Summer Tans - do they work for or against you?

[Stefia S]

I was wondering how others feel about summer tans. I try to keep covered in en drab so I don't get a farmer tan, and covered when en femme so I don't get shoulder strap tans (hard to explain). Yet some members here use femme tan lines to be more convincing. How do you avoid or use a sun tan to your advantage?

[AllieSF]

I love the sun and always have a decent tan. I just tan all over and work to prevent golfer's tan by laying out in the sun to tan the normally covered areas and to even out everything. I do not wear female tops in the sun. However, I do wear a woman's swimsuit bikini bottom and have a great tan and tan lines there and I will be the only one to see those lines. It seems to work well for me.

[Steph.TS]

I avoid the Sun like the plague, I'm doing laser ATM, and if I go out in the sun I make use to have SPF 60, if I forget then I have to wait 6 weeks to hit the area from what I understand.

[danielle512]

My tan lines definitely hurt me. I have the classic golfers tan. I get pretty dark this time of year. It looks pretty funny when I'm wearing a short skirt and heels showing of my insanely white feet and hamstrings.

[lynn_lynn]

I like an all over tan to be honest.. Im a tad pale and sun helps fade my body hair with lemon juice.. If anything I like a thong line and not a boyshort tan.

[StephanieC]

Yep, I avoid the sun like a plague too. Frankly, my office at work is terribly cold so I always wear long sleeve shirts, even in the summer. On the weekends, I try to avoid going out but, if I must, I use SPF 50+. I don't like the farmer tan lines. That being said, I do have a coupon for "free" tanning/spray sessions. I've toying with the idea of doing something that produces more femme tan lines....but I might wait until late in the summer in case I need to adjust/correct anything that results from my forgetting to use sun blocker.

In any case, it's really been beastly hot around here and I have a really low tolerance to heat. And besides the heat, there are the mosquitoes. For both reasons, I really end up staying more in the house and, therefore, out of the sun.
-stephani

[eluuzion]

I am heavily affected by the weather. I love sunshine. It energizes me. I could never survive living in a cloudy or rainy climate. But both are ok in moderation...like about 15 minutes, lol. I have spent my entire adult life living in sunny climates...Florida, Texas, Arizona,Colorado.

I know, I know...sun causes skin cancer.

Out of curiosity, I started sunbathing on my sundeck wearing a swim suit top. The goal was to enhance the appearance of having breasts. It worked well, so I have added that activity to the list of my current fascinations...like breast pumping, lol.

I think a tanned body is fine as long as your entire body has somewhat of a uniform color. People who have the dark, dark tans that look like they approach tanning like a career or the "farmers" tan is not attractive to me. But anything that makes breasts appear to jump out at you works for me...:heehee:

The only drawback is that I can't go out in the backyard without wearing a shirt now...:heehee:

:love:

[Debb]

Like Eluuzion, I love the sun. I avoid a "farmer's tan" by wearing sleeveless shirts; it's worked well this year, driving around with my Miata's top down -- I spend at least 90 minutes a day driving back/forth to work, no A/C so might as well have the top down despite the nasty highs we've been having here in MN.

The only problem is ... if I'm gonna dress enfemme, I gotta do a really good job of hair removal from my back and shoulders. Dark hair is quite unbecoming on a girl's back, so I've heard.

I do use sunscreen, at least a 50SPF with Zinc Oxide in it.

[rachaelsloane]

Like Allie, I lay out in the sun with a bikini bottom to get my legs fully tanned. I know too much sun is not good, but having a nice tan in summer allows me not to have to wear pantyhose, etc.
Rachael

[Jessica Keys]

Fortunely I live at a place with a fenced back yard and no really close neighbors that I can get a over-all tan each year. I have to have a certain amout of sun each day or I become a bit_h. LOL Use a tanning spa in the winter each week.
The only thing I have to becareful of is low flying spray planes as I am on the final approch to the airport. Anymore I just turn over on my tummy and the pilots maybe think that they have seen something fem with my bikni top and bottom on the next chair??
Have a good summer.

[Lorileah]

Tanning beds...all year long. This year a bikini bottom tan line.

