Fake tan

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lurker
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Fake tan

Post by lurker » Tue May 04, 2010 1:58 am

I never imagined I'd be asking this! I'm very pale, and love being pale (bit of an ex-goth) but would like to try a fake tan for my holiday in Ibiza and an upcoming wedding. I'm not keen on the idea of anything I'd apply myself, because I don't trust myself not make it streaky or miss huge patches on my back.

Anyone ever gotten a fake tan done at a salon? How about spray tans, how do the results differ from lotion? Also, do people normally do the face as well? I just saw a girl on telly who had spray tan on her face and it peeled off under her eyes and looked gross. Strange question, but would they do my breasts - I want to be brown/orange all over with no white patches or tan lines :oops: .

Like I said, ex-goth so completely new to anything tan related. Any info or experiences you ladies have would be greatly appreciated!

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brandalynn
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Re: Fake tan

Post by brandalynn » Tue May 04, 2010 2:35 am

Stay away from fake tan in a bottle. You will look like an oompa loompa :lol: Whatever method you use, definately have a pro help you out. With how pale you are, any "at home" solution is going to make you way too orange. I've never had it done, but people I've seen with the spray tans look so horrible and it's easy to spot who has them. I did the tanning bed one summer so I wouldn't burn so bad on camping and canoe trips. They'd only let me in the bed for 2 minutes at a time. Thankfully, I listened and did everything they said down to the specific starter lotions and such and it was an overall pleasant experience. If you have to do a fake tan, I'd suggest the tanning beds because it's what looks best and it's easier to moderate for really pale skin. Just keep it an occasional thing, as prolonged use and overexposure has many questionable side effects.
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tazzyface
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Re: Fake tan

Post by tazzyface » Tue May 04, 2010 4:00 am

Do NOT use a tanning bed, even for a couple of minutes.

From http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv ... endocument :
Solarium tans are not safe tans. UV radiation from solariums can increase your risk of developing skin cancer. Solariums can also cause eye damage and immediate skin damage such as sunburn, irritation, redness and swelling. A solarium tan won’t protect your skin from natural UV radiation when you go out in the sun.
...
The melanin produced by fair-skinned people is much less protective – for them, no amount of sunbaking will result in a tan, just sunburn and skin damage. People who sunburn and never tan in the sun will not tan in a solarium.
I would suggest getting a spray tan from a professional. I have never, ever seen an at-home tan which did not end up a rather vibrant shade of orange. Plus with all the money you'd have to spend on buying bottles of the stuff to get a non-streaky result, you'd be able to afford a trip to a salon!
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ShadowThrone
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Re: Fake tan

Post by ShadowThrone » Tue May 04, 2010 8:54 am

brandalynn wrote:Stay away from fake tan in a bottle. You will look like an oompa loompa :lol:
:lol: I'd rather that than a tanning bed tbh...

Lurker, maybe you could try the body lotions that have a little fake tan in them. They build up with a few uses, I'm pale too and I use this for a bit of colour in the summer. It would look more natural. You could get someone to help put it on. With you being pale, suddenly turning up super bronzed might give it away anyway :P

I use the Dove gradual tanner for light skin, it hasn't made me orange yet, plus it doesn't smell funny.

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Re: Fake tan

Post by Bomber » Tue May 04, 2010 12:23 pm

Spray tans look really nice and natural if you go somewhere that knows what they're doing and are good at it. I think you get the option of choosing to be tanned all over or wear some kind of bikini while they're doing it.

Other than that, sunbeds are a SERIOUS no-no. I use St Moriz self tanning mousse, it's basically EXACTLY the same as St Tropez but about £3 a bottle, rather than £30+

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Re: Fake tan

Post by starlotus » Tue May 04, 2010 5:01 pm

I am literally the pale-est person I have ever met - I used to try fake tanning stuff and it was always a disaster; I think that depending on your hair color and natural complexion, even the best fake tan can look...well....fake.


Tanning beds = bad. Just say no to skin cancer and wrinkles.


My personal advice would be to embrace your pale-ness. People ask me why I don't tan and it's not even just the fact that I don't want to expose myself to aging/carcinogenic UV rays....I LIKE being pale. It's something that makes me different and unique. I have skin the color of vanilla cream, and honestly, I think people who are comfortable in their natural skin color are way more attractive than those who just try to look like everyone else by tanning. They say tanning makes you look "healthy" but I don't think so. A tan can actually cover up the natural glow you have on your cheeks - and a blush on a pale chick is more noticeable than on someone who is darkly tanned :) I know you said you wanted to be tan for an upcoming wedding - and I was actually in the same position last year when my little brother tied the knot - I was a bridesmaid and worried I would look awful in pics or that my new sis-in-law would be mad that I didn't look like everyone else (I even asked her if she wanted me to go tanning, cover tats/piercings/etc. and she told me that I was gorgeous the way I was....awesome) and actually, I look good in the pics even though I'm several shades lighter than everyone else. I think you should just embrace who you are....just my $0.02 :)

Good luck!

