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🥺

You're welcome, it's all very interesting I agree.

I'm not suggesting that anyone should use sun beds everyday, getting out in the sunlight every day is very beneficial. I was mainly making a point, as near enough every response on this post was people quoting cancer research or other money making companies, telling the OP to slather themselves in sun screen. I wish people would do their research and actually see the dangers in using sun screen. Although there are some you can buy which are free of toxins and chemicals. None of which are the larger brands that are advertised by the NHS or cancer research though.

With a family history of skin cancer absolutely not. Not worth the risk for me sorry.

No you were saying by quoting outdated research (and yes I did try to read the links you shared) that sunbeds can cure skin cancer.

A world of difference to not trusting sun cream. I happen to agree with you to in some degree on that and choose to cover up where possible.

Oh DFOD. Stop posting utter bollocks, you should be ashamed of yourself. But you won't be because you are one of those twits who think you have exciting hidden knowledge.
PS your list of so called evidence is the biggest load of crap I have seen this month.

Probably what I should have gone with.😂

Just to add OP, I was never sunbathing, or trying to get tanned - I just spend a lot of time outdoors, and always have. The fashion for tanned skin comes and goes. I've seen fake tan mentioned on Mumsnet a lot recently, so maybe it's become the norm again. But it not a beauty absolute. So I'd have a think about the media you'e consuming and the circles you run in that are creating this pressure in you.

Embrace your paleness. Lots of long loose floaty layers. Nicole Kidman in giant straw hats. Watch Nordic dramas, not Love Island.

The care you're forced to take now will pay off in later years when you have more youthful skin than all your sun-worshipping friends. You'll also be pre-adapted to our warming climate.

Don't be bloody daft OP. Risking your health for a tan?

My husband has just had stage 1a melanoma. Caught early thank goodness. It was on his stomach and he never ever even sunbathes.

The worry and scary time we have been through, is just not worth taking the chance.

Who is to even say you would tan anyway?

From another pale, see through woman.

Don't.

Just learn to love the skin you're in. The risk of cancer is not worth the damage to your skin.

Not to mention the long term effects like looking like an overused leather handbag

If you don't tan in sunlight you aren't going to tan on a sunbed. So yes, you are mad to think that exposure to UV light from any source will suddenly make you tan. PP have already pointed to the skin cancer / damage risk.

Either embrace your natural skin colour (easiest option)or carry on with the fake tan - perhaps you could get a spray tan done by a professional to try and achieve a more even colour - but really I'd only bother for holidays or special occasions.

Once the menopause hits you will very quickly realise that the sunbeds were not a good idea.

The “I do my own research” brigade usually are!

Gosh op, you didn't wear sun cream in the Caribbean?!

Please do. You won't get a tan from sun beds.

If you don't wear sunscreen or cover up you will look older at 40+ than you are. You will regret it.

I know it's hard but maybe just embrace being pale? We are who we are after all! Focus on other areas of grooming and be happy and relaxed x

Op I'm as pale as snow and do not tan and fake tan looks shite. But I would never use a sun bed. Risking cancer to have a tan really isn't right. Embrace the pale. I like it now. Just accept yourself as you are.

@PointeToPointe I understand wanting the glow, I’m pale but it’s just not worth it, I will go further and say you should be wearing a wide brimmed hat and avoiding the sun 12-3 with your history or at least keep to the shade. And I know I sound like a party pooper but it’s just so dangerous to roast in it.

Forget the tan, you know what what changed my pale skin: just get a nice highlighter to look lit from within, Charlotte Tilbury flawless one is lovely, either on the high points of your face or mixed in with face cream/foundation and invest in nice blush or bronzer maybe cream ones. There more than just a tan to having lovely glowy skin.

Also even just from a pure vain viewpoint, have you ever seen someone older who used sun beds, they wrinkle you like nobody’s business.

are sunbeds really as risky as they say?

Yes. Don't use one.

Have you looked into getting a spray tan instead? You will get an all over tan but without the same risks, much more effective than doing your own fake tan
if you want to keep it topped up all the time, you will have to get it re done every 1-2 weeks though but I think sunbed is like that too

I'm on HRT and still smooth

I think you should learn to love the skin you are in. Pale skin can be just as beautiful as tanned skin. My mum has olive skin and my dad is Irish - out of five kids four had olive skin and my sister was paler. She completely blasted her skin to make it look like she was olive like us and I feel so sorry for her as now she is older she has lots of sun spots etc and she looks older than her age.

I used to feel the same as you and tried fake tans before (never sunbeds because of the skin cancer risk).
Eventually I learned to love my "pale and interesting" look. I got my colours done which showed me what colour clothes to wear to compliment my natural skin tone and hair. Once I did that I felt a lot better about not being tanned.
Remember that the beauty industry makes money from telling you that you are flawed and that their product will make you look better. In countries where people have darker skin that means selling skin lightening creams, for pale people it's fake tan and sunbeds. All skin tones are naturally beautiful.

Rather then attempting skin cancer I would look into why you feel you need to be the same as your friends, why you think pale skin is any sort of an issue. That's the real problem here.

@PointeToPointe it's NOT a small risk, sunbeds are a huge risk for skin cancer. I'm not alone in thinking they should be banned!

You're over invested in having a tan too. I'm like you, rarely tan and when I do just barely. I stopped worrying about it. You know what? I get loads of compliments on my skin and I look years younger than I am.

My natural paleness enhances my looks, in the same way wearing the right colours enhances one's looks. Ever seen the pictures of Lindsay Lohan tanned up in the noughties? There's a reason tan looks weird on people like you and me.

Also. A tan is really unfashionable these days. Take a look at the red carpet, for Caucasians pale skin means you can afford the very best skincare. It implies you really take care of yourself and can travel to tropical places without endangering your skin.

Seriously. Embrace it. You won't regret it.

as someone who knows 3 people who have been affected by tanning beds and 1 in a disastrous way, YABU. i would never go near them

If you didn’t tan in the Caribbean you won’t tan on a sunbed you’ll just get wrinkly & risk a melanoma.

Sunbeds are incredibly profitable to salon owners though, it’s literally like having a money machine in the salon.

Pale person from Irish decent here...you will just burn on the sunbeds too. I thought I would look glowing and lovely afterwards but looked like a lobster. Fake tan all the way.