Why don't you just go cook yourself?
By vivasuzi
@vivasuzi (4127)
United States
January 14, 2007 12:56am CST
In planning my trip to FL, I'm seeing lots of pics of tan people on beaches.... and I'm dreading it already. I've never been a sun-worshipper even though I used to tan very easily. However, now I can't stand to get tan, and I only take in sun naturally while swimming or being outdoors - but I won't lay in the sun.
So what is the attraction with laying in the sun? Here's some reason why I won't do it, and maybe you can provide some insight on why you DO tan. Or if you don't like tanning, just jump on board and let me know :)
1) Tanning sucks your skin dry! I have silky (albeit white) skin and I rarely need lotion. People I know who tan are always putting on lotion day and night.
2) Tanning can make you leathery! I had a friend once who tanned so much her skin looked like a leather purse. She stopped, and she looks better now that she is all white again.
3) You can burn! Even if you never burn, you can. I burned for the first time in 6th grade and that was the start of "no tanning for vivasuzi". I wasn't even tanning then, I was just boating and my legs got burned.
4) Let's not forget cancer! My friend had a run in with Skin cancer just for being out in the sun one summer working. Luckily they removed the small bit and she is ok now, but some people aren't that lucky.
5) It's freaking hot! The times I tried to tan on purpose, I was so freaking hot! I wanted to hide in the shade every 5 minutes to cool off.
6) Those dang tan lines! Nothing looks worse than a girl in a strapless dress with two thick white tan lines across her back. Guys, do you really find this attractive?
7) Finally, it's just plain boring. I can't lie around and do nothing, I have hobbies, obsessions, mylot :) If I'm lying around ever, it's because it's night time and I'm sleeping.
So come out all you guys and girls and tell me why you tan? And do you really find it attractive if a person is tan verses white? Why can't we just be happy with our natural skin color? Thoughts? Chim in!
9 people like this
32 responses
@resasour (378)
• United States
14 Jan 07
I am with you on this one! I lived in Florida for 22 years and I am not into laying in the sun. It is too hot, and boring!! I like to have a little color to my skin so I don't look like a sick person, But i seriously dislike just laying around in the heat. Therefore, I don't have much color either! lol
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
14 Jan 07
I wish more people were like that :) I have friends who go tanning all winter so they don't lose their summer color. I think it's even more disgusting to think of laying in a tanning bed! At least the sun is all natural. I find being outside doing everyday things that I get enough color to be happy without having to lay around for it.
1 person likes this
@enchantedemerald (454)
• United States
14 Jan 07
When I was younger I took a trip with my girlfriends and I fell asleep on the beach while they went off to swim in the hotel pool. I was cooked so bad they had to take me to the emergency room. The doc said I ended up with sun poisoning and I could hardly walk. I was totally miserable. This was years ago and I still remember the pain. I don't mind being outside playing sports or gardening or even going to play on the beach but I am much more careful now.
@GardenGerty (160949)
• United States
14 Jan 07
I always thought that if all my freckles held hands and were friendly, I would have a pretty good tan. I agree with most of your reasoning about tanning. I have to move around, and cannot lie around, although I do enjoy gardening and lakes.My younger sister fought various cancers before dying after about 15 years, because she got a skin cancer and it proceeded to her glands and her bones. My mom was from a time when you avoided the sun, at 50 people thought she was thirty five. Her much younger sister was a tanning freak and developed vitaglia (like Michael Jackson) and had to use heavy makeup to even things out. Now wasn't that attractive? So I have jumped on the band wagon with you.
2 people like this
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
14 Jan 07
Looks like I agree with you too- I tried laying in the sun when I was in high school.. Its just plain boring! Plus I hate to be hot-- I burn so easily-- I'm a pale white.. I do tan when I am outside playing ball or riding bikes or even swimming-- I am the type who has to put on tons of sunscreen... And I usually tan even when I do not try to. I have the tan lines-- LOL from where my shorts are and my t-shirt. : )
My daughter who is 10 started to lay out last year in the summer- I was like oh No you don't. !! She has beautiful skin-- Not pale like me.. I still make sure she lathers up with sunblock! : )
I have alot of friends who go to tanning salons! It is crazy!