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Lorny
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Re: Fake tan

Post by Lorny » Tue May 04, 2010 5:33 pm

ShadowThrone wrote:
brandalynn wrote:Stay away from fake tan in a bottle. You will look like an oompa loompa :lol:
:lol: I'd rather that than a tanning bed tbh...

Lurker, maybe you could try the body lotions that have a little fake tan in them. They build up with a few uses, I'm pale too and I use this for a bit of colour in the summer. It would look more natural. You could get someone to help put it on. With you being pale, suddenly turning up super bronzed might give it away anyway :P

I use the Dove gradual tanner for light skin, it hasn't made me orange yet, plus it doesn't smell funny.
I find they all smell funny! Mum uses the Dove, I've used the Johnson's one too and that was pretty good. You have to use it a good couple of weeks to build up a nice even colour, but it's pretty good so long as you are patient.

As for spray tanning, you can get different shades so you have a light glow. My friend had one and she is very pale too, but it just gave her a nice hint of colour.

Don't go on a sun bed! A client I had went on sunbeds, two minutes a week for 6 weeks. She then noticed the mole on her back had grown in size and gone black, and the doctors told her the sunbeds had sped up the growth of the cancer. Luckily she has survived but she has had many other cancerous moles since then, all for those 12 minutes...

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ShadowThrone
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Re: Fake tan

Post by ShadowThrone » Tue May 04, 2010 6:58 pm

Lorny wrote:
ShadowThrone wrote:
brandalynn wrote:Stay away from fake tan in a bottle. You will look like an oompa loompa :lol:
:lol: I'd rather that than a tanning bed tbh...

Lurker, maybe you could try the body lotions that have a little fake tan in them. They build up with a few uses, I'm pale too and I use this for a bit of colour in the summer. It would look more natural. You could get someone to help put it on. With you being pale, suddenly turning up super bronzed might give it away anyway :P

I use the Dove gradual tanner for light skin, it hasn't made me orange yet, plus it doesn't smell funny.
I find they all smell funny! Mum uses the Dove, I've used the Johnson's one too and that was pretty good. You have to use it a good couple of weeks to build up a nice even colour, but it's pretty good so long as you are patient.

As for spray tanning, you can get different shades so you have a light glow. My friend had one and she is very pale too, but it just gave her a nice hint of colour.

Don't go on a sun bed! A client I had went on sunbeds, two minutes a week for 6 weeks. She then noticed the mole on her back had grown in size and gone black, and the doctors told her the sunbeds had sped up the growth of the cancer. Luckily she has survived but she has had many other cancerous moles since then, all for those 12 minutes...
The Dove one I have smells fruity rather than funny fake tanny :lol:

That's a scary story...I've never liked the idea of sunbeds. I heard some girls on a bus once saying they had gone on for too long and gone really red, and they seemed far too young to be using them anyway :shock:

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Re: Fake tan

Post by brandalynn » Tue May 04, 2010 7:36 pm

I use beds just enough to get a base tan so I can naturally tan rather than burn when I go out in the summer. I've not had any problems, but alot of people think it's too risky. These days, it seems everything causes cancer. Black plastic containers for frozen microwave food, exposure to this or that, the list is endless. :roll:
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Re: Fake tan

Post by PrincessBubblegum » Tue May 04, 2010 7:47 pm

I don't reccomend using a tanning bed because UV rays aren't good for your skin (cancer, increases wrinkles as you age, sun spots, ect).
Tanning lotion in a bottle is a bad idea if it's your first time using it, because it layers easily which causes streaks and an uneven skin tone.
Spray tanning is the best option in my opinion because you can choose how tan you want to be ( no guess work like with tanning lotion) and yes, you can get your breasts tanned (at least where I live, you can go completely naked). But after you have it done, don't use an exfoliating body wash because it will rub it off your skin.
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ShadowThrone
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Re: Fake tan

Post by ShadowThrone » Tue May 04, 2010 8:03 pm

brandalynn wrote:These days, it seems everything causes cancer. Black plastic containers for frozen microwave food, exposure to this or that, the list is endless. :roll:
Yeah but a lot of the 'silly' ones aren't really proven.

