Will I ever be able to tan?

You can always do the spray tan, it’s better for you than the sun anyway. Some people are melatonin deficient, like myself, and have to go like every day before you can tan, it gets expensive.

Don’t even try it. If you’re fair you risk skin cancer a lot more. I love fair skinned redheads. I think the creamy complexion looks so so good. I’m dark, so I tan a lot in the summer when I’m outside a lot. But I try to be careful too. The sun has gotten meaner of late.

Not naturally, without getting sunburned. Maybe you should try one of the bronzing lotions that darken your skin gradually. I think Neutrogena has a decent one.

No. You have type 1 skin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzpatrick_scale

No natural tan for you. I was a towhead blond kid and am naturally very light skinned. Spray the tan you want on, and know that we fair-skinned folks have to be very careful of sunburn. What would be a light tan to many with darker complexions can boost our risk of skin cancer. Worry more about keeping yourself healthy than having a great tan.

I am able to do it if I am very careful, never let a part of me be in the sun for more than 20 minutes, flip over, back, side, front, side, and all other times always have sunscreen on. The thing is, when I was a teen I worked on my tan and now I really really regret it. I wish I had been much more moderate in my sun exposure so I could be in the sun now and then now and not feel like a new wrinkle is born every time.

I don’t know for sure if it is impossible for you to tan, or just hard to tan, and easily burns like me, but my advice is be careful not to let yourself burn. As you said, you burn fast, me too.

I also am very dificient in vitamin D from avoiding the sun, I recommend getting yours checked once a year to make sure it is ok. More often if you wind up taking supplements.

A older lady told me to moisturize a lot with pale skin because our skin gets thin as we age.

Sun, skin type and smoking are the things that age your skin the most. You can’t do anything about your skin type. I never gave up smoking or sun bathing, but I never enjoyed either and tended to avoid them both. Now, when someone finds out how old I am, they are startled. I looked like I was 20 for 20 years. I can’t take credit for it. I didn’t do it on purpose.

With all the great artificial tanning products why risk your skin?
I a a fair skinned nastura;l b;londe with blue eyes and while I DO tan nicely I quit going out for the purpose of tanning when I was 24, after being a Coppertone girl forever as a pre-teen and teen.
At almost 54 my skin is very nice and I am glad I gave up the bronze age.
You will regret frying your fair skin in another 2O years, don’t do it kiddo!

I also rode trail and endurance horses for years and man, I knew a women in her early 40’s that looked 60 after years baking on the trails without protection. Marlboro women are not popular. lol

Your unblemished and cancer-free skin is a treasure. Treat it as such. Growing up with fair skin, fair hair and green eyes, I tried to tan and ended up frying myself to a state of blisters, blotches and heat exhaustion on several occasions until I finally learned.

As I go, dutifully, to the dermatologist now twice a year to have him remove all the sun damage, I wish that I had worn long skirts, long sleeves and carried a parasol way back then.

I have only one friend my age with beautiful skin. She stayed out of the sun her entire life.

I spent 7 months in Central America, outside most days and I still barely tanned. My sister came down to visit and was much much darker than I’ve ever been in my life in 3 days :P

Tanning is over rated though. Back in the day people would go out of their way to have as fair as skin as possible.

I’m a redhead who always burns. I got a light tan once when I had a job that was fairly regimented. We had 15 minute breaks every morning and afternoon, and that moderate exposure resulted in a light, but noticeable tan.