Post: #26

Im interested in tanning too. I am wondering what the best tanning oils are. Set up some stakes and bedsheet fort around a lawn chair and do some naked back yard tanning a few hours every 2 weeks.

Never used a tanning bed once in my life, never will. I dont care if its only a 0.01% chance of getting skin cancer, I aint wasting money on that shit.

edit: after some research

-seems like neutrogena gradual tan is the best out there
-use alovera on your tattoos or they will fade
-always put sunscreen on your face, never oil since that clogs pores
-start out gradual (15 minutes) and in a few days do 25 minutes, slowly work your way up
-getting a tanned look all at once in a 2-4 hour session is really unhealthy especially without SPF
-Most bronzers dont last and they stain your clothes.

Post: #27

Considering SAD season is coming up, I'll bump this.

First of all - there definitely is some merit to tomatoes, juicing, and diet changes in order to increase the quality of your skin. Kosko's thread is on point and now I'm obsessed with V8 juice.

That being said, if you suffer from seasonal feeling changes, eating vegetables may help, but will not solve your mood. I've tried. Last winter I was juicing, pounding the chili, and eating clean, yet I still suffered from SAD. Vitamin D supplementation will help, but you should also be tanning.

My tanning routine follows The GLL Tanning Guide, with the following exceptions:

-I don't put sunscreen on my face. I'm on the fence if sunscreen is carcinogenic or not, but I avoid putting it on my face just in case. I put the Aveeno on my neck. For my face, I use a towel. The towel is always on my eyes because even with tanning glasses, I don't like how my eyes feel tanning. Depending on how much sun I want on my face, I will use the rest of the towel to cover my face. If you are pale, be cautious with this technique because of tan lines. Being raised in The South has given me a nice base tan, so raccoon eyes have not been an issue.

-I don't use the facial self tanner. My face gets enough sun from day to day life and if I have some acne flaring up, I will move the towel for a few minutes.

Tips:

-Tan naked. One of the main reasons I got into tanning is because I have always gotten ingrown hairs on my thighs. The thighs and crotch area barely get any sun and are more prone to ingrown hairs and acne. Since tanning I have not had any bad ingrown hairs on my legs.

Tanning naked gets rid of your tan lines. Your quads will pop more when they are tan. Girls find this sexy. Farmers tans are not sexy.

Tanning naked feels better. You get more net sun on your body in less time. The first few sessions, you may be limited by how much time your thighs can take. Don't worry! They will catch up. If you feel your legs starting to burn, get out. Treat this skin like the rest of your body. Use coconut oil on your thighs and let it heal before tanning again.

-Shop around. Even if tanning beds have the same wattage, bulb quality and arrangement varies. Do a free trial at every tanning salon you can, write down what their top quality bed is, use the bed, go home and google it to get full specs, and see how your skin feels. Use the highest quality bed!

Lastly make sure you shake the tanning lotion thoroughly and spread it evenly. If your application is careless, you might end up with darker/lighter spots once you are using the beds for longer.

Post: #28

(11-29-2012 08:57 AM)billbudsocket Wrote:  research melanotan I and melanotan II.... injectable peptides that make your skin think you are getting lots of sun so you get dark, fast.

You'll get mixed opinions on this one. I had a malignant melanoma on my leg around 8 years ago and was never in the sun all that often.

Around 4 years ago I heard about Melanotan 2. It was essentially marketed as something which decreases the chances of skin cancer. After doing a reasonable amount of q and a's with my doctor it was advised that it was potentially risky due to the lack of long term studies.

I figured I'd roll the dice anyway. Essentially you inject with diabetic needles into subcutaneous fat every 3 or so days. After around 4 weeks of loading you will tan with even the slightest amount of sun BUT…

…Your moles do become darker as do your freckles. From experience this does freak you out however having done this for almost four years and having 3-4 check ups every year none of the moles are cancerous.

Essentially Melanotan is increasing the melanin in your skin. Melanin serves a protective role from UV rays which is why fairer skin types are typically more likely to develop skin cancer.

So while this substance isn't approved it is effective. I attribute the darkening of moles to the nature of melanin increasing in your body. In essence [And this is purely my opinion from years of usage] the product is protective against the sun. I have never been burnt, the visible ageing from the sun essentially stopped and I maintained a tan throughout winter.

The only side effect I have noticed is stronger erections lol.