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Re: Fake tan

Post by Lorny » Tue May 04, 2010 8:28 pm

brandalynn wrote:I use beds just enough to get a base tan so I can naturally tan rather than burn when I go out in the summer. I've not had any problems, but alot of people think it's too risky. These days, it seems everything causes cancer.
Yeah, but UV rays from both sunbeds and the sun both speed up/cause skin cancer, regardless of whether you burn or tan.

A member of the family works as a top scientist for Garnier, so I can tell you some pretty scary shit.

Edited my grammar, I am typing in the dark so can't see what I'm doing very well!

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starlight
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Re: Fake tan

Post by starlight » Tue May 04, 2010 9:04 pm

I think the ones that build up gradually are best when you're pale, but you've still got to be really careful to rub it all in properly, I missed a splodge of the johnsons one on my arm and ended up with an orangey patch :?

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Re: Fake tan

Post by PrincessBubblegum » Wed May 05, 2010 12:14 am

starlight wrote:I think the ones that build up gradually are best when you're pale, but you've still got to be really careful to rub it all in properly, I missed a splodge of the johnsons one on my arm and ended up with an orangey patch :?
i used a nivea tanning cream that was supposed to build up to help blend my slight tan from a day at the beach with my pale bits, and it was splotchy and i had orange spots. so i don't reccomend that one.
but i have used the same gradual tanner when i was completely pale and it gave me a nice sun kissed glow.
In conclusion (lol), I agree that gradual tanners can work well but not for blending a natural sun tan with un-sun kissed places.
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Re: Fake tan

Post by tazzyface » Wed May 05, 2010 1:26 pm

brandalynn wrote:I use beds just enough to get a base tan so I can naturally tan rather than burn when I go out in the summer. I've not had any problems, but alot of people think it's too risky. These days, it seems everything causes cancer. Black plastic containers for frozen microwave food, exposure to this or that, the list is endless. :roll:
You can't really compare something with 3 times more UV radiation than the midday sun to a plastic container. Yes, everything these days seems to be LINKED to cancer... But UV radiation CAUSES cancer, and this is fact. Heck, a tan is damage from UV radiation :roll:

Also, tanning in a solarium does not make it safer to tan in the sun. Tanning in the sun isn't safe either, nor does it "build up protection" against the sun and other sources of UV rays. (Thank you again, Better Health Victoria and SunSmart!)


It's sad how much utter bullsh*t is spread around as fact, it's absolutely disgusting. So many people think that a tan is healthy and protects you, that solariums are 100% safe, and that you need to be 80 and tanning every day to get cancer. It just takes one session to get melanoma, and age is irrelevant.
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Re: Fake tan

Post by Lorny » Wed May 05, 2010 6:05 pm

tazzyface wrote:
It's sad how much utter bullsh*t is spread around as fact, it's absolutely disgusting. So many people think that a tan is healthy and protects you, that solariums are 100% safe, and that you need to be 80 and tanning every day to get cancer. It just takes one session to get melanoma, and age is irrelevant.
Ok, last story from me OK? Cuz too many and it starts to sound like bullshit. A family friend died at the age of 22 from skin cancer. I don't know the hows and whys (I'm guessing he probably didn't use sunbeds), but he just did. Just throwing that out there for the age thing.

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tazzyface
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Re: Fake tan

Post by tazzyface » Thu May 06, 2010 1:27 pm

There was a girl here called Clare Oliver who died from skin cancer. She got quite a bit of media attention and her story led to tightened regulations for the solarium industry. She was diagnosed at only 22. It's so scary to hear that, because that's only 4 years older than I am.

But this is starting to turn into a debate! To the OP, stick to a professional spray tan and avoid solariums like the plague! An online beauty forum would have reviews of places close to you - I like the Vogue Australia forum, not sure if there's a UK version.
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Re: Fake tan

Post by Pallidity » Wed May 12, 2010 6:17 am

Just wanted to throw my few cents in.

My sister isn't anywhere near as pale as me. I think she uses a classic tan shade of foundation. She's had spray tans done by several different professionals and gone with the lightest method (1 coat). She's still come out looking somewhat orange and had the tan come off in places such as her face after a few washes versus the rest of her body which was iffy. The last parts to fade were elbows, creases in her neck and behind her knees, etc.

While I would NEVER suggest you get a tan on a bed (if you want to tan naturally use the sun!) I can't say I'd suggest using a spray tan, even with professionals based off of my observations. The stuff they used always smelled good (one made her skin smell like cotton candy for a few days) but I didn't really see that much benefit for getting it done that way. :?

