It all started when I was about sixteen years old… I wanted a beautiful golden tan instead of my pasty white skin.
I decided to take care of the problem one Sunday afternoon. I put on my bikini, grabbed a beach towel, a kitchen timer, and headed out into our back yard for a boring hour on my back. One hour the first time out should be about right…
What I got wasn’t a golden tan, but a horrific burn that left 3-inch diameter blisters all over my face, neck, and belly. My doctor prescribed an oral antibiotic to ward off infection as the blisters popped and oozed. The blisters on my face turned into scabs that pulled and bled when I smiled or laughed. It was a great look for a self-conscious 16-year old.
That horrific burn didn’t stop me from tanning, though. I became obsessed for the next 15 years with always having the perfect tan during the summer. After all, a golden-glow went perfectly with my healthy lifestyle and I thought it made me look even more healthy.
My early tanning days were farming tans, but I saw to it not to get a farmer’s tan. I wore my bikini from the last day of school in the spring until the first day of school in the fall. If I was working out on the farm with Dad, my work attire was a bikini.
In a round about way, my tanning obsession led me to meet my hubby. I started school at Virginia Tech in June, only two weeks after I graduated from high school. I didn’t really know anyone that first week, so after classes I went out alone into the quad to study and catch some rays. I caught the attention of three guys who came over to introduce themselves to me. I became great friends with those guys, and the following fall my future husband became one of their roommates!
On a visit home from college, I saw a tube of sunscreen in my parents’ bathroom. It was the first time I’d ever heard of such a thing. I asked my parents what it was and why they used it. I was used to slathering baby oil on my skin to attract the sun; why would I use something to reflect it?
The following spring when many of my friends were heading to Florida for spring break, I went home to my parents’ house. Not to be outdone, I lay out in the sun in 48° protected from the wind by our garage. My dad laughed at me, but when I returned to school, my tan was a good as any of my friends.
Continuing on with my tanning obsession, I had the perfect tan for our wedding…
I had the perfect tan when my first son was born… My doctor even commented that my baby was getting plenty of vitamin D because I had the tannest pregnant belly he’d ever seen…
And I would have had the perfect tan when my second son was born, except that he was born in January… Fortunately, I hadn’t gotten into tanning beds, yet…
I finally broke down and used a tanning bed about seven times before we vacationed in Hawaii during October because I wanted to have a healthy base-tan and not burn while there…
Once I got busy with my little boys, I no longer had time to spend endless boring hours out in the sun just for the sake of tanning. My sun worshiping was limited to our time at the beach, goofing off and playing with our sons.
When I think back to the number of boring hours I wasted just lying in the sun, it blows my mind. Sometimes I read, sometimes I shared my time with friends, but mostly I just wasted time, damaged my skin, and planted the seeds for future skin cancers…
Today my time out in the sun is limited to running, and for the most part I run early in the morning before the sun is too hot. A couple of years ago, I hired a lawn service so I wouldn’t have to spend so many hours in the sun each week cutting the grass. And now I garden smart, and work on the side of the house that’s shaded and limit my time outdoors during 10 AM to 2 PM.
I lather on the sunscreen and seek shade whenever possible. Unfortunately, I still feel like I look healthier with a little color…
- Questions:
- Are you a sun worshiper?
- What SPF sunscreen do you use?
- Have you ever had a really bad burn?
As promised in This May, Please Learn From My Mistakes, look for these articles on Deb Runs during the month of May:
- That Odd Looking Spot Sure Doesn’t Look Like Melanoma
- What To Expect At Your Full Body Check: A Visit With Dr. Ha
- Connecting The Dots
- Tips For Running Safely In The Sun
- Sunscreen Surprise
- Alternatives To Tanning
- 2014 TKO Melanoma 5K Race Recap
My teen years of tanning sound quite similar to yours. I think at the time we really didn’t know much better. I;m trying to be more aware of my time in the sun now. I do still love the feeling of the sun on me though. I’m getting yearly checks from my derm too. Thanks for bringing this to our attention great piece.
Deborah recently posted…Cinquo Vegetable tacos & Homemade salsa #Cinquo de Mayo
You’re right that we didn’t know better in the early when we were young. I should have know better in the later years though, because my uncle died of melanoma when he was only 47. I continued to tan for about five years after that, but I don’t remember getting any bad burns in those later years of tanning.
That would be a funny sight to see someone farming in a bikini! In all seriousness, it’s scary what we put our skin through. I also loved having a tan, and went through great lengths to get one. I baked in the tropical sun, or the Edmonton one in summer. I used tanning beds I think as early as grade nine for grad and then after that before winter holidays. In Australia I used a 4spf oil (because that 4 really helps).
