We all know there is no safe tanning. But I’m curious if tanning alot in your youth has caused you any significant aging (compared to those who didn’t) or skin problems?
Compared to millennials who barely had skincare products, Gen Zs like me are bombarded by anti aging products, avoid the sun messaging, elaborate fake tan routines….
I’m resentful and just want to live a little more freely from all this beauty messaging. I don’t want to hide from the sun when it’s nice out.
I do love being tanned though I don’t actively pursue it outside of lying outside regularly in summer or hot days with some spf on. I don’t use SPF outside of hot summer days.
I’m moving to a Mediterranean country with hotter summers and was thinking of tanning this way more frequently as there is much more sun year round. Or using a tanning bed in winter, though not excessively
I’m not white (mixed asian) and naturally have medium skin, never get sunburnt. So I guess I’m naturally more protected than most?
I always hated the extra routine of fake tans and how they stain and are too warm toned for my cool skin.
I’m genuinely curious if the anti sun tanning propaganda is just consumeristic fearmongering.
Is natural tanning when you’re young really that bad? Do you really need elaborate SPFs to not look hideous when you’re 40 after a lifetime of tanning?
I recall my older cousins that used to only put on baby oil before frying in the beach sun. And honestly they look great now.
Please let me know the current state of your skin, how you used to treat it đź’€ and if you regretted tanning in your youth
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>I’m not white (mixed asian) and naturally have medium skin, never get sunburnt. So I guess I’m naturally more protected than most?
Having melanated skin does not protect you from sun damage. Just because you’re not “burning” doesn’t mean UV damage isn’t being done.Â
>I’m genuinely curious if the anti sun tanning propaganda is just consumeristic fearmongering.
No. UV rays can cause sun damage no matter your natural skin tone. It can also cause skin cancer.Â
I’m more concerned about skin cancer than aging from the sun. My best friend died from melanoma, hers was likely genetic, but she became really passionate about sun protection.
But honestly if wrinkles make you use sunscreen, then great. Better than not using it at all.
I’m almost 40 and I don’t think I look hideous. I think I look 40. This is my public profile and I have my Instagram account linked. I have a few videos where you can see my skin. I haven’t posted in a while, so I think I was about 38 there. I have never done Botox or tret (tried it but got horrible dry eye after a few days). I think my skin is pretty representative for my age for someone who doesn’t do those things. I definitely have friends that do and they have fewer wrinkles than I do. But you really should use spf with tret.
I’ve never done the tanning bed thing but one of my best friends from high school tanned sometimes 6 days a week. It aged her skin so much! At least on her face. She now does all kinds of skin treatments and injections to make herself look younger and improve her skin. She also spends a lot of money on skincare products.
I am 38 but I am also mixed Asian with naturally tan complexion and dont burn.Â
I grew up by the water in the south. I was in a lot of outdoor activities and weekends were spent on the beach. I was very diligent with sunscreen, and even though I live in the Midwest now, I am still diligent with sunscreen. If I’m gonna be in the sun, I’m putting on sunscreen.Â
I also get told all the time I look much younger than I really am but I think that my genetics come
Into play and not just my obsession with sunscreen. I don’t have any skin issues as far as that  goes.Â
The pendulum has shifted way too far.
>A large Swedish cohort study (Lindqvist et al., Journal of Internal Medicine, 2016) followed ~30,000 women for 20 years and found that sun avoiders had a mortality rate similar to smokers. Women with the most sun exposure lived 1–2 years longer.
>Sun exposure isn’t just about vitamin D. The body uses sunlight for cardiovascular health, immune regulation, hormonal balance, and circadian rhythm. Chronic avoidance is associated with higher mortality, more disease, and shorter life.
I’ve never visited a tanning salon but fear of getting skin cancer is not the only reason for that; I also blame the Final Destination franchise.
I do tan while I’m on holiday, though, but I always use SPF on my body and face. For my face I use SPF50 every day, anyway.
I only participated in it for about two years (16-18) before messaging about sunscreen hit in college (plus that “wear sunscreen” song came out around then). My parents just never educated me about it. My skin looks great, and I’ve been diligent about SPF 50 since I was 18.
