Sunburns & Other Tales

[Flar's Freyja]

Summer's almost here - well, its weather is here where I live - and what color are you? Have you ever had a really bad sunburn? Do you take precautions? Have you tried self-tanning products? Tanning beds?

The sun's already strong enough here to do damage and I've seen a few sunburns already. A few weeks ago, I hurt my back. I had to get dressed up for work and was in too much pain to put pantyhose on, so I got out the trusty self-tanner. I put it on, let it dry and was good to go, right?

When I got home and went to change my clothes, I found out that the leg openings of my white Calvin Klein panties had gotten a tan too :eek:

So let's share 'em, self-tanning disasters, bad sunburns, allergic reactions, etc. along with ideas for precautions and first aid. It's a rather serious subject. I've known several folks who have contracted skin cancer, and it's painful and not very pretty.

[flar7]

use waterproof sunscreen! Got real bad 3rd degree sunburn
while on air mattress at pool!!:eek: Ow.

you want an spf of at least 30 in my opinion!

[Mnemosyne]

What a painful subject! Last year, I went out with my friends for brunch. At brunch, we all decided to go to the beach. Since I though that it was going to be a short trip to the beach, I did not even consider going back home to put on sunscreen. What a mistake! My shoulders got so sunburned. The pain was unbearable. With my luck, I had already planned to go to Las Vegas a few days later. I did not even want to walk outside in that city, because I dreaded the hot, hot, sun at that point. Aagghh! Now the clouds suddenly came back to my city, so I am looking forward to the sunny weather again. However, I have learned my lesson- wear sunscreen!!!!

[flar7]

beware of cloudy days! You can get your worst sunburns on
cloudy days! I actually got sun poisening on a cloudy day
while playing volleyball. Was wearing a fishnet shirt, the pattern
stayed with me all summer!:eek:

[Radocs]

I'm pasty white except for my left arm which hangs out my car window all the time.... It's getting a bit of a tan.

[flar7]

they should have a driver's arm tan contest! so true! :T

[Faery-Wings]

I don't burn, thank the Goddess, but hubby does. We were on our honeymoon in Antigua and his feet burned in swirls where he missed the sunscreen. His feet were purple!

Now, me and self tanner...ummm.. we have declared a truce. I don't touch the stuff and it doesn't stain me wierd shades. :nyah:

[shnen]

i don't tan... I can try, but it goes away within 24 hours, I go to bed - poof! it's gone, so I accept I am pale and that in the summer people require 3 pairs of sunglasses to look at me.. buthey, at least I will have nice skin while I age...right? ;)

[Flar's Freyja]

Yes, you will. By the time they came out with all of their warnings, we'd already fried ourselves to a crisp many times - literally cooking ourselves in oil! They actually had commercials for Johnson's Baby Oil as a suntanning aid! Okay, oil + fire = burn, right? I see lots of young girls now who aren't listening, either. I think a tan can be beautiful, but too dark isn't pretty, either.

I have a lot of Native American heritage and although I tan quickly, I can burn. I remember once being on the beach as a child and falling asleep facedown on a blanket. No one covered me and I had an awful burn on my back along with feeling very sick. Since I live somewhere now where the sun is very strong and like to be outside, I am still careful to expose myself gradually if not to avoid a burn, but to be easier on my skin. I have actually had more scorches in tanning beds than I've had in the real thing. As I get older, I notice that I tan even quicker and I remember that my mom was like that too. All she had to do was hang laundry on the clothesline to get a tan.

Something I read a long time ago that seems to be true is that if you put sunscreen on an hour before you go out, it's more effective because it really has time to absorb into your skin. When my kids were little, I always did that and they never had sunburns. In addition to my Native American heritage they also have Polish heritage from their father's side, so they tan very dark also, but I wanted to protect them at least from having any pain.

You also need to be very careful of chemical reactions. Most motels no longer provide deodorant soap because its reaction with ultraviolet rays caused sunburns. When I was a teenager, I had perfume on while sunbathing and got a second degree burn in the spot where I'd applied it.

[Old Witch]

I have that crazy mixture of Native American and Celtic blood that left me with a fair skin that takes a tan in about 4 years......Used to never burn, but since I've aged, I can get burned at the drop of a hat. 30 spf is my friend...............

[AradiaSupernova]

My problem is that I have to burn to tan. So the process goes something like "burn, peel, tan". I try to stay away from that. So while other ppl are looking nice and brown over the summer, I'm my usual pale white. lol :) We had a skin cancer scare with me last year, so...I not to do what I did when I was little anymore. Stay out for hours (even though I had asthma) and just burn like there was no tomorrow.

My Mom always used fresh aloe from an aloe plant she had. It works WONDERS on burns.

[Flar's Freyja]

***nodding head smiley***

I actually taped an aloe vera leaf to the perfume burn, healed with little scarring.

[flar7]

aloe vera only way to go! or an aloe vera gel!

