Artificial sunlight prior to cruise

[Albertians]

I was amazed to see the answers here.

My dermatologist said NO WAY - no sun is safe !

I see here most people will pre-tan before a cruise thinking it's going to help? But does it really? I wonder about the electronic field you get from the plug in beds ! Is that good for you to sit under 20 light bulbs?

Or

Do you just wear a SPF 45 on day one.... SPF 30 day two and SPF 15 day three... and so on?

 

Is there a good answer to this question?

I guess it depends on your skin type.

Why do we always have to worry about being white?

Why do we always want to look like an old coppertone commercial from the 1980's?

This is just the media we are talking about here.

Stay safe - enjoy a bit of NATURAL sun... use sun lotion and don't over do it... Bring a hat ! Use it...

A bit of sun won't hurt ya but alot will.

So take it easy and enjoy your vacation.

[forpaws]

One more thing to keep in mind, at least from my experience: I've tanned in the tanning bed for years...and if you start out too fast, meaning you go too often or stay in too long, the burn you get from a tanning bed is weirdly different than that from the actual sun itself.

 

It's a maddening, itchy burn that nothing seems to settle.

 

The first time I got burned in a tanning bed, I burned across my chest very badly, and the itching nearly drove me crazy. I tried everything to calm it down: Cortisone cream, vaseline, Benadryl, baby powder, ice water, regular lotion, aloe, you name it. Nothing worked. I itched and scratched something horrible the rest of the night, and it was absolutely one of the most miserable nights I've ever spent.

 

I've been way overcooked in the real sun before, which is miserable too, but the itching from the artificial sunlight was worse, IMO.

 

So, for you newbies, if you do decide to use a tanning bed, be sure to start off slow and ask the technician how new the bulbs are (at this time of year, many places replace their bulbs for the start of the new tanning season, which makes them much, much stronger). New bulbs will definitely increase your chance of a severe burn if you aren't careful.

 

I'm an olive complexion who tans very easily, and at the start of each new season, I start off at only around 3 to 4 minutes. I can always increase it the next night, and I'd rather start off slow than end up miserable again. I've seen fair complexions start off even less than that.

 

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

[vacationbound]

Interesting topic. I tan before cruising because I am totally allergic to sun screen. Not just a little itch and redness, but outright pitting edema, open, weeping blisters, etc. Tanning (recommended by a dermatologist) has become a must for me if I want to be in the sun at all. I tan very slowly, adding minutes over time, and luckily I don't burn easily at all. I only do it before a Spring time cruise and I'm fine for the rest of the summer. (I golf ) Again, luckily, I'm dark brown eyed and have dk brown hair and a medium complexion.

 

Thought for the day...... Tan fat looks better than white fat!! :o

[Sheffie]

I didn't even think of doing this and I leave in a week. :eek: If I went tomorrow and then Sun, Tues and Thurs - would this be helpful or am I wasting my money at this point being so close?

 

Suzanne, you would be wasting your money. It takes a couple to 3 weeks before you can start seeing any difference. Slather on the sunblock, and have a great cruise!

[Sheffie]

And to paraphrase Vacationbound:

 

Brown fat looks thinner than white fat!

[time4u2go]

I was amazed to see the answers here.

My dermatologist said NO WAY - no sun is safe !

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that feels this way! I just don't understand the desire to do this, with all the warnings.:confused:

[Ruggermags06]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that feels this way! I just don't understand the desire to do this, with all the warnings.:confused:

 

For me, its a matter of not burning and being miserable on my vacation. I always wear sunscreen on vacation (30-45 depending on where I am) and try to reapply frequently, but if I didn't have some sort of base tan prior to leaving I would still burn by the second or third day. My body temp runs too high (meaning I'm always hot) for me to be covered from head to toe like the previous poster. So for me, I only tan when I'm going someplace where the sun is stronger (which unfortunately doesn't happen often enough) and I go 1-2 times per week for about a month prior.

[uktraveller]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that feels this way! I just don't understand the desire to do this, with all the warnings.:confused:

 

I agree entirely. We just came back from southern caribbean on the Serenade. We used at least SPF 30 and got a nice healthy glow by the end of the week. We just couldn't believe how many sunburnt bodies we saw! :eek: :eek:

[masterbaker]

I'm never exposed to the sun without 45 SPF, and would never even consider going to a tanning salon. You will find me chasing shade, with a brimmed hat on to shade me even more. The chair hogs can have the poolside seats. ;) Just normal everyday activity here in Florida requires SPF and we still build a base tan using 45 daily. My dermatologist tells me that no sun is good for the skin. It causes pre-mature aging of the skin and cancer. You really should protect your skin. Brown may seem attractive now, but wrinkles and skin cancer won't be so attractive later.

[kruzerci]

Suzanne, you would be wasting your money. It takes a couple to 3 weeks before you can start seeing any difference. Slather on the sunblock, and have a great cruise!

