How often is TOO often?

[Dchan]

How often can you tan without burning out your skin? I've read articles that say if you over-tan you can burn out your melanin, but they never said exactly how much tanning it took to do that.

[meltdbutta]

Too much would be every day...

Moving this to ASk the pros...

[njchica]

I have never heard of "burning out" melanin. Where did you hear/read this?

[Dchan]

I did several searches on sun exposure and talked to my dermatologist. He said that if I tan too much or spend too much time out in the sun, which he didn't endorse in the first place, that it could cause the malanocytes to "burn out" or stop producing melanin in areas or making too much in others, which gives uneveness in the skin and is a sign of sun damage. He also explained pregnant women who go out in the sun or tan and get what's called Malasma which sometimes never goes away. My mom also has a friend that tanned a WHOLE lot when she was young and now she has spots on her legs that won't tan anymore, so I just don't want that happening to me HAHA

[colorgod]

I say tanning everyday is tooooooooooo much. PLEASE

[Anya1976]

stopping melanin production? like what u "break" your skin? i've never heard of that

[colorgod]

Me either.

[Dchan]

It DOES happen though, melanin is also what determines the color of your hair, and when you turn gray, the melanocytes stop production of melanin and die

[Anya1976]

well people can only get as dark as their skin will allow... i will never get as dark as southern italians but that is just what i get for having polish and norhtern italian heritage

[Anya1976]

so it's not that you "burn out" it's that is dark as you can get. i personally can get pretty dark i haven't gotten to the point of where i am as tan as i am going to get and i've been tanning year round for like 2 years

[colorgod]

Anya, you look great with a tan, but you also looked great without a tan.

[Anya1976]

god i like the way the pale pick looks but i can't believe i am THAT white

[colorgod]

I thought that was a very good picture.

[Anya1976]

i hate how white i am lol

[colorgod]

I'm naturally white, but I have a red face during the winter. That's why I love tanning!

[njchica]

Dchan, so you're saying that we have a fixed number of melanocytes and the body can't regenerate them?

don't make me break out the Biology textbook...

[Anya1976]

break out the book

[KIMMYB]

I usually go about 3 times a week, which is usually Mon, Wed & Friday. I think I could probably add 1 more day.

[colorgod]

salon owners???? care to comment????

[nikptbo]

the salon i go to wont let you tan more than once in a 24hr period, but they also clearly state that they recomment that u wait 48 hrs at least before tanning again, that way ur tan can fully develop from ur last seesion...

[Desert Tan]

I do not allow my tanners to tan within 24 hours of each session. The recommended time to allow melanin production is about 24-48 hours. You should not have to tan more than 2-4 times per week if your salon shows you how to jump around in different beds. You should tan in different beds because you need different levels of UVB exposure to produce melanin. I have most of my clients tan in my Level A bed which is my smallest bed (15 minutes max) and then 1-3 days later, jump into my Level B bed (12 minutes max). That really gives them great color and it lasts longer than just going into your typical "Base Bed" all the time! Their are sooooo many different combinations to achieve and maintain a great looking tan.

--Mike

[Dchan]

Quote:
On 2003-05-15 07:44, njchica wrote:
Dchan, so you're saying that we have a fixed number of melanocytes and the body can't regenerate them?

don't make me break out the Biology textbook...


Nope, that's not it, don't make me brake out my pre-med books, lol Sun damage CAUSES the melanocytes to divide because the body senses the increased amout of UV exposure and triggers the melanocytes to divide to keep up, that's a sign of sun damage. Current research shows that the body does not start producing melanin until after DNA damage has occured, which makes complete sense. Melanin is meant to reflect UV light away from the skin, and there would be no reason for the body to produce melanin if it was not protecting itself from damage. The bad part is when your body can't correct the damage faster than it's being done.

It's a simple rule of the body, people cannot drink alcohol and take tylenol everyday for the rest of their lives and their liver still function at optimum efficiency. People with Non-insulin dependent diabetes have basically given it to themselves because of their excessive weight and sugar intake. You can even see it in women who wax their legs constantly for long periods of time, their hiar folicles can simply shut down, no longer producing hair. No system of the body is completely fool-proof, or lasts forever, if it did, we would never die, LOL.

I didn't mean to start a huge debate about it, I just wanted to know how many sessions in a week is considered safe, because UV/Sun exposure to the body is also very beneficial. It's just like eating a small piece of chocolate a day, or drinking a glass of red wine is good for you, but when you take it to extremes, it can mess you up, and that what I want to prevent.

[Mitzi]

Some states do have regulations in place and enforce them, some do not, such as TN. We do have regulations but no enforcers... Our regs. state that you can tan ONCE per day, doesn't say anything about 24 hours. I try to explain to people that the skin is still processing the uv light 24-48 hours after the session. Thus, they may burn if they come back to soon to get another dose on top of the first dose. I think every other day is a good routine.

Sometimes I may go a week or more without tanning. Then to kick my tan back up I will tan 2-3 days in a row in a VHR bed. Works for me.

[ladyboss]

I was going about 5x a week for 2 months and I'm pretty dark, now I started going 1x a week but I think I'm starting to fade.....How much time do you think to maintain? I don't really want to get any darker, I would just like to stay the way I am.

[ladyboss]

Is there any special Tan Extender Lotions that you found really work?