Last year despite using spf 50 and reapplying multiple times, my legs still burned bad in Thailand. And the burn I got on my back in Coeur d’Alene last June still haunts me.
Abby recently posted…Spreading the love: Liebster Award
I think most people’s thoughts on skin cancer are, “It could never happen to me.” And let’s face it, remembering to apply and then reapply sunscreen takes effort.
Deb great post. I actually grew up with the opposite obsession. Have a natural tan and for many years felt I was too dark. As a teen I spent 110+ AZ summers wearing long sleeves and pants. The crazy world of teenagers lol. I’m glad you have a much better perspective on tanning.
The running schlub recently posted…April Training Recap
Thanks! I risked dying of skin cancer, and you risked dying of heat stroke. Like you said, “the crazy world of teenagers.”
I’ve gotten some fairly bad sunburns in my life, but I’ve actually never been one to lay out specifically for that purpose because I found it boring. I can rarely sit still without something to do. Mine came from spending endless hours playing on the beach with our friends every summer.
Nowadays I typically use a 30 SPF I think. Unfortunately I forgot it on Saturday (to put it on, not to bring it) and am paying for that as I type this. I got a really bad one on our honeymoon in San Diego a few years ago. We had put sunscreen on, and even reapplied at least once (maybe twice?), but I still burned so badly, and on the first day, that the rest of the week my nerves felt every breath of air that touched my arms. That didn’t make for a super fun time, but we enjoyed ourselves regardless.
Courtney @ Don’t Blink. Just Run. recently posted…BoldrDash Beach Race Recap
Except for the first one, my worst burns were the result working or volunteering out in the sun. I got a horrible burn on my face and arms once when I worked all day at the Virginia Tech track as a volunteer for the Virginia Special Olympics. I remember how painful that one was for days afterward…
Yep – 100% sun worshiper here!! I love being out in the sun and feel like I look much better (healthier) with a tan. Nothing makes me happier than being out in the sun sweating while running, laying out or even sitting in the shad on the deck while blogging (currently!).
I try to be smart about my obsession but I do love a good tan!
Kim recently posted…Sometimes Rocks Crack
I love being outside, and spend as much time as possible on the trails or on my deck. These days I try to stay in the shade, but some days the lure of the sun is too much so I spread on the sunscreen and take off!
I think it’s more about tanning smart than not tanning at all. There are just some skin types that shouldn’t have a dark tan, like fair skinned. But as long as a person is responsible with their skin and take necessary precautions, the risks of tanning can be minimized. I love tanning, but I make good decisions about how much I tan and keeping overexposure out of reach.
Jamie recently posted…Best Tanning Bed Lotions
I’ve always tanned very easily, without ever laying out. I was actually so dark as a child that when I was with just one of my parents, say at the park, people would ask them if their spouse was Middle Eastern or Indian (back when you could ask such a thing without offending anyone…). I spent lots of time in the sun as a kid, but I never got a sunburn until college. I know my parents always had me wear sunscreen, especially at the beach. But I don’t think I wore it as much as you’re supposed to, since I never burned. I think I burned my shoulders bad enough to blister one time at the beach in college, and my body didn’t do well with it. My shoulders were swollen, and I had a fever and was nauseous for a few days.
Now I have to be more careful about wearing sunscreen, because for some reason my skin has gotten more sensitive as I’ve gotten older. I typically stick to 15 SPF, but I usually wear 30 SPF at the beach. I also never lay out in direct sunlight at the beach – always under a beach umbrella to give me a bit of a barrier.
Meagan recently posted…Friday afternoon long run
I’ll bet that the pain of your first burn was shocking to you since you’d never had a sunburn before.
What an honest post! I have always been naturally very fair skinned but that did not my sister and I from getting out in the sun by 9:30 on vacation mornings (and she’s a redhead!). You’re right — we wasted so much time just laying there! I’m so much smarter about it now, but I do worry about it.
Thanks, Anne. I’m hoping someone might learn from my mistakes, but if my young readers are like I was, they’ll think it will never happen to them.
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[…] carcinomas removed from my body, and Dr. Ha reminded me that damage caused to my skin from years of sun worshiping also set me up for a greater chance of […]
[…] Confessions Of A Tanning Goddess It all started when I was about sixteen years old… I wanted a beautiful golden tan instead of my pasty white skin. I decided to take care of the problem one Sunday afternoon when I put on my bikini, grabbed a beach towel, a kitchen timer, and headed out into our back yard for a boring hour on my back. One hour the first time out should be about right… […]
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Wow that sounds horrible 3inch blisters… It’s always important to protect your skin. The effects from UV-Rays don’t show right away.