Am I mad??!! Opinions please x

[PointeToPointe]

the sensible part of my brain knows this is a bad idea but I really hate my skin so asking opinions / experiences. I can’t ask my parents or they would be mad at me haha

I’ve been thinking about going for sunbeds. I have psoriasis but it’s not for that, it’s purely to get a tan. I’ve been using fake tan (probably tried every brand and type available) but I’m at uni and my friends all tan really easily in the sun and some of them top it up by going for sunbeds and they always look so glowy and tanned. My skin type is extreme pale (Irish) and I have green eyes and fair hair so I NEVER tan in the sun (I didn’t wear sun cream in the Caribbean or in Europe on holidays and barely tanned). I burn a bit but not as badly as i would expect with being so pale, obviously I will burn a bit if I’m out in the blazing sun at the beach on holidays but never in Ireland or the UK.

I know about skin cancer and the risk but I keep thinking how small the risk is and that I’ve burned in the past so getting sunbeds now won’t make a difference now. We actually lost family members (before I was born) to a skin cancer which is usually very localised and not aggressive but apparently spread and became very aggressive and I’ve had other family from the same side suffer with melanoma (not sunbed related, just random). So I know how horrible skin cancer can be and obviously sunbeds are a bad idea if they increase the risk.

for what it’s worth I think other people look beautiful with pale skin but I just don’t suit it! I’m basically translucent

are sunbeds really as risky as they say? Since I’ve already had sunburn in the past would sunbeds really increase the risk of skin cancer significantly or would i be ok? Obviously skin cancer terrifies me and I don’t want to do damage to myself but if the risk is only tiny then would sunbeds be ok? Is there anyway to get sunbeds and reduce the risk of damage?

thanks x🥺

I have olive skin and never burn and live in the middle East so zero chance of tanning naturally. I use a sunbed twice a week, I don't age more because I use factor 50 the rest of the time and have botox. People are so po faced. Not everyone wants to look like a frazzled frumpy mum.

Also I needed my epipen when I tried a spray tan so can't use any DHA

I’m of Irish heritage and spent my childhood and teen summers with extended family in hot, sunny climates cultivating a tan. It never worked. I tried tanning beds when they first came in and neither did they.

After DF was diagnosed with a melanoma my mother begged me to have a mole check done privately. Two were removed and the pathology came back, essentially pre melanoma ( this isn’t a clinical or medical term). The dermatologist said it is very likely linked to all that sun with tanning beds the worst.

Seconding the PP saying it's really not worth it. You're very likely to look back in 20 years' time and think WTF was I thinking using a sun bed???!!

People whose skin tans easily and naturally will age well with it.

People whose skin doesn't tan easily and naturally will not age well with it. At all. If you don't get skin cancer, you'll get wrinkles, dark spots, and generally poor skin condition.

You also won't even get the 'glow' you see in your friends from using the sun beds. You will almost certainly get freckles and sunburn and probably a damaged skin barrier function.

Healthy, brown, natural skin on people who are born that way is gorgeous.

Healthy, pale, natural skin on people who are born THAT way is gorgeous.

If you get just enough sun for your skin type, and you get enough nutrition and sleep and a bit of exercise, your skin will be glowy too. It probably already is, it's just easier to see it in other people than in the mirror.

Please love the skin you're in, OP. It's really the best way to look after it. And it will give your skin the best chance of also looking after you for many years to come, by staying functional and healthy.

How old are you?

how many family members & friends have you had with skin cancer?

how rude are you?

no actually I can answer that myself. VERY.

There's nothing to say a dumbed tan won't be patchy too. Plus you'll have to do it several times a week to maintain it. Apart from the cancer risk, do you really want to spend that much time & effort to fight nature?

I had a 'dry patch' of skin on my nose for ages, just thought it would eventually go, but someone mentioned skin cancer so I went to get it checked out, unfortunately it was, but fortunately I was able to use cream to remove it. I might not be so lucky next time & although the damage is probably already done (from years of sun burn) I keep my face well covered with sunscreen now, but while I was at the specialist, he noticed something on my shoulder, he sent me straight to have it cut out. She did a great job & left some neat stitches, but my skin doesn't deal well with being cut (forget the correct term) but I now have a very obvious scar on my shoulder.

also yes, damaged skin does age terribly, so your friends might be happy with their tanned glowing skin now, but as you all get a bit older they'll age far more quickly than someone who has taken far better care of their skin.

but you're young, I don't expect you to actually listen.

Melanoma is a horrible, horrible way to die. Please don't.

Stop comparing yourself to your friends. Your skin is not like theirs and never will be.

Based on everything that you’ve said you are in a very high risk category for skin cancer and using sun beds will MASSIVELY increase that risk. Please stop going to countries where the sun is very strong and refusing to use sun cream. The sun is doing damage regardless of whether or not you’re burning.