@vogue_article21 (131)
• Philippines
14 Jan 07
most people just can't be contented of who they are and what they have (like me..before). It is ironic that white people wants to be tan, and the dark skin people or fair skin like me wants to have a silky white skin color like yours... and most of the time I envy those people who has very fine white skin. Well I realize its just a matter of contentment... being contented gives me hapiness although i don't have a perfect body. A reminder to all: we are unique, nobody is exactly the same as we are, and that's so wonderful, we are beautiful in own unique way. =D
2 people like this
@icequeen (2840)
• Canada
14 Jan 07
Well I think once the summer months come...people would rather be tanned. I know the downfalls of tanning...cancer..etc. However..when you go out...or to the beach everyone is tanned. I think that you just look good when you are tanned. Clothes look better...accessories etc..so that is the pull to wanting a tan. Plus it makes you feel different...special..in a sense...I guess there is a certain feeling..there too...
1 person likes this
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
14 Jan 07
Thanks for your input, and I guess you are right with why most people do tan - they want to fit in. I've never wanted to "fit in" and I like the way the clothes I own look on me now, so I'm not about to start worrying about my skin color.
I don't really think most people look better when tanned, unless they do it right (which most people don't). I hate tan lines! and since most girls where strapless or think strap clothes all summer, those tan lines look awful.
@sj_chaudhry (1537)
• Canada
14 Jan 07
me either dont expose myself into sun for tan. First reason is if i exposed to sun more then half an hour i get Migrane and secondly me also get tan very easily. Ia m from asian country where people are mostly wheatish in color and their orginal color it self very attractive that they should not need to indulge into artificial tanning.
@Echo123 (155)
• United States
14 Jan 07
I*live* in Florida and I stay out of the sun. I love the weather here, but hats and long sleeves and sunblock are my friends. I love my skin. It is very light and I know that is not the most popular style these days, but my skin is soft and I look YEARS younger than I really am.
When you come to FL and go to the beach and see all the tan people laying around, keep in mind most of them don;t live here. They are tourists like you:) The locals tend to enjoy more off the beatn path beaches and parks. And staying out of the sun is just as popular here as not.
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
14 Jan 07
We will be looking for those beaches and parks too b/c I don't think I can handle seeing a lot of over-tan people. Luckily my fiance doesn't like to sit in the sun either (he burns easily) so I have a partner to dodge the sun with me!
I agree, I look younger and people sometimes think I'm still a teen! At 25, I'd say that's a pretty good compliment :)
1 person likes this
@kareng (61739)
• United States
14 Jan 07
That's why I do sunless tanning. My father has had several spots of skin cancer and he never worshiped the sun, was just out in it naturally and working outdoors some.
Laying out in the sun is just asking for pre-mature aging (wrinkled skin) and dry skin.
Do yourself a favor, get a sunless tan before you leave. And you won't have tan lines either:)
1 person likes this
@faylinn_chaeli (1619)
• Philippines
16 Jan 07
Since I am based on south east asia, my complexion is tan. We don't have snow here, we only have sunny and rainy days. But sometimes I think that I want to be whiter. I agree with what others said, sometimes we can never really be contented with what we have.
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
16 Jan 07
Never heard anyone want to be whiter. I'm a little tad bit darker than some people (not bright white) but still I look really white compared to tan people! However, I've learned to be content with it :) B/c tanning or self-tanners just gross me out too much.
@Meljep (1666)
• United States
15 Jan 07
You are preserving your skin and that is commendable. When you go to Florida you will find tanning places that actually have booths that will spray you with a tanning solution. It may be a little pricey, but much less expensive than cancer.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
17 Jan 07
I can't say that I enjoy just laying there baking in the sun. But I have enjoyed sitting there reading while my kids play in the sand. And if I got hot, we would go in the water.
The leathery skin look...comes from over exposure, the tanning beds, and not having protection. If you do not over expose yourself to the sun and use protection, then you have less likelyhood of developing cancer.
Even though I do not like baking myself in the sun, if I did not go, then my kids would not get to experience the fun of sand castles, the surf, and seashell hunting. This would be why I go. :) That, and I think the beach is a very peaceful place...that is if you do not go to the tourist attraction beaches.
But I was born and raised in Florida...so the beach was something that was fun to do. :)
@groomtobe23 (635)
• United States
17 Jan 07
I have never had fun just "baking" in the sun. It just isn't my idea of a good time, and when I am at the ocean, I really want to look around. It just feels like I would be wasting my time if I was to spend it sitting in the sun all day, and besides that fact, I don't think my body handles sun all that well anyways. I prefer to avoid the opportunity at getting a sun-burn, and will probably stay away from tanning for the rest of my life. (It's healthier that way anyways!)
@Bharani_king (70)
• India
14 Jan 07
i once cooked when there is no one on the home.But i only eat it
1 person likes this
@hinrichas (395)
• Spain
14 Jan 07
I can't cook. Because I don't know what I have to do.
1 person likes this