[Barbara Dugan]

I can get a killer tan and Love the sun but have to avoid it by medical reasons, I wear long sleeves even on hot summer days.I am still trying to find a natural sunnless taner that work for my complexion.

[Fab Karen]

Remember there's nothing healthy about skin cancer.

[Alice B]

I live in the sun. Play in the sun and for most of my life worked in the sun. I'm tan year round and all over. Works for me.

[jillcutie]

I've tried to get a full upper body tan this year, it ended up just being a farmer's tan again. I just can't get away from it :( and no matter what I do my legs stay white as a bed sheet

[Starr]

i love a good girly tan and have worked on it hard this year.. i wear sleeveless shirts or no shirt when i am out working in the yard.. and have been laying out in the back yard in a pair of bikini panties with string sides that have given me a nice girly bottom tan.. dark all over.. so nice... love looking down at my smooth body and legs with white panties, dark legs, and bright red toenails.

Yes i know sun is not good, but at 57 i have already done most of what damage i can do when i was younger was a water skier and got bad burns several times... and always go a lot of sun in the summer.

[Amber_Lynn]

I have what I would consider a very sexy thong tan line. The tan follows the curves of my behind. I try to tan 2-3 days a week for an hour a day in my back yard. I'm at the beach almost every other weekend so I'm always in board shorts. I used a high SPF on my waist to avoid board short tan lines and am constantly adjusting the legs to get an even tan.

I love it, it makes me feel sexy and feminine!

[CarlaWestin]

This year, because I've always wanted to do it, I got some fem tan lines.

http://hellotaxi.websitetoolbox.com/file?id=1167214

[cuban124]

i agree thong or nothing. i also think it depends on your skin type

[PretzelGirl]

Prior to this year, I had worked outside for 6 years straight. That farmer's tan is a bear to get rid of. And now I am doing laser, so it carries over to next year or the year after automatically. :weep:

[busker]

Like Eluuzion, I love the sun. I avoid a "farmer's tan" by wearing sleeveless shirts; it's worked well this year, driving around with my Miata's top down -- I spend at least 90 minutes a day driving back/forth to work, no A/C so might as well have the top down despite the nasty highs we've been having here in MN.

The only problem is ... if I'm gonna dress enfemme, I gotta do a really good job of hair removal from my back and shoulders. Dark hair is quite unbecoming on a girl's back, so I've heard.

I do use sunscreen, at least a 50SPF with Zinc Oxide in it.

I'll second that about the hairy back.
Also, I remember reading something recently about zinc that wasn't good news. you might want to check. From Australia" The TGA previously carried out two reviews and concluded there was evidence zinc oxide and titanium could damage cells though it was questionable whether nanoparticles could penetrate the body's outer "dead" layer of skin. "
Current thoughts from the medical establishment is that one needs only about 20 minutes a day for the body to produce the vitamin D it needs, but there are now capsules that negate the need to bask-lizard like--in the sun.

Busker, AKA the GORILLA MY DREAMS

[makin' it real]

Got really cute bikini tan lines going, top and bottom. I love, love, love seeing my breasts with pure girl tan lines. Feeling very pink-foggish at the moment. Dosed on progesterone, boobs coming in nicely, painted toes and fingernails, just got back from a stylist who did my hair in a soft style, and had my eyebrows shaped for the first time. I used to tan in the bikini in my back yard, even with neighbors able to see me, but now I'm just doing the fake n bake every couple weeks or so.

Rachel

[StarrOfDelite]

My family tree is composed entirely of Welsh, Irish and Scottish blood lines, in other words Fish Belly White Skin Is My Genetic Fate. I cannot tan, so I have to be ultra careful lest I I just burn to a bright, cherry red, which fades to a brick red, which turns to a peel, which if I let it happen too often turns to skin cancer. I use a bronzer, but it makes my skin yellowish if I use it too often, so it's more of a psychological aid than an actual tanning tool. I am soooo jealous of you girls who can get a good tan.

[sterling12]

Well, I can give you one "consequence" of getting a sun-tan. But, I don't know if it's a Plus or a Minus.

Every year when I go through this in The Summer, I have to fiddle around and adjust my Foundation and Powder. Seems The Darker my face gets, the more I have to lighten The Makeup.

