i go on a month before just twice a week. then the week before i go on i go on 5 times get a lovley colour and stops me burning

the wife goes twice a week leading upto the holiday

starts about 10 weeks before we go, it gives her a nice even tan, which she then keeps topping up on holiday

we arent the sunbathing type, but do like to take long walks

which for us is better than actually sitting there sizzling

I used to but I use fake tan now. You can't tell the difference and it's safer. I found I got a good holiday tan despite using the fake stuff beforehand.

I use the Dove cream, takes minutes to put on and gives a lovely golden colour without the aging rays

I have red hair and pale skin and I use a sunbed for about 4 weeks before I go, once or twice a week for no more than 7 mins . It does give me a little base colour and best of all it stops me burning. Once I get back I use it no more than once a week over the summer to hold onto my colour and Johnsons or similar every other day .

dont find I have any problem getting results while im away but with my colouring I have to work damm hard at it.

Your skin Lyn and sunbeds sets all the bells ringing I'm afraid Is it worth the risk? You say you already use fake tan so why not use it more instead of the sunbed ? Would be safer for you.

for the last month: 3 times a week @ 6mins max

Week before holiday every day and only for 3mins

I know your prob right Hbrac . but I dont abuse it ,only use it for the summer months and all I really go for is a base colour to stop me burning when on holiday when Im afraid to say I do like to come home with at least a bit of a tan which I then feel is so precious I like to preserve it for a while I know we all say this but having some colour really does make me feel so much better in the summer and I dont have any other vices in life other than the sunbed once a week . dont smoke and dont even drink .

lyn

so nobodys herd about it affecting you tanning on holiday then? if you use it in the last couple of weeksleading to your holiday? x

no ive never heard that Linzi

years ago I hammered thesunbeds and went everyday for the weeks leading up to my holiday, I now have 2 very large brown pigment marks on my face which I am sure are a result of this, no way would I ever use a sunbed again, I love st tropez everyday, I have got the facial and body ones and will use evry other day for a couple of weeks leading up to my holiday.

I also have some pigment marks on my face that I put down to sunbed use some years ago (I am always very careful about applying cream when going in the sun) and combined with a friend getting skin cancer through sunbed use (she also used creams when going outside)I have been put off for life trying to get a tan either in the sun or on sunbeds. If I want to look a bit brown there are loads of products on the market that do a good job.
I'm suprised that with all the warnings that doctors have been giving out for years now that people are still prepared to risk their lives for the sake of something that will only last such a short time.

I go two/three times a week and have an 8 minute session.

I normally start this anout 8 weeks beogre holidaybut try to mantain one 6 min session a week all year round due to dermatitas.

It creates a lovely base to tan , with less chance of sunburn or prickly heat.

The first few days of catching the sun are forgotten about as you just go brown straight away

Its now part of my pre holiday regime.

im affriad im a sunbed hitter pre holiday, normally about 3/4 weeks before i go 2/3 times, its only time i do it. Us brits are strange folk obsessed with tans (me included) my hubby is Nigerian and he just cant understand why we all become obsessed with getting a tan - he says people call us coloured when in fact im one colour, if anyones coloured its Brits who go white, red then brown

I've been using a sunbed once a week for about eight weeks now and have a great (if unhealthy) all over tan! In the week before I leave for Egypt I'll do three sessions.

I used to use a sunbed sometimes, maybe twice a week but over 10 years ago and I wouldn't use one now. I know that my two week holiday is not good for my skin and that getting a tan in itself is the body trying to protect against burning so I tend to look on it as I am going to have my two week holiday, I won't exacerbate the tanning progress by also having sunbed sessions.

Using a sunbed only gives you the protection of a factor 2-3 suncream if you've done so as a preparation for going on holiday and getting a base tan. Also I have considered that these short sessions are obviously of a very high power so therefore you should be using sunscreen on a sunbed. There is no greater safety in the tan from a sunbed than a tan from the sun itself.

Another thing to remember is it can take up to 20 years to see the effects of damage either by sunbeds or the sun itself.

I would use a fake tan and a high factor sun cream. I used to go on holiday and start on factor 4 and end on factor 0. I now start on 15 and end on 10 and my tan is as good as it ever was, but no burning and lasts a lot longer. I still sometimes feel bad though as I know it's not good for me but that I'm doing a lot more to protect myself than I did 15 years ago.

Another thing to remember is it can take up to 20 years to see the effects of damage either by sunbeds or the sun itself.

Never has a truer word been spoken.
I used to own an 8 tube overhead sunbed many years ago and I should have known better than to use it, but 20 years ago scientists were not as concerned about the damage that the UVA rays were doing long term deep down in the layers of skin, where the rays penetrate....they were more focussed on the UVB rays.
I used to use it once a week, just to relax under it and take away the milk bottle whiteness, I worked shifts and catching the sun was like chasing a rainbow....so when I went abroad for 2 weeks, I overdosed on the sun and had to catch every minute of it....usually a waste of time in the end because it was too much which resulted in peeling

If I could turn the clock back, I would never ever use one.
People say I don't look too bad for a woman of 60, but I know that the wrinkles I now have, could have been less and not like the Grand Canyon if I had looked after myself years ago....now since I turned 50, I'm spending money on face and body creams when I really need polyfiller.

When you're 20, 30, 40 years old, you don't give a dam because you want that tan and being 60 years old seems a lifetime away.
I always thought " Who cares what I look like at 60 ?", well I have news for you because when you are 60 and you look in the mirror, then you will see before you where you went wrong....it creeps up on you slowly and when the damage breaks down the collagen (which sun beds and the sun does,) which makes the elasticity that holds everything together collapse and you have wrinkles, hooded eyes and jowls, plus the general loss of elasticity in the rest of the body ...then you'll have the regrets, like me......

Oh how I wish I had been born in another era and knew then what I know now .....but, I wouldn't listen to anybody when I was your age and I know some of you won't listen to me today.

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Totally agree Sanji, I'm a few years over 60 now and I also used sunbeds for a while in the 80's and baked in the sun for hours when on holiday and now my skin shows it. I do take care with protection and have for a number of years but I can't take back those early years. Maybe I would have listened if someone had told me what damage I was doing to my skin but there wasn't anywhere near the publicity then about skin cancer or even just premature aging and you are right you still care what you skin looks like at 60+.
My grandmother spent very little time in the sun and if she did she wore a hat and gloves, it wasn't fashionable to be tanned when she was young and apart from cold cream didn't use anything on her skin but her skin at 80 was less lined than mine is now.

Ive never used a sunbed and don't think I ever will. I had a friend that worked in a salon and the damage she did to her skin because of "freebies" was unbelievable. No thanks.

I hope that I'm setting a good example to my daughter by teaching her the dangers of the sun (and when she's a bit bigger sunbeds) and I always cover her in kids factor 50. She doesn't even moan now when I produce the bottle so a bit of success there. Ive started using the Piz Buin All Day Sunblock when at home and first thing on a morning when on holiday. When I am away though I always top up my creams with a factor 15 throughout the day. I have only burnt badly on two occasions - once when I was a young teenager and the second time was on my first holiday abroad (I couldn't master turning over on the lilo whilst in the sea and burnt my bottom half couldn't sit down for 3 days ) but it taught me valuable lessons on sun care.

The trouble is, we tend to take more care of our skin when holidaying abroad when the reality is, we do more damage walking to and from the school and/or shops on a daily basis at home, even on cloudy days.

Sarah