I have a problem, and something that is concerning me, and I wonder if you can clear it up..

I am due to go to Lanzarote in December and have started a sunbed course, to go twice a week to build up my tan so I dont look like a lily white milk bottle!
Anyway, I told the owner of this sunbed place the reasons for me wanting to start and she seemed fine about it
But after coming home and telling my MIL on the phone that I had started this course, she said she heard that was the easiest way because of the different types of light etc.. to get skin cancer!!

Charming! ... and I thought everybody done it!
But now I am worried.I hope this is just a myth.. please help put my mind at rest!

when i was younger i did a course of sunbeds to 'help my skin adjust' as im such a paley

well id got a good base then on my first day of my hol i got sun burnt!... i was careful and had cream on... but i still burnt and the base didnt help!.... id never use a sunbed again....

i would now go for a spray tan ...its safer and with all the good tanning tech out there why nt......l.ol

It is a myth. You don't need to build up a base tan at all.

People THINK they do - I wont tell them otherwise as a sunbed owner - and this is fine.

People don't feel happy turning up in Spain with lily-white legs - who can blame them?

So long as you don't go abroad and lie around all day without protection, you will be fine.

Be sensible in the sun. Tanning on the first day is no good.

The best tan is one built up slowly using a combination of creams - with protector factors - and using after sun to cool.

Find Spray Tanning Technicians, Salons, Suppliers in your area. have a look on here

Yes - sunbeds can absolutely be a cause of increased risk of skin cancer - as can tanning in natural sun. The sunbed shop you use should have lots of useful info about precautions and safe tanning and if you are high risk (ie you have lots of moles) - if they do not supply this information they are not doing their job and you should probably consider going elsewhere.

I am doing the exact same thing at the moment, going on hols next week & need to be brown !
I don't tan in natural sunlight at all but 2/3 sessions on a sunbed & im glowing.

Im suprised there was not information available about the sunbeds & risks within the salon. Where i go you have to sign to say you have read all the risks involved, 2 massive posters on the wall & leaflet to take away. Was the same where i used to work.
Also they can age the skin if you use them frequently.

Thanks for all the replies so far fellow geeks...

The sunbed place was fine about it and gave me a consent/risk form to sign etc.. there is creams and stuff to use too..

The only thing I was concerned about was the fact that I was increasing the risk on skin Cancer by swapping from one type of light (SUNBED UV) to natural sun went I went away.
My MIL put worry into my brain and I havent stopped thinking about it..


I am not a sunbed queen, never have been.. in fact this is the first time I have ever gone out of my way to pay for a session and thought it would be good to go with a base colour at least rather than clogging myself up with cream/spray tans etc.. and they only wash/rub off, stain clothes too.

I am not 'moley' LOL or fair so I think I'll be ok. Just didnt want to develop skin cancer thats all!

Tsia please read this

Sunbeds - tanning risks, skin cancer and ageing from UV radiation

and this

BBC NEWS | Health | Europe issues warning on sunbeds

Not trying to scare you, but it is the facts x x x x

Fake tan and sun block washes out, skin cancer doesn't. Having colour offers no protection as the skin is damaged not given a base for tanning.

Hey Weezie!

Well your mother in law is right. You are pumping alot of direct uv rays into your skin. It is much worse than sitting out in the sun with no sunscreen! Your skin will end up very dehydrated which will cause premature aging. Spray tanning is definately the way to go. Get one just b4 u go and moisturise everyday to stop ur skin from shedding so much and ur tan will last longer. While you have your spray tan, wear sunscreen and go out in the sun but not for too long of course!

Have fun!!
Elise

I thought it was common knowledge that sunbed use or any type of sunbathing without protection increases cancer risk. I have read somewhere that you should not use a sunbed more than 20 times per year. Don't know if this is fact or fiction tho.

It's actually 10 sessions a year max, not at all is recommended by me

This is outlined in this other bbc news article

BBC NEWS | Health | Doctors warn against sunbed use

Also please bear in mind it is not just my opinion but doctors who specialise in the effects of light on the skin!

Im never going on sunbeds ever again, i went for a few sessions about 4 years ago in the summer as i had family weddings to go to, my mum did also and last year she found a small bit of skin cancer below her eyebrow, which was removed.
Now im not saying that the sunbeds caused this, but my mum hasn't been abroad in 40 years and never sunbathes.

Spray tans are the way for me! Haven't found that they rub off on clothes or bedding either.

I am not sure wether I should say this but if your gonna get cancer you will. Wether its caused by the sun, smoking or wrapping your cheese in cling film! Yes it really can be that easy to get it!

Sunbeds in the past did used to increase the risks of cancer but dont you think that after all them years and all that studying of skin cancer, the sunbed companies have made them safer to use? They dont want people to become ill using their products! In fact people are so scared of the sun now that people are actually becoming vitimin D deficient.

Its so easy to scare yourself these days looking at all those reports that have been on TV. Just look at what happend after GMTV reported about Beauty salons being a health risk. All of our potential clients who watched that report became scared. And were they right? NO!

The true facts are that professional sunbeds now SHOULD have the UVC rays removed, which can cause cancer, BUT I am not saying that over-use cant hurt us. We can still burn on sunbeds and our skin can become older looking and eating too much chocolate can make us fat! Just be sensible. We all know our boundaries!

Just dont think that when you have a base tan from a sunbed that your skin is safer in the real sun. You might not burn as EASILY but the risk is still there. You still need to use a high factor sun screen and stay out of the sun from 11.00 to 3.00. Common sense plays a big part in this.

I hope I have not upset anyone here about this. I know this is a touchy subject and dont think I dont know how cancer can affect a person and the family because I know only too well! It is awful and I feel for anyone in that situation.

If you feel comfortable going on the sunbed then continue with it. Just dont go on for too long and only use a sunbed 2 or 3 times a week at the most.

Hope you have a good holiday anyway!!! S-j

I dont actually use sunbeds myself,(I dont enjoy wasting time on sunbeds just to be brown when you can have a mist of self tan and your brown the next day) but Im NOT totally against them either and everything we enjoy in life seems to have a government health warning attachment to them.

Im sure it will be hairdressing thats bad for our health soon, then it will be visiting the dentist, then it will be drinking water again, then it will be visiting a beauty salon, then the gym, then full circle to sunbeds again.

My granda had several skin cancers on his face (1 pretty bad ) he had never been on a sunbed in his life, neither did a client of mine who had skin cancer.

But while the media are enjoying scaremongering EVERYONE about something, no-one ever seems to mention the benefits of sunbeds very often.

What about the vitamin d it produces to make us feel better? (we get little of it in winter which is why we get depressed and long for the summer back)

What about eczema and acne sufferers? doses of uv are fab for these skin conditions?

The problem with it all, is like everything else - we binge on sunbeds, some people are tanorexic (Iv known people to spend all day in the sun then go for a sunbed on the evening...what the hell for?)

So like everything else in this strange life we live...everything in moderation.

And like everything in life as long as we know the risks its all about choice, and if you choose to use a sunbed take the warnings seriously and stick to the recc. sessions per year. But some people dont listen.