Post: #29

Good info on here. It's crucial to know that carrots DO tan your skin, however you do have to warm them up (in an oven toaster, for example) and you'd probably have to eat 3 big carrots a day to see a major difference, something I never did haha. Also, I used to get weird looks when I went to tanning salons as a male. Anyway, these diagrams should give a solid idea:

   

(beta carotene is the substance found in carrots)
.

Post: #30

I am trying to get a little color.

I was out in the sun yesterday for about an 90 mins (hour front 30 mins back).

I was a little pink.

I went out today and did 30 front and 30 back.

I am a darker but pinkish also.

Should I wait a few days before going out for some more sun?

I got a little tingling on the shoulders - not painful.

Thanks.

Post: #31

(05-02-2016 06:57 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  I am trying to get a little color.

I was out in the sun yesterday for about an 90 mins (hour front 30 mins back).

I was a little pink.

I went out today and did 30 front and 30 back.

I am a darker but pinkish also.

Should I wait a few days before going out for some more sun?

I got a little tingling on the shoulders - not painful.

Thanks.

Hard to tell, considering we don't know your skin type, history of tanning, how much of a base you have, and if you're tanning outside how intense the sun/climate is where you are at.

I would wait a few days. Tanning is like coming back from an injury. "There are two ways...slow or painful." It's good that you're taking your time...a lot of people expect to lay out one day and wake up with a golden glow. No way! Tanning takes time, and higher frequency/less intensity is much better in my opinion.

Keep watch of your shoulders...growing up in Florida I already have a ton of sunspots on the top of my shoulders. Make sure you're laying out, flipping sides, and properly applying sunscreen if tanning outdoors.

At the sign of *any* sunburn start hitting it with the ACV to clean it, then moisturize with coconut oil.

Post: #32

^^^ I didn't drop ACV on it, but did rub coconut oil. After I applied it, I googled if I should lol.

Seems coconut oil is an automatic response. Usually works for me for whatever I am dealing with

I got a few weeks to work with. Skipping a couple of days won't kill me.

Thanks for the advice.

Post: #33

During the sunny months I will go into my backyard and do things like clean, play with the kids, read, take phone calls, etc... for about an hour a day.
I make sure to just wear shorts, no shirt, no socks, no shoes.
Doing this I maintain a great natural dark tan from April through September.

Living in Oregon, I am screwed from October - March.
During those 7 months I get pretty light skinned and supplement with 15,000 Vitamin D3 per day for health purposes.
May have to give Melanotan II a try, great suggestion!

Post: #34

(05-03-2016 12:09 PM)ScrapperTL Wrote:  May have to give Melanotan II a try, great suggestion!

Watch out with the melanotan, it is an analogue of alpha-MSH, which is one of the master hormones in the human body.
Tinkering with MSH should be approached with at least as much care as tinkering with testosterone for instance, and possibly with even more care since MSH sits at the very beginning of the hormonal pathway.

Post: #35

I'm extremely pale. I have been compared to one of the vampires out of Twilight on many occasions (not exactly a bad thing with todays women being obsessed with it)

As of the last 2 weeks I have been using Chris from Good Looking Loser's safe tanning guide with good results.

I use a local stand up tanning bed 3 times a week. First week at 3 minutes per session + planning on increasing by 1 minute every week.

I apply SPF 70 over my face 30 minutes prior and use a quality tanning lotion all over the rest of my body just before I step in.

I've had comments already on how I look healthier and have noticably had more women checking me out.

Post: #36

Just came back from a tanning bed session they're literally the best things ever. One of God's greatest gifts tbh.

For years I had winter depression so bad I would write off MONTHS a year productivity/mood wise- literally mentally going into winter I would almost "hibernate" and the winter might as well not exist(not only that, my physical strength/stamina/flexibility also went down the tubes too)- but totally gone after 1 tan.

Why has no one told me about this before? If only I knew I could feel so good/normal for like $10-15/week.

Post: #37

(08-14-2018 12:03 AM)The Catalyst Wrote:  For years I had winter depression so bad I would write off MONTHS a year productivity/mood wise- literally mentally going into winter I would almost "hibernate" and the winter might as well not exist(not only that, my physical strength/stamina/flexibility also went down the tubes too)- but totally gone after 1 tan.

I used to have Seasonal Depression when I lived in an apartment but buying a lightbox helped improve my mood and sleep patterns.

Now that I live somewhere with a garden, I sunbathe 10 minutes a day. It keeps me positive, and boosts Vitamin D(and thus testosterone)