Lets Talk Tan Lines

@studentloansforlife I said approval not recommendation. A tan is still damage to your skin but a burn is worse damage. When I say I burn easily I can walk outside in moderate sun with high SPF sunscreen and still come inside with blistering second degree burns. I go tanning and I now in the summers don't get burned in the sun. Again as I stated I am fully aware that at some point in my life I will potentially have skin cancer. My doctor works with me to develop the best treatment plan for my personal situation.

I tan regularly, i recommend starting 4 months out if you've never done it, you need to build a base tan and then go from there, beware however if you are fare skin you will usually burn even in the lowest setting. Do about 2 min then see how you feel

I started using the tanning bed at FHs a couple weeks ago. My dress is lower backed and is a V with straps. No way I could just wear a strapless swim top and be alright. I started doing 5 minutes twice a week to get my base tan so I don't burn when the temp decides to go back above freezing.

I'm spray tanning

I'm pale as a ghost and will be rocking it at my wedding lol. Tanning is not worth the risks to me.

Spray tan!

Everything is bad for you so a few months of tanning isn't going to kill you. I live in Florida but I plan to go to the tanning bed so I won't have tan lines. I had a spray tan before and hated it. I tanned for prom when I lived up north and I loved the color. So personally I'm going with the bed for a few months

Please spray tan! Go two days before the wedding, to give it time to settle in (and for you to shower off the excess). I went two days before my wedding and had NO transfer on my dress.

As you can see, I'm still pretty fair-skinned, but it just sort of evened everything out, and made me a little "golden"- so I wasn't just pale white You can go as light as you want to, to make it as natural as possible.

Oh- and see that red, raised scar on my arm? Skin cancer removal. NO tanning beds, please!!

Please, PLEASE stay away from the tanning bed! I've had several friends from high school have to get melanoma spots removed multiple times because of them using tanning beds.

Check out spray tans or at home tanning products such as "loving tan". Loving tan has great reviews and so many people will recommend them. Search loving tan on YouTube and see what popular beauty bloggers think of the brand

My first ever job was at a tanning salon and I will never be able to un-smell the scent of cooked humans for the rest of my life. I was 16-17 at the time and thought I wanted to be tan and that I'd love the discounts, but after only a couple weeks I was horrified by what I saw going in and out of that place. Some of the older customers looked like a worn piece of leather. Bleck.

I'll either get a very minimal spray tan (to take the edge off my ghostliness and reduce any tan lines) or rock the "she matches her dress" look!

@Michelle Avoid a tanning bed! Definitely get a good spray tan by a technician. I used to tan occasionally using sun bed and then stopped for awhile around 24, then at 26 I randomly decided to start up again and all it took was one session and I had HUGE age spots that appeared around my eyes. They were so obvious without make up and were not easy to cover up. I kid you not, it took well over a year for them to fade. I haven't stepped back into a tanning salon since.

I know everyone tans differently, but I never would have thought after growing up in FL and "being used" to the sun that spots like those would show up on my skin, especially my face.

@Michelle Avoid a tanning bed! Definitely get a good spray tan by a technician. I used to tan occasionally using sun bed and then stopped for awhile around 24, then at 26 I randomly decided to start up again and all it took was one session and I had HUGE age spots that appeared around my eyes. They were so obvious without make up and were not easy to cover up. I kid you not, it took well over a year for them to fade. I haven't stepped back into a tanning salon since.

I know everyone tans differently, but I never would have thought after growing up in FL and "being used" to the sun that spots like those would show up on my skin, especially my face.

I am going to a tanning salon prior. Hoping to get some sun prior as well.

@FutureMrsG thanks for sharing your friend's experience. I'm still really torn on what to do for myself. Just like OP

Spray tan's can look good....at least give it a try first. I don't understand why tanning beds are legal.

For everyone saying they tan or are considering it...

From the American Academy of Dermatology...

"Using indoor tanning beds before age 35 can increase your risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by 59 percent; the risk increases with each use. Women younger than 30 are six times more likely to develop melanoma if they tan indoors."

"Even one indoor tanning session can increase users’ risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 67 percent and basal cell carcinoma by 29 percent"

I'm just doing a few times before the big day! This will be my last time! Lotions definitely help.

Is it worth potentially getting skin cancer to be a little tanner for one day?

Find a bathing suit that fits within the lines of your dress! My mom and I are doing one last trip to Florida before my wedding, so I took bathing suits in to a fitting. Seamstress said it was the first time she'd ever seen it, but I don't want visible tan lines!

I'm going tanning. Start out only for a couple minutes tell them you never tanned before. I only go in for 3 minutes and burnt a little the first time.

Spray tans scare you??? Your wedding won't crash and burn because you got a spray tan. What should scare you is the thought of having to get poison(that's what chemo is) pumped through your body, and get radiation, surgery, etc. it's very preventable.

I think stage 4 melanoma stories would scare you a little more than trying out a spray tan. Talk about first world problems... try some different ones out. Don't fake bake.

ETA: Yes, everything @FutureMrsG says. It can and does happen to people just like you everyday.