That may be true in the strictest sense, but I suspect it's similar to how in order for muscles to grow they have to first be "damaged" in order for your body to "repair" them via growth. In order for your skin to darken, sure some minor damage must be done, but honestly a little color isn't going to go straight to skin cancer or leathery skin. I don't think all the old people I see with decent looking skin took great pains to completely avoid the sun and always use sunscreen. Certainly you shouldn't be out in the sun for long periods without protection, but humans lived for thousands of years without sunscreen and sure, it's better to have it, but getting sun in moderation won't kill you. As for me, I'm pretty pale but I can get a bit of a tan if I try hard. Generally I don't find it worth it, and even sitting outside trying to soak up some rays makes me feel ridiculously vain, so I usually only get tan if I have to do a lot of work (or play) outside anyway. I would never ever use a tanning bed, not even for a base tan. I'm kind of jealous of my girlfriend though; she's brown to start with and she will get darker (with very noticeable tan lines) just from the sun she gets driving. And no burning from any of it. It's bullshit.
Not sure what all your crazy college talk means, but yes. Pretty sure those people with dark skin burn less because they were born with more melanin, not because they tan more. And I mentioned a roast, specifically, because it's more similar to our flesh than, say, bread. Indeed. One of the few things I remember from high school social studies class is that back in the day, the rich folk wanted to look like they were never outside, as that implied they had to work. Nowadays, for the growing majority, being outside lots equals leisure. Neat. Not in the least, for me anyways. I don't do it for the same reason I don't get mani/pedis: it's girly, and doesn't interest me. I never really want a tan, either. Not because I care what people think, but because it's not a big deal for me. I love being outside in summer, playing golf or swimming or throwing the football around. And I have pretty tan-friendly skin, but I still lather up SPF 50 because I don't want to peel, or be as wrinkly as a ball sack (ha!) when I'm older. Or, you know, get cancer. At the end of the day, am I pleased to be slightly darker? Sure, if hot girls like it. But it's never my reason for being outside in the summer, it's just a bi-product. That, along with Judas and others' posts showing base tans are bullshit, proves my point: guys who fake tan secretly want to choke on cock. It's simple science.
Any dermatologist will tell you that you need 15 minutes a day on arms and legs for Vitamin D, and you should have SPF 30 on for anything further. The "base tan" thing may be a better looking way of getting skin damage, but it is skin damage all the same and has been proven to lead to skin cancer and wrinkles. I'm all for everything in moderation, but you would be shocked at how little sun exposure you have to get in order to develop skin cancer. You can accept the consequences of tanning, and I fully support your right to burn the shit out of yourself, but lets call a spade a spade: as you yourself said, in order to get your skin darker, damage must be done. And just because this part was too ridiculous to pass up: humans also lived for thousands of years without antibiotics, vaccinations, and the internets. Not a super great argument, sir!
I think you're taking this and myself a bit too seriously. My post never even mentioned base tans, nor did I say I "burn the shit out of myself." All I intended my post to convey is that it's unnecessary to completely avoid the sun because it is fine in moderation. Sure, I could be completely safe and only go out into the sun with a full layer of SPF5000 on, or completely avoid the sun altogether, but I think the .005% chance I'll get skin cancer is worth my enjoyment. In the same sense that I should avoid cars altogether because there's always some slim chance I'll be killed in a wreck, I could avoid the sun altogether to completely avoid skin cancer, but I'm not going to because that's bordering too much on paranoia for my taste. And I'm sure it was "too ridiculous to pass up," but I never said sunscreen was bad or unnecessary. In fact, my exact words were "it's better to have [sunscreen]." However, my point was that since the dawn of man we have had to deal with sun exposure and I think we've done ok. Unlike your examples of antibiotics and vaccines, to my knowledge there's never been some massive plague of skin cancer where if only we'd had sunscreen we could've saved whole populations.
I used to go twice a week and did so in spurts of 2-3 months. My GF did the same then one day she noticed the skin on her chest was beginning to wrinkle, mine wasn't but it was enough to make me stop. I'm part Indian (feather) anyway so I really don't have to because I tan easily but, I fucking HATE laying in the sun. It's boring, it's hot, I get all sticky and sweaty, there's not one thing I like about it. So, I'm pretty much a whitey but I have a natural hue to my skin tone.