[Mithrea]

A few years ago while sitting on the edge of a pool with a tank top on on a cloudy day, I got the worst sunburn I have ever seen. My dermatologist said it was the worst he'd ever seen :( My back is scarred so bad. Even now, you can see where the straps were because the rest of my back is scar. I could not stand to have it touched so I had to go topless for almost a month and they had to use a spray antibiotic and pain reliever because no one could touch it to put cream on it. My back was purple and in some places, a little blue. It was awful!

I can't use sunless tanner becasue it makes me feel all slimy and sweaty. Yuck! So, I just stay white.

I have a cousin that stayed very dark for most of her adult life. She was a major major tanner. Now she's 40 and looks like she's 60. It's nasty!

[Euphoria]

welll it doesn't take me long to tan and thank the goddess i have NEVER burned in my life but that probably has something to do with the fact that my mom got skin cancer cos of the sun so i am VERY careful ...... but if i have an important meeting with a client or another firm ... and i know its gonna be men i'm dealing with ... out comes the fake tan ..... he he ... my meetings always go a lot smoother that way

[Nect]

OH MY, I've never had sunburns before this one I got a few days ago when I went to plant trees. I felt my skin tingling with heat by the time I was on the sub, on my way home. It was a very bad burn, and worst of all, I was wearing my hair in a low pony tail so I had this ovoid patch of white on my back, sandwiched between two VERY red shoulders. Now I'm peeling like crazy...

By the way, do any of you have problems with tan color? I really don't like my own tan color - it's this mucky, muddy, sorta dirty lookin' color (it gets matte and patchy). But I dislike being fair even more... I've tried self-tanning, and boy, I looked like a carrot afterwards! :lol: How do some people manage to glow? Is it really dependent upon the skin type? :huh: I hope it isn't...

Nect

[Jeleia]

Last summer, both my boyfriend and I got horrible sunburns on both our backs. :( It was bad!

This summer I plan on using tons of sunscreen!

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by Nect
By the way, do any of you have problems with tan color? I really don't like my own tan color - it's this mucky, muddy, sorta dirty lookin' color (it gets matte and patchy). But I dislike being fair even more... I've tried self-tanning, and boy, I looked like a carrot afterwards! :lol: How do some people manage to glow? Is it really dependent upon the skin type? :huh: I hope it isn't...

Nect

If I get too dark, my tone is very red and I don't like it. I think it is dependent on your genes, my Indian does that. I have some Italian relatives who tend to be more black when they get very dark and they hate it because it looks like they have dirty knees and elbows!

I think that glow is when you can get just enough for some pretty color and not overdo it.

[tangerine]

I'm so white that I could scare a ghost! :D

Once in Mexico, I got sun poisoning so bad that I had to go to the hospital. I had a fever, was throwing up, etc. Yuck! I was covered in blisters. And this was *with* sunblock!

One summer, I bartended at an outdoor bar right on the water. There was no awning over my bar, so I was burnt the whole summer. There was one day that I was so badly burnt that I turned purple. It was a chilly day (for summer) and the wind coming off of the water was cold...turned my hot skin purple. They sent me home that day! LOL

[Lavender]

Originally posted by Nect

By the way, do any of you have problems with tan color? I really don't like my own tan color - it's this mucky, muddy, sorta dirty lookin' color (it gets matte and patchy). But I dislike being fair even more... I've tried self-tanning, and boy, I looked like a carrot afterwards! :lol: How do some people manage to glow? Is it really dependent upon the skin type? :huh: I hope it isn't...

Nect

Heh! I know the colour you're talking about. I get that way if I get too dark. I think it is dependent on skin type. I find I can control it a bit by not getting too dark & make sure I put on a moisturizer constantly. I don't usually burn & I tan easily, but nowadays, I use a lotion with SPF30. I use a base lotion that I make with titanium dioxide. Unfortuanately, it's not water proof or even water resistant.

Funny tanning story: About 15+ years ago, I used to work with this very strange man who loves to tan. Those carotene pills just came out on the market & he started taking them. It turned him so orange that he almost glowed. Clients used to call up asking for the Carrot man. :lol: He was such an odd man, he didn't think anything was wrong. He was sooo proud of his tan. It probably wouldn't have been too bad if it wasn't that he work very bright vibrant colours all the time. People would come into the bank & just stare at him. Finally, the manager had to ask him to stop.

[Flaire-FireStar]

Originally posted by flar7
beware of cloudy days! You can get your worst sunburns on
cloudy days! I actually got sun poisening on a cloudy day
while playing volleyball. Was wearing a fishnet shirt, the pattern
stayed with me all summer!:eek:

:rotfl: Oops?! :p


:huh: Besides the skiing one I told in Just Silly last night (ended up being dehydrated....face was red for a few days afterwards) I don't think I have that many bad ones....


