influenced the number of people with melanomas. Sneering people less so.

Yabvu and a bit dim.

Rise in skin cancer? That'll be people putting tanning before putting skin protection on. For vanity.

Anorexia? That'll be a mental illness then. And judging by the size of people on average this society is only "anti-fat" in people's minds. There is no anorexia epidemic, there is an obesity epidemic.

I dont think ill ever be a tanning kind of person,i am a natural look person and that suits my personality and im happy this way.I do sometimes feel on nights out etc if i have flesh showing people will be like ew at me but then I think well this is who I am.I remember going to a wedding and wearing skin coloured tights, so like leg colour,and some minging bloke saying "heard of fake tan?" To me thinking he was being all jokey/friendly so I just said " yeah but this is my skin colour so why would I feel I need to change it?"

On a lighter note, It's called "Sun Kissed" not "Raped by a Dorito!"

Limited, I would have been so tempted to say 'yes, I've heard of fake tan. Have you heard of shutting the hell up?'

It's called "Sun Kissed" not "Raped by a Dorito!"

Quote of the day!

Hearbrokenmum73

YABU. Better a fake tan than a real one, but even better just not to bother with trying to go a different colour.

I don't think it's the fault of people who sneer. I get spray tans, and they don't look orange. I'm very very pale so I only get a light colour. I would never EVER go on a sunbed, and I don't tan naturally anyway so I don't lay out in the sun. I don't sneer at people who don't have them, I don't do it because it is in "fashion", I just prefer the way it looks on me, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Live and let live, in my opinion.

Lol youthecat,i was actually cringing that this awful creature was judging me.I dont want to give a description of him but I couldve pointed out a few misdemeanors in his presentation if I was REALLY FRICKING RUDE!!!!

I have always hated fake tans until I saw a woman I know who has just come back from australia . She tans without sun cream. She is 30yet she has skin that looks like leather . Think brown and deep wrinkles. At least fake tan doesn't do that .

Very odd argument, surely if you're worried about the effect of tanning on health, you should be promoting the idea that pale is beautiful, not perpetuating the nonsense that pale is less desirable by promoting fake tanning (and saying that being pale makes you look older, unhealthy and fatter!).

Really, I think you should think about spouting nonsense like that as absolute fact.

What a crock of shit, OP. I can't recall people who don't the look of fake tans holding tan-lovers down on a beach and forcing them to fry under the sun Unless an individual has the sort of colouring and genetic background that means they tan easily and tans look natural, people generally look bloody awful with a tan. As for looking younger, that's ridiculous. Every pale person I know looks yonks younger than their tanned peers. I am on the translucent end of the paleness scale and am in my 40s, but people generally think I am 30 at most. That's not boasting, it's a fact, and it can even be annoying at times.

And anorexia is a mental illness with a genetic component, with cases documented thousands of years ago (albeit without the title, of course). Anorexia is credited for being behind many of the 'visions' of female mystics in the Middle Ages, for example.

Is there any documented proof that a single person who has got skin cancer from tanning and burning under the sun, chose to get burnt and tanned instead of using fake tan, because they felt humilated by anti-fake tan comments? Of course not. And plenty of people get skin cancer without the sun being the cause.

"Erm..the people responsible for the rise of skin cancer are the idiots who don't think they need to look after their skin. It's called personal responsibility."

Really anyone can get skin cancer. I have had two basal cell carcinomas and do object to being referred to as an idiot. I have been on very few package holidays, and have holidayed in Western Scotland for the last twelve years! The rise in skin cancer rates may be partly due to better diagnosis and identification of skin cancers. BCC can be very slow growing. I had one on my back for years, kept being prescribed anti fungal cream by my doctor who did not recognise what it was. I was 35 and the Consultant Dermatologist told me she generally sees them in much older people. Sun damage may have occurred when I was younger, family holidays to Spain etc. I have posted on this thread before, but I urge anyone who is worried or has anything they are concerned about to go to their GP and go back if any rash or mark does not clear up. GP's also need to be better at recognising that skin cancer is occurring in younger people. The sooner it is treated the better. I wish Vinnie Jones and his wife all the best. What a devastating diagnosis.

I really don't like fake tans unless they are very, very subtle. The whole orangey look is very unattractive and very 'fake'

Tans are horrible. I don't think they make you look younger, healthier or slimmer but you're probably right about fake tans being safer if you want one.

You can get organic tans with nothing artificial added. Not full of chemicals at all.

Er I think you will find that organic substances are full of chemicals. And artificial doesn't mean bad.

as s

as someone who is naturally dark I think the 'pale is beautiful' line is quite insulting actually.

also the •people's vanity and or ignorance is respond able for developing skin cancer* really? my dh had a mole that became cancerous and he never sunbathed!!

each to their own. fake tans can look great, overdone tans look as daft as over made up.

incidentally tans do make you look thinner and mask cellulite, that's obvious really.

I've never used fake tans. Just back from a week in the sun and have the barest hint of colour. I use good quality spf 50 products and sit under an umbrella. A tan = sun damage so imho not a good look. Everyone is responsible for their own actions so YABU.

my grandad was from Scotland - he never burned in his life, he never tanned in his life, he got skin cancer..... it was NOTHING to do with vanity or ignorance... it was also nothing to do with people having fake tan being sneered at...

stuff happens...

I'll just stick with the skin I'm in....

Well in answer to"pale is beautiful" being insulting,how do you think it feels for people who dont tan when people are sneering at them for not making themselves darker.I think it is kind of the same thing.Natural is beautiful in my opinion,i like to see peoples real appearance that to me is lovely.

I agree Limited. Pale, medium, dark, all skin colours are beautiful. If someone says "pale is beautiful" in response to someone who thinks they should darken their skin colour, that's fair enough. And exactly the same applies the other way round. No-one should feel they must change their skin colour, whatever it may be, to fit in with others.