Best way to use sunbed

[cross1]

I am going on holiday in sept, and have fair skin, i have been told that using sunbeds before i go will help me stop getting burned, is this true and if so, whats the best way to use the sunbeds and times etc...

[dot.hawkes]

i have fair skin and I use sunbeds from around 8 weeks before I go away, 3 mins maybe 3 times a week initially and then 3 mins more frequently as the holiday approaches. It helps avoid intense sunburn even though i spend alot of the time in the shade. Of course being fair skinned i also use a minimum of factor 40 on hols and always use a good aftersun too.

[chazza]

It depends on the sunbed - as dot says the turbo ones you only need to spend about 3 minutes on. The ones that aren't turbo need 15 - 20 minutes

[dot.hawkes]

crikey I can't go on anything for more than 3 or I burn pink!!!!!!!!! I tried 6 mins the day before we flew and I had a heat rash overnight and pink burn patches and that was a normal lie down tube one.

In the stand up one it seems better somehow.

[sarah_03uk]

When I went for my holiday jabs last year, the nurse asked me whether i was 'preparing my skin' for the hols.

I've been using a sunbed for the last 4 years before going on holiday...usually 8 weeks beforehand and like Dot, I only go on for the minimal time possible for a few times a week and then increase both time and frequency gradually.

I used to go very pink in the sun even when using a high factor. Now I tinge brown which is good for me!!

[angel-cake]

It doesn't so much PROTECT your skin, but as you go out with a bit of a tan, you don't tend to sunbathe so much so are less likely to burn.

I have fair to medium skin and i use sunbeds beforehand so i don't look like a ghost when i go away but i still burn if Im not careful!!

[Gef]

Sunbeds will not help at all. They are just as likely to cause skin cancer. If,like me you are fair skinned, then you just have to keep out of the sun and if not use lots of high factor sun screen. The effects on your skin are irreversible.

[cross1]

thank you all, you've been a great help