Sunbathing, anyone??

Naturally if someone picks up colour while outdoors, that is great, as long as they are protected. I am very pale but hike every day and wear 80 sunblock. I am still pale as I am melanin challenged! LOL!! I am outdoorsy and look healthy but am not tanned.
I pointed out earlier that people who tan naturally look great that way...I am just making a point about people who are naturally pale and try to tan by lying out. They usually look strange and often red faced as they are FORCING a "tan". These people wrinkle prematurely and often get melanoma.
By all means, if you have olive skin, knock yourself out!! ha ha! I'm sure you look fabulous!

I am guilty. I have such a hard time with seasonal depression that I sunbath throughout the wintertime. Summertime, I am outside as much as possible and absorb the rays. I love the warmth of the sun and the bright light that shines in the sky.

In the summertime, I mainly go ‘fake n bake’ in order to hide tan lines from the swim suit I wear. I know it is not healthy to tan but it tends to make my skin look better too since I live with adult acne. It dries up the pimples.

I'm decide to make a trade - no tanned skin now for few wrinkles later. While a tan is seen as "better" at this age, having few wrinkles is seen as better later in life. I've seen too many women prematurely aged by the sun - and I'm talking about those with plenty of melatonin.

I have very fair skin as well, and don't really tan (I burn). I use SPF lotions and makeup, so I try to consistently keep my skin protected from the occasional sun exposure (doing errands, for instance). If I am out in the sun for more than 30 minutes, I love to sun bathe..but with protection! :-) The feeling of the sun on my skin feels great, and I use SPF 50 liberally and often.

I recently joined an exercise group outdoors, and forgot to put on my sunscreen one day. It was a one-hour class at 5pm, and the next day I received so many compliments on the slightly-browner skin on my arms and legs. As much as I like the look of myself slightly tan (I have bought into the silly notion that I look healthier), I do not like the look of sun spots on my skin, which I have seen appear more frequently as I age. I would prefer to protect my skin, and if I want that "healthy, bronzed glow" there are some great products (without the orange or fake-bake look) that can be used without the damaging effects of the sun.

I personally don't really understand why anyone is thought of as being MORE attractive simply because they are tanned unless they are born brown! It's just a colour! It doesn't make sense. Beauty is personality first and foremost but, physically, it is great, even, features, nice, glowing skin and a killer smile. Look at most of the Hollywood actresses and beautiful catwalk models. They often don't tan. It looks very dated, if anything to force a tan on a fair complexion, besides damaging your nice youthful skin.
You are the same person with or without a tan!
Let's all stop this nonsense! We are beautiful the way we are! And skin lesions, sun spots, wrinkles and burns are certainly NOT! I would look WEIRD with a tan!

I will have to admit it, yes I sunbath. My Mom works for a plastic surgeon and has had me paranoid my whole life about sun exposure. I hear the horror stories of women that come into her office and the damaged skin they have and the expensive treatments they are now trying to get to reverse after years of sun exposure. I have been brought up making putting on sunscreen a daily routine. Despite all of my knowledge, I still lay out to purposely get a tan. I don't do it often, but I do enjoy it. A lot of times when I lay out it is related to an event, for example a vacation or memorial day or a birthday party. So I associate it with relaxation or something social. In the moment, I only look at the short term effects...the way the sun clears up my skin and the way it makes me look overall. I also think the way society views a person that is tan vs pale, especially someone in their 20's, is a reason a lot of people try to be tan, myself included. A lot of people will admit to feeling more attractive tan.

Most of the time before a big event say a wedding or prom, women will want to get tan. It is funny to think why we do this, but being tan gives off a fake "healthy look." When people come back from a beach vacation, they get a reaction from others at how good they look. A lot of people, especially woman, want that look and reaction to last.

It is a awful habit, I will eventually break. Every year I get older, I lay out less and less, most likely due to lack of time, but nonetheless I want healthy skin not only now, but also in 10 years.

My daughter is also very pale, with that porcelain Asian complexion that makes her look like a Japanese doll. Sun exposure makes her skin break out, so we have to slather on the heavy duty, sweat resistant sunscreen when we're out on a run or training at the pool. Like you, she has to be concerned about skin damaged by unprotected sun exposure.

No tan for me! No way! I am pale like you...and you were right to take it as a compliment!
If you have melanin loaded skin, go ahead....but us alabaster skinned girls need to avoid sun at all costs...and that isn't easy where I live in California. I think that pale is beautiful too!
And I look very young too, having always avoided the sun...barely the hint of a wrinkle!