I went on my honeymoon to Jamaica. I didn't get a base tan before going, 'cause tanning beds are gay.' The ex didn't either, and we both got so burned the first day we had to fuck from behind, while standing up, for the next three or four days. I live in Florida. If I wanna get tan in December I take my shirt off and mow the lawn.
Either that or migrant work. I'm just sayin. You also didn't take into account that for thousands of years, the US was relatively uninhabited. The US has a HUGE variance when it comes to temperatures and weather extremes so where some places may not get lots of sun, many places get tons of sun. The rest of the world is not like this which is why everyone is darker everywhere else (as were the original inhabitants), so as to minimize their chances of cancer. I don't think the same argument really applies.
I completely agree with this. I had an ex-girlfriend who would obsessively talk about getting tanned. It does not make for interesting conversation. When we'd go on holidays, she'd let herself roast by a pool while I'd stack on the sunscreen and engage in activities beyond letting myself cook. She really did not look better at all. Another example is my cousin, who has gone from a nice-looking young woman to a nightmarish fucking caricature of a human being due to obsessively pursuing a darker skin tone. Confuses the hell out of me. Don't women understand that letting themselves cook is much less attractive than actually knowing how to cook?
As I am also blessed with an Irish complexion, any attempts at tanning would at best just produce more freckles and at worst give me a sunburn. Since I hate my freckles almost as much as I hate sunburns, I lather up with sunscreen whenever I will be in contact with Mr. Sun. I do have friends that go tanning though, and beyond aesthetic reasons, what they always tell me is that tanning actually makes them happy. No matter how bad a mood they were in prior, they say they leave feeling refreshed and smiling. I even had a friend that claimed she had "tanning withdrawal" during winter when she hadn't tanned in a while. Not sure if that is accurate and it doesn't really seem to be the experience of the posters here, but it would be another explanation of why people continually go to tanning beds.
Whatever, tanning is sexy. Women in leather is hot. Women in their own leather is unfucking believable. And because leather's not as stretchy, by the time they're cougars their tits will stay up better.
I remember posting this picture awhile back on RMMB, I forgot what the topic was though. Oh well. Spoiler To add to discussion, I find it a bit out of control. What happened to moderation? The things you do to yourself say something about what kind of a person you are.
I think everyone here got what I was trying to say you smart ass. I meant in relation to the crazy crazy heat/weather. You don't see an African,Indian, Mexican (non European) or Native-American, with light skin because of where they live. That's more what I was referring to.
I tan. UV light in moderation is good for you. Plus, that other species; you know, the one with the vagina, flocks there.
Pay heed to tweetybird, for she is wise. I may have a little something to add as well. A life-threatening case of malignant melanoma at age 33 can really put the whole tan debate in perspective right quick. I assure you that having to throw a blanket over my head to run to my car all summer, lest I burst into flames, is far more appealing than agonizing treatment and possible death. Any discomfort that I might feel from being a special shade of blue/white is easily quelled, as I've gotten to raise my girl to adulthood, instead of saying goodbye when she was 8/9. Who doesn't like to look youthful? I had always looked older than my age (I got served in a bar on my 14th b-day), but now the aging process has slowed to a crawl. At 45, I easily pass for much younger because of the many years out of the sun. My "porcelin" skin has minimal wrinkling and that which I have, I mainly attribute to my slight drinking and smoking habits. For the record, I grew up in an era prior to sunscreen. We were thrown outside in the morning to play and other than meals, stayed out there until dark. Teen years were spent doused in baby oil in a feeble attempt to get more than a strip of red down the middle of my shin and a few other blotches I tried to pass off as a tan. Then I discovered sunscreen and used it pretty consistently thereon in. But....... When my cancer developed, I had been going to a tanning bed several times a week, for at least a year, possibly two (can't remember now), still going after that elusive tan. The tanning industry was claiming it was safer than the sun and my doctors were more inclined to blame my earlier natural sun exposure. I don't know, nor do I care which caused it. I will revel in the glory of my Irish/Scottish hue, take a vitamin D supplement, stay under my blankie and live long enough to die of liver failure instead, which makes for far, far better stories than "I thought I looked prettier with a tan". Edit: Yes, boys that go to tanning beds have questionable sexuality, which isn't necessary a bad thing, it just is.
No tanning needed. My skin is usually red due to standing next to fire most of the day. Plus, as a chef, why would I want to look like this hack: She looks like Guy Fieri after a sex change operation had sex with an Oompa Loompa and crapped out this piece of shit "chef" and stuffed her with cheese.. God I hate her so much.