tanning bed--talk me through it!

Y'all are great! I feel so much better about this. And great tips about the UVB thing. Thank you!!

BRING LIP STUFF!!!! my lips always get dry after the bed... I am SOOO claustraphobic so I only go in the Winter when my gorgeous summer tan has faded... I go in the stand up one and I leave the door open... granted my back doesn't get as much tanning... but that's always covered anyway!... ALSO what I do... if you are doing it for COLOR also... I use the bed for a few minutes to open up my pores then get in the spray tan.. the place I go is AMAZING and I have never been orange (I am Sicilian so I am naturally Olive complected).  ALSO... bring your own lotion that has a ton of moisturizer in it so your skin doesn't get dry.....

I am gonna start going this week because I have my surgery in a month and I don't want to look like casper when im in the operating room just incase I have a hottie male nurse lol

HAPPY TANNING!!!!

Lyss

Start with just a few minutes (5 or 6) and build up.  The skin parts in contact with the glass are most likely to sunburn the worst, so as you build up more time, you'll want to rotate onto sides and your stomach to get a more even tan and prevent baking your tush. 

I like tanning because it keeps my Vitamin D level at 100 or a little more all the time in addition to my supplement orally.  I also like it because it's one of the few times I'm ever truly "alone".  My schedule is so busy I've got something going on all the time and then I just go straight home and do the family thing the rest of the night.  "Me" time is very important and I just don't get enough of it.  Tanning is my one thing that's all mine.  Too bad it only lasts 15 minutes, but it's something I look forward to because there's no chance for interruption from the outside world.  And I can never get warm enough since my DS! 

Oh, the perpetual cold thing! I hadn't even thought about how tanning will be warming--although I'm already *****ing fiercely about how cold it is now, with highs only in the 50s. This whole tanning thing is sounding better and better.

Baked Tush--is that like Baked Alaska? Can't believe I'm gonna have to put sunblock on my derriere. 

The last time I was tanning was last winter... and I was around 400lbs.. I didnt break the bed... altho i'd assume the weight thing was probly less than that... but who knows...it held me!

I would always go in stand up beds because my fat butt would get these terrible tan lines on the side of me (from my arms i think being squished into the bed) so, no tan lines in the stand up..

UNLESS they have high pressure beds... they are bigger, and soooo awesome.. Even at 400 lbs using the high pressure beds, i got no tan lines!!

I went tanning first time when I was 13 (shh dont tell my mom) and i was scared as heck that first time cuz I was a bigger girl.. well, probably in the 200's (i guess in comparison to the 400 i became its nothing) but I went this a skinny friend... and was petrified... but it was harmless (well besides the studies that are out there about cancer and ish... idk)

I survived and so will u!! I really like using the designer tan lotions, they smell great, and I think they work better, but who knows.. start with some cheapy stuff at walmart, unless u can get a deal on some lotion... I've never paid full price on tan lotion, but I will if I get a deal..

I've not made up my mind on whether or not I'll be tanning this year... a part of me doesnt want to because of health risks... but lemme tell ya... the feeling you have when its cold as heck outside and crawl into a warm bed is priceless... and the mood lifting afterwards is amazing as well...

good luck with your first tanning experience!!

Definitely try it a few times before you buy a big package. I cannot tan with the UVB beds (which is what we need) because it makes me itch ferociously! Unfortunately I wasted about $70 to find that out. It may be that I was just not using the right lotion, but I'm not willing to find out. This was horrible itching that kept me awake all night. I'm not going there again.
I have had success with the regular, stand up beds though when I was tanning for tanning's sake. Not sure how much that really helps us.

Just be careful!  If you take birth control pills or HRT (hormone replacement therapy) you need to go for a very short time at first.  The last time I went, I was in the bed for 5 minutes and burned and blistered.  Not cool!