Last year at camp I was playing ultimate (frizbee) and ended up getting my face burnt (again).....Was wearing a tank top at the time as well....Arms came out freckled... :eyebrow:

Needless to say, I'm still an olive-type colour.. Hands look green in the right kinda light. :T

[Rubi Waters]

I'm very fair skinned spf of 45 or 50 is my friend or else I burn easily and painfully. i tried self tanners but obviosly not good ones for I turned orange, and tanning beds arn't good either they won't put me in for the full time (but charge full price). so i just blind everybody with a smile on my face remembering that my skin will be more young looking than theirs.

[chocochu]

We went to Big Bend over Easter and I was stupid enought to wear Capris in the middle of the day(they were comfortable, though. Light and stretchy!), and I got a capri tan line.
._.

[chocochu]

Originally posted by tangerine
I'm so white that I could scare a ghost! :D

Once in Mexico, I got sun poisoning so bad that I had to go to the hospital. I had a fever, was throwing up, etc. Yuck! I was covered in blisters. And this was *with* sunblock!



Wow, I didn't know there was a such thing a sun poisoning. o.o
Glad you're okay, though. ^_^

[Amethyst Rose]

My second day in the Caribbean, I took a walk to the beach, and figured if I stayed in the shade all day, then I'd be safe. However, I TOTALLY underestimated the power of the sun this close to the equator. It was the walk to and from the beach that did me in.... not to mention the 15 mins I took to walk up and down the beach looking for pretty shells. All together I had probably about an hour in the sun, in bits and pieces, but I burnt so bad I'm surprized that I didn't get blisters. I couldn't lie down for a week....I burnt my shoulders, my knees and the backs of my calves..... I learned my lesson. I don't go out without sunscreen now.... and a hat, otherwise I burn under my hair.... ouch.

[Euphoria]

Eww eww eww i got my first case of sunburn ... very mild but very icky

[Flar's Freyja]

Amazingly, you can get a burn here in Oklahoma as late as 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening! I learned this when I first moved here and found that I was getting a tan at my son's evening football practices and games! Our sun is in a strange position here. Around suppertime, when it should be cooling off, seems to be the hottest part of the day.

[flar7]

yep, our heat builds up, till just a little before sundown!:flamer:

[Flar's Freyja]

And in August it doesn't even cool down at night.....

[sweetbabe]

cold and windy here in england :( no chance of a tan or sunburn lol

[Euphoria]

thats what i dont like bout england the weather ... luvly place tho

[sweetbabe]

lol

[Euphoria]

hee hee

[Lisa_Starlight]

Here in Brazil the sun is very very VERY hot.... one day, when my mom was lil she was at the beach, and she was wearing a t-shirt. She went to the water with the t-shrit on, and when she came back from the water, she started playing with the shirt on. When she got home and tried to undress the shirt, her back and shoulders had got so sunburned that the shirt got stuck in her skin, and when she tried to take it off her skin was comming together! :oO Poor mommy! (not too good for my second post, but this story is interesting) :P

Luv

Lisa

[sweetbabe]

ouch..sounds painful :(

[*~*Chary*~*]

ooo ooo icky sun burn

[Élistariel]

I'm one of the fair ones too. I'm getting over a minor sunburn. I tanned, and I'm still fair. Aloe works wonders, I used that green gel stuff. Also, vinegar helps the burning, although not as much, and well, pee-yew! Am I the only one that thinks peeling is kinda fun? A little note, ever notice how the peeling skin sticks to your fingers? Use tweezers. Scotch tape helps get it off too. I'm such a Monday's child.

[Armitage]

I usually don't burn, I am pretty pale from avoiding the daytime (too bloody hot) and despite this I have tanlines from my flipflops. :p

[materra]

Only got tan once in my life, when I swam daily one really hot summer....otherwise no tans. I always get comments on how young my skin looks...IMO...no tan = youthful skin. I use sun screen on my driving arm...:)

[Yvonne Belisle]

I don't get outside much so.....then I am all covered up anyhow

[SpikesPet5150]

I haven't had a tan or a sunburn in almost 5 years. Then my friend Kevin died... so my friend Jami and I went to the lake, cause he loved it there and we figured it would be a good place to share memories of him, without being too sad (he hated being sad.) So we went to the lake. For 6 hours. I didn't put sunscreen on my back (but I put it on my front) cause I was laying on the ground, on my back and I figured if I wanted to turn over, I'd just put the sunscreen on then (stupid me). So... Jami and I both fell asleep. And the position I usually sleep in is on my tummy. So I woke up, about an hour later, on my stomach with a BAD sunburn. Jami got a minor burn, went away after a day or two. Mine still hurts a little. And it's peeling, and that grosses me out beyond belief. So the front half of me is still white white white.. and the back half of me is scaley and pink and white and brown splotchy. It's not attractive.
~Bree

P.S. Chicks dig pale skinny guys (or at least I do). :) hehe