Skin tans because of the melanin. If you have no melanin there is nothing to react to the sun therefore you won't tan. That's why gradual tans don't work on you and one's that sit on your skin slide off and go patchy. I'm the same. Absolutely no melanin in my skin - particularly my legs - therefore no tan ever. My arms do tan a bit but my legs never tan, never burn, never change colour at all. No amount of sun beds or anything else will change that.

You're trying to emulate something that is not you and risking your health to do it. So yes you are "mad" as you put it. Look for a different style that will suit the person you are.

You silly, silly person.

Did you look at the YouTube link I posted?

I find it almost comprehensible that in this day and age anybody could be so ignorant. By your logic, whole countries are PO faced. Science be damned.

FFS - I really hope you don't get melanoma because you would not be able to advocate for yourself with your ridiculous outdated views.

I have skin like you and a fake tan allergy. I went through a very brief sunbed phase as a teenager before coming to my senses. I worry that even that brief phase will now lead to me getting cancer later in life, which can happen. My dad doesn’t take the sun seriously and he did actually get a type of skin cancer removed already. I wear daily factor 50 year round now because I just think, what could be worse than getting ill with cancer and knowing it’s your own fault and that you gave it to yourself knowing the risks? Plus, colouring like ours is a total gift and not something to try and disguise.

Have you tried something like Sally Hanson airbrush legs instead? It might sit better on your skin than the usual fake tans.
Please don't use sunbeds, if you don't tan anyway, chances are it won't really work

Basically answering your own question. Sun beds are terrible and have a high risk of skin cancer. You are pale, you burn and have skin cancer in your family. It’s clearly a ridiculous idea to use a sun bed… not sure why you even asked!! Find a good fake tan or get a spray tan… then you’re safe.

although I am sure your pale skin is beautiful.

You’re talking crap.

Skin cancer risks aside, the sun and sun beds age(s) your skin horribly. Why do you want to look the same as your friends? You are a different person with different physical attributes, personality, skills, etc. If you spend your life so focused on your physical appearance and trying to fit in you will never be happy. I would suggest exercise - weights in particular - but anything strengthening to help you appreciate your body for what it can do, rather than what it looks like.

@Beautifulmonster87 I'm 99% sure you have never done your own research or bothered to ever read any independent studies...except the money makers that are cancer research of course.

I can provide some links to these studies if you're interested ☺️

Just embrace your paleness! I too am very fair thanks to Celtic ancestors and was always the 'white' one. However I do burn very, very easily and have no wish to look 'orange' either! Be different, be pale and proud! 😁

Are the 'independent studies' peer reviewed and scientifically robust, repeatable etc?

Anyway, medically supervised therapeutic use of UV isn't the same as members of the public hopping on and off sunbeds like the OP is suggesting.

There's a medical benefit but many treatments aren't without risk and it could well be that this also applies to medical use of UV.

After all, it's well known that some people who are given X-rays and other radiation exposures for diagnosis or radiotherapy will have further cancer caused in later life due to receiving the treatment, but it's a risk worth taking because it improves the likelihood that they'll survive their current illness.

DH did work experience about 8 years ago in a radio therapy unit. They had alot of patients with skin cancer that mostly fell into two categories. Men in their 50's that worked in construction so had been exposed to the sun for years with their shirts off, and young women in their 20's who had been on the sunbeds for a few years.
So 20 years in the sun or a few on a sunbed. Shows how intense the sunbeds are. I would never use one.

As PPs have said, sunbeds will make your skin age faster - so if you're thinking of prioritising vanity over health then think again! You will be putting your health at risk and prematurely age as a cherry on top.

I'm your complete opposite and tan very fast despite putting factor 50 on every single day of the year. All I see is damaged skin cells! Be happy with your beautiful pale skin and look after it!

You are just spreading absolute shite. Please show evidence of your statements or stop putting people's lives at risk by making misleading statements.

WHOLE countries (Australia and Brazil) are making sunbeds illegal because they EXPONENTIALLY increase your risk of developing the most deadly form of skin cancer - melanoma.

Honestly, this ignorant bullshit really pisses me off.

I'm a freckly Irish person who never tanned. I have sun damage to my skin and look older than my years (48) because of wrinkles. I have patches of dry, cracked skin on my face that don't heal without strong prescription cream that makes my skin look red and raw for a time.

Pale can be beautiful. Be confident in your looks! Sun beds etc. are not worth it.

So they are all wrong - did you factor any of this into your independent research????

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/are-sunbeds-safe/

wiki.cancer.org.au/skincancerstats/Solariums

www.skcin.org/skinCancerInformation/sunbedsTheFacts.htm

www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/campaign-for-us/our-campaigning-successes/sunbeds