Now, having a healthy-looking tan might "trump" all The hassle of adjusting The Makeup, but it is a very big pain in The Derrière!

Peace and Love, Joanie

[ReineD]

I use sunblock religiously, which results in an all over even skin tone, from arms, to legs, to back, to decolletage, to facial skin, free of aging or sun spots, moles, etc. I can wear any style top: tube, halter, spaghetti strap, and there are no jarring tan lines to ruin the look. The sun block doesn't block the sun out entirely (or rather I put it on when I go out, but I don't keep reapplying it during the day unless I am spending a considerable amount of time outdoors), and my color is rosy. Healthy looking but not like leather.

My SO didn't wear sunblock for years and because of this, there is a visible difference in how her skin has aged on her lower arms compared to her upper arms that were covered by sleeves.

So ... if you want to look great when you're 50, wear sunblock now, especially on your face, neck, arms, and upper chest. :)

[Kathy4ever]

I guess you can so over the years I would have a farmers tan. This year it is more fem. I've been wearing womans swim bottoms and yesterday wore a womans tank top and laid out by the pool. This is the first time above my knees have gotten a tan. It sure is easier without the hair on the legs anymore. The top got a nice tan down between the breasts. I just wish the straps were thinner but they were only a half of an inch.

[Tina B.]

I used to like a nice girley tan, but then spent so much time hiding it in boy mode, then I learned being of a very pale nature that the sun is really bad of me, skin cancer is common in my family, so I stopped trying to get a tan in the summer, and the best way I have found to do that is just move where the sun seldom shines strong enough to get a tan. Now I can wear what ever I want what ever time of year it is, and I don't have to worry about tan lines showing or any of that stuff, of course the one down side is a lack of sun on very pale skin has left me with a little bit of fish belly blueish white skin tone on my legs, but a nice pair of suntan panty hose fixes that up just fine.
Tina B

[Sam-antha]

I only really come alive when the sun shines, when it is warm and the sky is blue with white cotton wool clouds. Real Tanning for me is of the thong variety, kept alive with the sun bed - about once a month - during the winter. Then the legs brown and the line moves up as knickers (cycling, below the knee), get discarded. Then the line moves up the thigh as the shorts get shorter. Summer cycling ones exist with a five inch inseam, that tends to move up my leg. Lycra, courtesy de Marchi.

~Samm

[Annie D]

I try to avoid be out in the sun for too long a period of time in male mode but when I do yardwork or ride my motorcycle I wear a sleeveless shirt or tank top. By the way, Walmart makes some solid colored tank tops for women that are suitable for us to wear outside in male mode. Also if you examine Clogs closely, there are some styles that have a solid part covering the toes, if you have your toenails polished and don't want to show them off. When male my socks are alway short and my shorts are generally running shorts because I definitely don't want a tan line on my legs when I wear a mini. Additionally, during those long periods I never wear my Timex. I do sun in my two piece and therefore I am never outside with my shirt off. The only thing I have to worry about is the tan line around my neck where I tie the top of bikini.

[Kaitlyn26]

I like having a bit of a tan. I'm really pale and have thin skin, so tanning helps me a lot.

[Cheryl T]

I wear a small swim suit when I tan so there are no lines to be seen when en femme.

[ReineD]

Additionally, during those long periods I never wear my Timex.

Aaah! So that's why a CDer might not want to wear a watch. I never thought of that.

[Rogina B]

Reine is so right on this one....beach babes become dried up leatherbacks over time if they skipped the protection..Skin cancer isn't pretty.

[ReineD]

The trouble is, Rogina, that when we're young we think we are invincible. :p

The sun made my face become blotchy (rosacea), and to tell you the truth, this is why I began to wear sunblock. And now I do look younger than most women my age. :D

[Duana]

I've been tanning in remote areas of parks in a string bikini bottom. I started with the top too but really didn't like the look and it took the apartment pool off my list of things to do, which is not good. It took me 3 weeks to get rid of the white boobs. But, I LOVE the bikini tan on my butt now.

