My First Tanning Session

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Unlikely.

It makes all the difference for me in the winter. I used to suffer from really bad depression in the winter until I started tanning.

hmm. Well if having darker skin boosts your self-esteem, that's great, but it wouldn't work with me.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

^ Unlikely.

It makes all the difference for me in the winter. I used to suffer from really bad depression in the winter until I started tanning.

hmm. Well if having darker skin boosts your self-esteem, that's great, but it wouldn't work with me.

You know that's not what they are talking about.

 

[RoJoHen]

^ Unlikely.

It makes all the difference for me in the winter. I used to suffer from really bad depression in the winter until I started tanning.

hmm. Well if having darker skin boosts your self-esteem, that's great, but it wouldn't work with me.

Um...it has nothing to do with skintone.

Sunlight stimulates dopamine production in the brain. Dopamine makes you happy. There is less sunlight in the winter, ergo there is less dopamine production. This is the cause of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD, or seasonal depression).

Tanning can be used as a substitute for sunlight in the winter to help your brain produce dopamine, which therefore combats depression.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

RoJo what about the light bulbs you can get that do that, do they work?

 

[RoJoHen]

I have no idea. I imagine they would work.

But I get free tanning with my gym membership, so I use that.

Plus, tanning helps keep my psoriasis under control.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I have no idea. I imagine they would work.

But I get free tanning with my gym membership, so I use that.

Plus, tanning helps keep my psoriasis under control.

My dad had psoriasis for 25 years. Then he moved to Florida and it completely disappeared in a week and never came back.

Sometimes I think the winter just fucks with people in a whole lot of ways we think we have to accept.

 

[RoJoHen]

Sometimes I think the winter just fucks with people in a whole lot of ways we think we have to accept.

I just think it's very bizarre this notion that we have now that we need to avoid the sun. Yes, too much of it can cause skin damage and cancer, but people act like the human race evolved indoors and should stay out of the sun at all costs.

Believe it or not, the sun provides vitamins and things that are necessary for us to be healthy, happy people.

The first I tanned was because I working at a gym. It was free, and I figured I'd try it out just for the hell of it. I did it a couple times, and my mood dramatically improved and my skin problems completely went away.

 

[Tiberius]

Don't do it. Those things can give you a dose of radiation enough to give you terminal cancer. There was a big case with that a few years ago in Australia. Young woman cut down in the prime of her life, and she was campaigning to raise awareness about how dangerous they are.

If you REALLY need to look tanned, use a spray on.

 

[SPCTRE]

M'kay, so to start off so you get the idea, i am the whitest person in America. There is no exaggeration to this fact. My son actually held the title until last weekend when he went to the shore on vacation and didnt apply lotion. Now he's a lobster.

But i digress.

So, I'm very white. I actually have to take Vit. D suppliments because i hate the heat and well, i just hate being outside. I have become quite the hermit.

Digressing again.

Anyway, i have this convention thing i am supposed to go to in Florida at the end of the month. I have the ticket, have the plane ticket and don't want to go. There are people there that i no longer care to see, but will end up bumping into.

Digressing again.

So, in a feeble attempt at boosting my self esteem, i went to a tanning salon today. It was half off day, woohoo! Cost $4.50. Of course i didn't think ahead and didn't bring any suntan lotion. Not that i have any since i don't go outside...

Digressing....

So with the packet of lotion ($2) and a loaned pair of those weird eye goggles (straight out of science fiction) i am shown into the tanning room.

Sweet zombie jesus. We are talking a photon torpedo looking thing. Like what K'ehleyr was transported in. I get undressed as quickly as possible b/c i am told i have five minutes to do so and get the lotion on and into the bed before it starts. (God forbid i should miss a minute that i've paid for)

Holy fuck. It was the weirdest experience. First of all, i thought you had to turn over in these things. Nuh uh. There's lights on the top AND the bottom. And it is HOT in there, even though there is a fan running.

Thank god i had to keep those googly things on my eyes, otherwise i would have started hyperventilating if i saw how tight it was.

And, the machine starts making these crackling noises and i think, i like bacon, but i don't want to become the bacon.

And wrapped up in this cocoon of heat i feel like a kosher hot dog in one of those ball game stands.

The whole thing was bizarro. But i survived, i'm a wee bit pink and as long as everything feels right, and i don't become a mutant i'll probably hit it again before i go to florida for that con.

That is....if i go.

So, what about you out there? I know Rojo goes to a tanning place, anyone else? Any bad stories? Any weird first experiences like mine?

I can't believe I had my first tanning session before you But yeah, my experience (the year before last, I think?) was kinda similar except the fact that it was winter at the time and super cold outside.

That aspect of it was actually pretty fun because it really, noticeably improved my mood. It was also kind of dizzying getting back outside in the cold

 

[Amaris]

I've considered it before, but knowing my skin, I'd get out and find it stuck to the bottom of the tanning bed, or I'd look like one of those two day old hot dogs a gas station employee forgot to remove from the grill.

That said, there's something appealing to being so pale that when someone plays a trumpet near you, people start hitting their knees in prayer.

 

[SPCTRE]

What about those spray tan places? Is that any better?

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOLCwaHVtWs[/yt]

 

[RoJoHen]

I've considered it before, but knowing my skin, I'd get out and find it stuck to the bottom of the tanning bed, or I'd look like one of those two day old hot dogs a gas station employee forgot to remove from the grill.

That's why you start slow. The first time I did it I was only in the bed for 5 minutes.

 

[Naira]

Well, I don't like the idea of going to a tanning session but I see why you did it. Still, I prefer the traditional way: Get a bottle of SPF 20 lotion and hit the beach!

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, I don't like the idea of going to a tanning session but I see why you did it. Still, I prefer the traditional way: Get a bottle of SPF 20 lotion and hit the beach!

Must be nice to live close enough to a beach that this is an option.

 

[SPCTRE]

^ The beach is totally overrated. Or maybe I'm just bitter because the weather on the Baltic Sea coast sucks ass this summer

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I only like the beach in the winter. Empty, cold and windy.

 

[Warp Coil]

I'm pretty sure that I'd make it into the competition for palest person on the planet. It was actually just last week that I finally decided to do something about it. I went to my first tanning session. My skin is very pale and I don't know if I would even tan very well, but I am going to give it a shot. I figure I will go 2-3 times a week and spend only about 6 or 7 minutes each time. I've been three times and so far the experience has been good, but I don't have too much color yet.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Doing it for cosmetic reasons when tanning salons increase your melanoma risk just seems stupid to me. WHY? Seriously, why do you care if you skin is white? Also it's not like you can tan a few times and stay that way, this will take regular maintenance.

"The relevance of age was highlighted by a landmark study published in August. The Australian Melanoma Family Study found young people who used sun beds were 41 per cent more likely to develop melanoma than those who didn’t. This rose to twice as likely if they started before the age of 20 or reported more than 10 sessions."


http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...s-still-a-danger/story-e6frfot9-1225932953796

 

[Jetfire]

What about those spray tan places? Is that any better?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOLCwaHVtWs

I loved that! Ross is so funny.

 

[SPCTRE]

Doing it for cosmetic reasons when tanning salons increase your melanoma risk just seems stupid to me.

As with all things, it's a matter of dosage and responsible use.