Who does tanning beds before your trip?

[Lady Jane]

I stay clear away from sunbeds. If you must use one please use stand up versus lay down. I saw MANY clients ( I am aesthetician) with fungus on the back of their thighs caused from a reaction to the cleaning chemical and the heat of the bed.

I use self tanner. If applied well, it gives the look of having a tan without the damage of UVAandB rays.

i am fair skinned and sit in the shade the whole time we are there with the exception of early morning beach walks before the sun rises over the trees.

We use Ombrelle 45. I come home with a typical tan, my husband who is olive skinned and sits in the shade with me comes home very tanned.

[Rambo]

for those looking for a "base"..
I goggled and got a Mayo Clinic Health Page.........having a "lamp" tan gives your skin the "sun protection" (base) is about
sp4....so pre-tanning gives you a very small advantage in compared to those that dont "pre-tan"...it only takes a day or two to darken up from lilly white..........so why expose yourself to them?
your a tourist....locals are expert at pickin 'em out....lol

The Lord gave you ONLY ONE set of skin, keep it pretty...save your health

[HuskerJohn]

I always do, from 150 to 200 minutes worth. This way you don't have to worry about accidentally catching too much sun the first few days, which is very easy to do when you stand in the sea with drink in hand watching the action on the beach!

[Lady Jane]

You are absolutely correct Rambo. Very little protection is offered with a "base" tan and that sometimes gets people in trouble.
We all burn technically, even dark skin burns. Technically we are getting radiation when we expose ourselves to UVA and UVB rays, thats why I reference the word "burn" in both fair and dark skin. Then the blood comes rushing to the cells, in our skin to calm and cool them from the radiation. Some people turn redder than others but we all get technically burned. The UV rays activate the melanin that we have in every cell of our body, unless you are Albino, in which case you have very little to no melanin in your cells. Those with higher amounts of melanin turn darker than those of us with less amount of melanin. Melannin is the bodies natural protection from UV rays and is what determines the colour of our hair, skin and eyes.

UVA rays can penetrate the skin into the subcutaneous tissue which results in what you see above in the picture of the very tanned woman. UVA rays break down the connective tissue causing advanced wrinkles and loss of tone to the skin.

When I return home from Negril, I use a "good quality" self tanner to enhance the tan I have and to make it last a little longer. One of the best I have used and sold is in the Clarins line up of body care. Using a gel based formula works really well in the application and penetration.

[DConkle]

I do one month before the trip,protect my face tho. For some reason if I bake my face (suntan bed or the real thing) it swells and I look something like Frankinstein! Happened the first time I went to Ja. Woke up the second morning and there it was! I made up my mind I would not let it ruin the vacation. Wore my sunglasses most of the time,and use an umbrella when on the beach now!