My English born grandmother moved to Australia when my mum was young. My grandmother absolutely loved the sun and tanned frequently. She lost an eye to Melanoma and eventually died from cancer after it metastasized.Â
Not going to lie, looking back at photos she looks older than she should.Â
And being Aussie, having seen what tanning does – it honestly does make most people look much older than those that clearly regularly used sun protection over the course of their life. I’ve known a lot of people who have had skin cancers cut out.Â
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Edit: to answer your question – I’ve always been very religious about sun protection on my face. But have very naughtily been sunburn on my back/shoulders many times. Lots more freckles and a couple of moles I’m keeping an eye on on the areas of my back that’s exposed to the sun (tank tops above and below the back neckline) vs not.Â
I’m super white, almost 40. Between being on acutain (acne med) and a goth/alt girl in highschool. I also kept up my “sunscreen addiction ” to this day. I can usually pass 5-10 years younger.
my stepsister (15 months older) was one of those “tan popular girls” back then. Not only has she had multiple melanoma scares but spent thousands at the dermatologist to reverse the early aging and sun damnage.
No because I avoided it. My mom had raised me to always wear sunscreen. She’s Filipino and my dad is white. I was outside a lot since I did color guard with the marching band and we had practice during the week. I always wore sunscreen. My sister didn’t. She loved lathering herself in tanning oil and laying out. As well as going to tanning beds in the winter. Even in her 30s. I’m 40 and she’s about to turn 42. Last year she was complaining about how old she looks and how I don’t even have any wrinkles. I told her it was all the tanning she did and lack of sunscreen.
I am naturally very pale, with light hair. I burn, peel, then get a little bit darker and burn again. I have tons of freckles and am starting to get some age spots. I lived in the southern US and used tanning beds until I was in my 20s. I’m mid 40s now and have been much more diligent in sunscreen in the last 10-15 years. I went to the dermatologist for the first time this last week and didn’t have anything major to worry about.
So, no. No lasting effects. My derm even told me that spf isn’t regulated, and the best way to protect my skin is by wearing clothes/hats or zinc based sun screen. My kids are mixed Asian and don’t burn often, which is my biggest fear on permanently harming their skin. Which is probably what I would focus on with you. Enjoy the Mediterranean, but don’t get too burned!
I’m 36. I tan pretty easily and don’t recall my parents ever putting sunscreen on me when I was a kid, except when we were on a tropical vacation. I live in the northeast. As I get older I realize I actually do burn my first few times in the sun in the summer, and when I was a kid I think I just had more sun exposure than info now and my sun exposure was more gradual since I was outside a lot more often. I have been wearing sunscreen regularly on my whole body on summer days when I know I’m going to be outside for at least 5 years now, and on my face daily for about the same amount of time.
There was a time in my early to mid 20s, maybe for 2-3 years, that I tanned close to every other week. Before then I did for special events (prom [because when I was in HS you didn’t need to be 18 to tan, which is insane], before weddings, etc). One day when I was around 24-25 I was sleeping over my friends place after a night out, we were all talking about getting older and she commented that I had wrinkles. Granted, we were hung over and dehydrated, but I took that as a wake up call. I went to Ulta the next week and an associate helped me buy a few products and I started diligently removing my make up every night, and I stopped tanning.
My routine has changed since then, but I’ve kept it up consistently and haven’t tanned in probably 8 years, with the exception of my wedding 3 years ago. I realize that is counter intuitive and people will think I’m dumb for doing that, but I got married in the dead of winter and I wanted a little color and spray tans look bad on me. I was also doing monthly facials for 6 months leading up to my wedding, and quit alcohol for the month leading up to it.
It’s now about 11-12 years after my friend called out my wrinkles, and my skin is noticeably better than it was back then. I don’t see any long term damage and am very happy with how my skin looks as a 36 year old.
I’m 41 and I did used to tan sometimes, however my skin is in pretty good shape.
I’ve barely ever been sunburnt, even though I lived outside, and I used the fancy beds with the supposedly “less dangerous” rays. I would only tan for about five minutes sessions sometimes in the winter.
The most important part I think is just not letting your skin be burned or damaged. I had that photo damage thing taken on my skin and it showed almost no damage under the epidermis. I was just common sense careful I guess?
This is probably the best evidence that it’s not just consumeristic propagandaÂ
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmicm1104059
My Mom wouldn’t let me use tanning beds before I was 18. I’m super fair and it takes a really, really long time for me to get any sort of tan so I only tanned in beds before my wedding and my SIL’s wedding (maybe 2-3 months total in my life). I treat my frown lines for botox, but even my dermatologist has mentioned how great my skin looks for someone who came of age. I have friends who tanned a lot that have a lot of sun spots that look like age spots on the forehead. One friend is looking into having them lazered off bc they bother her so much.