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Re: Fake tan

Post by ScarletLady » Wed May 12, 2010 10:17 am

If you go to a salon for a spray tan I'd recommend getting it done a few days before you want to show off the results as it takes a couple of days to settle down. I haven't had one but my Mum has and she's advised this. I use the gradual tanners - Dove or Johnson's are both good and you can choose how far you want to take it, plus it's practically impossible to make yourself all streaky with them.
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lurker
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Re: Fake tan

Post by lurker » Thu May 13, 2010 5:48 pm

Wow, thanks for all the input, it's really useful! I'm thinking that I'll go with a professional spray tan a few days before the holiday. If it's too orange then at least I'll be abroad and it would have had time to fade a bit for my sister's wedding which is a few weeks later. And I'll stock up on sunscreen, it's ridiculous how much the sun scares me - most of my family are South African and insist that they 'don't get cancer' but I'm not gonna take that risk!

Thanks again for all the advice.

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Re: Fake tan

Post by MadamRooRoo » Thu May 13, 2010 10:48 pm

i got a st tropaz spray tan done a few months before my wedding as a little try out......im quite fair, but not pasty if you know what i mean, and the girl in the salon said that it will only go 2 shades darker than my natural skin colour.........what an undertsatement. i ended up really dark and very oh so patchy, even when i washed it off 24 hrs later like they said too. personally i would never get a spray tan done again. the daily moisturisers that build up a tan gradually are good, it builds up so you wouldnt end up haveing a tan emergency like i did lol x
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Re: Fake tan

Post by tazzyface » Fri May 14, 2010 1:18 pm

lurker wrote:Wow, thanks for all the input, it's really useful! I'm thinking that I'll go with a professional spray tan a few days before the holiday. If it's too orange then at least I'll be abroad and it would have had time to fade a bit for my sister's wedding which is a few weeks later. And I'll stock up on sunscreen, it's ridiculous how much the sun scares me - most of my family are South African and insist that they 'don't get cancer' but I'm not gonna take that risk!

Thanks again for all the advice.
I live in Australia so I have to be super careful with the sun :lol: Skin cancer is WAY too common and too many people have the "oh it'll never happen to me" attitude. Make sure you research the salon online and look up reviews, as mentioned a lot of places are awful but there are definitely good places out there!
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Love Bunny
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Re: Fake tan

Post by Love Bunny » Fri May 14, 2010 1:28 pm

Fake tan in a bottle can look fantastic, but not if you don't know what you're doing :lol:

I've used fake tan for years, I'm usually olive skinned so tan well in summer but in winter I'm pale which just makes me look so washed out. I used to use sunbeds in winter to maintain my colour and also a mood booster (I suffer from SAD so its a good quick fix for me) but haven't for the past year as I've been pregnant and now I have no time! I think its down to personal preference wether you use sunbeds or not in my opinion, as long as you know the risks etc it shouldn't really concern anyone else what you are doing but you.

If you decide you like the outcome of a spray tan (they are supposed to be better but they're only as good as the applicator and the fake tan they are applying!) then you should deffinatly consider buying the bottled stuff and learning how to apply it properly as its muuuuch cheaper and it will last much longer!

If you are paler than most then its a good idea to mix the fake tan with a little oil free moisteriser so that the colour isn't so orangy and less dramatic on your skin! If you go for somthing too dark you will look strange as it wont compliment your natural skin tone! So its best to build it up gradually. You can also buy skin tone specific products which are designed for fairer/darker skin which work well too :D

For a beginner i'd deffo reccomend the gradual self tans as it'll save you the embarressment if it goes wrong or worse if you don't like the outcome!

If you are going to do it yourself make sure you exfoliate your body and apply lots of moisteriser after, especially to dry bits - you don't want to be flakey and patchy :lol: ! try to get an even coat all over but dont put too much on you can always add but you can't take away! (get someone to do your back if poss!), rub it in really well, REMEMBER TO DO YOUR FEET!! when you're doing your face mix the fake tan with moisteriser and rub it in well so you dont get lines on your neck/jawline. Last of all once you've washed your hands really well, get a cotton wool pad and apply a little to the back of your hands- cause you don't wanna be having white hands now :lol: then voila! You're done! Just wear some loose clothing and your tan will develop nicely :)

Also, its not always the fake tan which smells rank, sometimes it smells funny depending on the person that wears it, like perfume when it smells different on deifferent people i suppose! I personally have this problem, fake tan just STINKS on me but my friend uses it and shes fine :S ! So playing around with a few brands might be worth while :)

Woah essay :lol: hope this helps!

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