 

It depends entirely on how much you and how long you go. I usually go every two or three days for a month before the cruise, but I just started going last weekend for my upcoming cruise, which is in 9 days :D . Anyways, I have gone Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week and I am getting pretty dark. A couple people at work asked me how I got so tan in the last week, so you definately can see a noticeable difference in just a week or two.

[Sheffie]

It depends entirely on how much you and how long you go. I usually go every two or three days for a month before the cruise, but I just started going last weekend for my upcoming cruise, which is in 9 days :D . Anyways, I have gone Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week and I am getting pretty dark. A couple people at work asked me how I got so tan in the last week, so you definately can see a noticeable difference in just a week or two.

 

I stand corrected :). I am glad to hear that some people can get some pre-cruise tan in a short time.

 

Have a great cruise!

[christygobar]

I am white as a ghost and have way too much skin cancer in my family history. Mystic Tan all the way and SPF 50 on the ship (I'm a shade chaser too!)

[kruzerci]

Have a great cruise!

 

Thanks, you too! I'm jealous, your going Southern Caribbean- my favorite ;).

[ChattieKathy]

I went on my first cruise at the end of Feburary. I am very fair, and decided to do a slow tan at the tanning salon. I went about a month early, 2-3 times a week starting at only 8 minutes at a time. I don't think I ever went over 17 minutes of the allotted 20 minutes. On the cruise. I used a 15 sunblock ("Banana Boat") on my body (30 on my face). I did not burn! I was amazed. I always burn! I did spend some of my time in the shade...I just can't take too much sun. But I did enjoy the sun! I went swimming with the dolphins, snorkeling, and those times were in the sun for an hour or more. Not a bit of burn. Now, not many people would look at me and call me "tan"...I'm just not as white as I usually am!

 

 

I will always respect the sun, and I know that cancer is a real threat, BUT...I also know that a burn is BAD. I avoided a burn, and for that, I would do it again.

[Prphan2]

I didn't even think of doing this and I leave in a week. :eek: If I went tomorrow and then Sun, Tues and Thurs - would this be helpful or am I wasting my money at this point being so close?

 

When I started to hit the bed again in Jan., people at work noticed I was tanning after 3, 15 minute sessions, so it pretty much depends on your skin tone. I don't have an olive complexion, but I do tan well. I've been tanning pretty regularly since 1984, and absolutely love it.

 

Speaking from experience, even though you may have a really good & dark base from using the beds, you still need to be very careful when you get near the water. Even though I'm pretty tan already, I'll be using at the very least, a 30 SPF product for the time we're in FL pre-cruise, and I'll play it by ear once on board.

[CPT Trips]

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word.

Ben: Yes sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes I am.

Mr. McGuire: 'Dermatology.'

[time4u2go]

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word.

Ben: Yes sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes I am.

Mr. McGuire: 'Dermatology.'

LOL. Well said.

[crusinmama06]

Yes, I always tan before a cruise. I just started this week again as a matter of fact. I have a little over 30 days till my next one so yes, I am starting again.

 

And no, I don't need the luctures about how terrible it is. There are so many other terrible things out there too. I am a big girl and I can make up my own mind.

 

I AM Italian and tan easily but I hate showing up to Florida as pale as can be. So I get tan before I go.

[Hooked on cruisin']

I visit the "electric beach" about six times before a cruise. Starting off at about half the maximum time allowed. I also wait a couple days in between each visit. By the last visit I may be up to the full time or a couple minutes shy of it.

It always seem to be just the right amount of color for a base tan...........

and the right amount of color to protect my fellow passengers from the brilliant glare of the sun reflecting off my Northern New England, long winter, pastey white, un-tanned legs!!

[kruzerci]

I visit the "electric beach"

 

Nicely said :D !!!

[memoie]

I'm not a big fan of tanning beds but we are starting to go to the electic beach now for a cruise in May - only once a week for 15 mins to begin with - coming from the "frozen north" of Canada our white skin looks pretty bad. If you don't get a base tan before you go to a place like the Caribbean, Hawaii or the Med you end up getting a painful burn pretty quick just from walking around or even being in the water (not laying on the beach, that's another topic). Having a nice cooling breeze gently blowing off the water is a big deceptor - you think your staying nice and cool but the sun is actually burning your skin, and it all happens so quickly and having a bad sunburn is actually worse for your skin and puts a real damper on planned activities, even trying to sleep is painful. No way to spend a holiday. My DH has had burns on the back of his neck just walking around, he had spf cream on, a ball cap and a long sleeve shirt.

[Meig]

I am going to tan a bit before my cruise next month. I look at it from the standpoint that I will either expose myself to a tanning bed now and not burn myself into a crisp or I go into the caribbean sun and get a really bad sunburn. There is simply no way to keep up on constantly applying effective sunscreen when you are snorkeling and in the water (even waterproof sunscreen isn't completely waterprooof), and I am not going to hide under an umbrella or long sleeves and pants the whole time I am out there.

 

No, tanning beds are not good for my skin, but neither is a terrible sunburn.