[Melanie Sykes]

I'm not entirely sure what constitutes a 'Farmer's tan', but the lower part of my arms are brown whilst my upper arms, shoulders and torso (the bits covered by a t-shirt) are quite a bit paler. I guess this is a Farmer's tan. It looks terrible with sleeveless tops. I've only noticed this about myself in the last couple of months, because before my daytime public appearances I never cared too much how I looked. I started going out in the daytime in public in January, but of course only recently has there been enough sun to cause problematic tan lines. Trying to find nice tops with sleeves in the British summer is proving very difficult - I obviously need to take on board Reine's sun-block tip and be more careful in future. I thought about wearing sleeveless tops in guy mode but my arms aren't very muscular and aren't likely to become so in the near future; I would look faintly ridiculous.

[Lunchbox]

I personally don't like getting sun, besides, I like the pale look, im so white I don't tan at all lol. I get bright red and turn white.

[Tess]

I had a skin cancer removed this year so, belatedly, I'm a devotee of sunblock. Even when I don't plan on anything more that a trip to the store I wear a moisturizer with an SPF rating of 15. Now I wish I would have started this many years ago.

[Babeba]

Well, I can give you one "consequence" of getting a sun-tan. But, I don't know if it's a Plus or a Minus.

Every year when I go through this in The Summer, I have to fiddle around and adjust my Foundation and Powder. Seems The Darker my face gets, the more I have to lighten The Makeup.

Now, having a healthy-looking tan might "trump" all The hassle of adjusting The Makeup, but it is a very big pain in The Derrière!

Peace and Love, Joanie

Joanie,

I use a foundation that adjusts in the bottle - you can just flip the dial around and it gets darker or lighter as you need it. It's Custom Creations by Revlon, and it has spf 15 in it. It's certainly made adjusting to my inevitable little bit of a tan much easier!

Also, I have to admit that the most common tan for GGs my age is from a spray. It's definitely not good to end up with lizardy cancer skin.

[sterling12]

Thank you for The Information Babs. I'll have to give The Revlon a try. I'm not trying to tan anymore, but I live in Florida. Even with Sunblock, even being careful, just going to and from The Car, working out in The Yard, or just attending A Party, it's almost impossible to avoid some skin tanning in The Florida Sun.

I went back to my Daughter's Graduation in April in St. Louis a few years back. That's when I realized how much Sun we actually absorb down here. All of The Missourian's are Dead Fish-Belly White in April. They thought Nicole's Father was a Mexican! I was actually surprised and almost didn't recognize myself in The Pictures, "Whose is that Dark Cuban Guy?"

So I guess we are already somewhat "ruddy," just about all year round....it just gets worse in The Summertime.

Peace and Love, Joanie

[Stefia S]

Your responses have helped me figure out how to even my tan! My head, neck and hands were getting more tanned than the rest of me. So, I laid out in the sun in our yard which is pretty private, without clothes on, but a towel over my head and neck and gloves on my hands. I shifted the edge of the towel and gloves around, and in about 20 minutes per side, I'd evened out my tan pretty well. Here's a picture that shows the results - my face neck and chest are tanned pretty even now!

[Amanda Styles]

I don't get much sun anymore these days, got enough to last several lifetimes when I lived/worked in Fla for 12 years and ran around in a pair of cut off jean shorts...( oh I guess that would be Daisy Dukes) and flip flops.
When I was getting overexposure to the sun, there was no internet and not much of any other info telling you to wear sunblock.
Just slather on the oil, and bake. ( I used to hang out with the hawaiian tropic girls when I worked in Daytona as a lifeguard, I bet they have similar probs)
My skin is not really leathery as a result, but the skin tone is uneven from melanin.
I really don't tan evenly anymore.
Sort of like large uneven freckles.

I will probably be lucky if I don't end up with a melanoma somewhere.

I would like to be able to have sexy tan lines, and have no current SO to object, but I still like to run around without a shirt and that might not go over well with
my narrow minded neighbors.

Maybe one of those spray on tans would satisfy that desire (for a minute).



Use sunblock!!

[girlalex]

I'm not exactly sure if sun tan would work for us since our bodies convert the sun light into vitamin D which increases testosterone levels, and how many
are interested in elevated T levels, probably not too many if any at all.