All-Star Tanning Advice For Cheer

[njallday]

Yeah quick question on tanning beds I have noticed it is quite popular for teens to be getting spray tans and I don't know if it's because our legal age here in England is 18 but it's a really taboo topic here- there's a lot of education on why we shouldn't have them and I've always known to just fake it out a bottle just like my friends (I don't judge anyone if they get them by the way) I'm just intrigued as to what the laws are and what people are told about the dangers etc?

in the US? when I first signed up (early 2000's), it was under 16 with parental permission. but that meant the parent signed a waiver outlining the risks the first time you ever went... not parental permission every time you went tanning. so if my friends took me every day and my mom had no idea, it didn't matter (which is what happened). then it became 18 with parent permission. then Obama added a HEFTY tax to tanning. and now, depending on the state it is 18 with parental permission OR some states absolutely will not let you under 18 whether your parent says so or not.

 

[NJ Coach]

yep. I had your typical high school tanning addiction. in the winter it wasn't even so much that I wanted to be abnormally dark I would just go to get warm. I am one of those permanently cold and shivering people and my school was FREEZING so I'd go straight after school every day. After a recent lecture in school about the signs to look for in moles and freckles (since my career has me staring at people's backs all day and I may notice something they can't even see) I realized I had quite a few that met that criteria. I spent my summer break getting them all cut off and quite a few were pre-cancerous, two were basal cell carcinoma and had to have more cut out.

DON'T DO IT. DON'T EVEN START. (also I swear by TanTowel -both the towelettes and the spray, in case anyone is interested. it's more of a normal person, "I don't want to look like the walking dead" color than a cheer competition color, though.)

Thankfully, basal cells are slow growing and relatively shallow. Melanoma is usually fast and deep, which requires them to basically carve it out of you. Squamous can be right below the skin or deeper into the body, can metastasis and usually will become ulcerated. Just plain ugly. People die from skin cancer.

 

[Onfire381]

Yeah that would be my kid. She looks like a ghost.

She looks dark compared to my CP, seriously Snow White has nothing on her. Thankfully her uniform for both All Star and High School is long sleeved and her stomach and arms are covered, her legs for some reason are milk white. We may go try the tanning place in town to see what they can do in the way of a spray tan. Lots of lotions, body washes, etc. give her a rash so we need to be extra careful in what is used. Everyone has scared me about tanning beds. Thank you all for the advice it is appreciated.

 

[njallday]

Thankfully, basal cells are slow growing and relatively shallow. Melanoma is usually fast and deep, which requires them to basically carve it out of you. Squamous can be right below the skin or deeper into the body, can metastasis and usually will become ulcerated. Just plain ugly. People die from skin cancer.

yep, basal *usually* doesn't metastasize and because I was hyper aware to what to look for everything was caught extremely early. a lot of people are not that lucky. I am only 24 and have had an abnormal number of suspicious looking things removed (luckily, majority were benign) all from tanning at the age these cheerleaders currently are. teenagers and that whole "it won't happen to me" mentality freak me out.

also, applauding you for spreading awareness to your cheer kids. I keep hoping the extreme tanning aspect of cheer culture will die, but it doesn't look to be going anywhere soon.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

She looks dark compared to my CP, seriously Snow White has nothing on her. Thankfully her uniform for both All Star and High School is long sleeved and her stomach and arms are covered, her legs for some reason are milk white. We may go try the tanning place in town to see what they can do in the way of a spray tan. Lots of lotions, body washes, etc. give her a rash so we need to be extra careful in what is used. Everyone has scared me about tanning beds. Thank you all for the advice it is appreciated.

I get sprayed often because I am whiter than Casper's sister. The place I go has an organic solution. That may be a good option for your daughter. Perhaps have them test it on a small strip of skin before you go for the full blown airbrush.

Please excuse the massive picture. This is the result of my go-to DIY combo. Half a can of Neutrogena Micro-Mist the night before + Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs applied day of to even everything out. If I want it to last more than one day, I just reapply Micro-Mist again. I can also drag out my salon airbrush tans by applying Micro-Mist every night. Note: don't try to spray yourself because you'll miss spots. My fiance and my mama are both pros now. They spray me in our big shower in slow, up and down motions. We usually do 3 coats.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Yeah quick question on tanning beds I have noticed it is quite popular for teens to be getting spray tans and I don't know if it's because our legal age here in England is 18 but it's a really taboo topic here- there's a lot of education on why we shouldn't have them and I've always known to just fake it out a bottle just like my friends (I don't judge anyone if they get them by the way) I'm just intrigued as to what the laws are and what people are told about the dangers etc?

Wasn't there a story in the UK of a 10 y/o girl who went to a tanning salon (with beds) with her older sister, and wanted to get a tan so she laid in one of the beds for twice the required time at the highest light setting (is that what it's called? I've never tanned before) and it damaged her skin so badly that she can't be in the sun AT ALL because she now burns extremely easily?

@retiredl5cheer you look beautiful!

 

[vannahlexis]

I've never spray tanned. When I started tanning I was 15 and I was doing it for like 2 months before prom. I don't think you needed parental permission but my mom would never let me tan prior to that. (She only let me start tanning bc I did awful at a cheer comp and was sobbing and to get me to stop crying she said she'd let me tan LOL) shortly after that they added the parental permission rule. I've tanned in the winter just bc, in the spring before prom/vacation and the beginning of summer so I don't burn when summer does start (im way pale and that's always been a problem). It's definitely unsafe and I've cut down a lot since I was in high school, partially because it's not worth the money- a $30+ month long membership and $70 lotion??? No thanks. My mom was always checking me for anything suspicious on my skin and I'm very thankful nothing has actually happened.


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[cheeryjust]

O

Wasn't there a story in the UK of a 10 y/o girl who went to a tanning salon (with beds) with her older sister, and wanted to get a tan so she laid in one of the beds for twice the required time at the highest light setting (is that what it's called? I've never tanned before) and it damaged her skin so badly that she can't be in the sun AT ALL because she now burns extremely easily?

@retiredl5cheer you look beautiful!

oh my!! That's possibly true! There's nothing illegal if someone has a tanning bed at home and they let their children use it (don't know why they'd even know it but whatever) so it could be true- if so that's horrible!

 

[retiredl5cheer]

@Official OWECheer You are sweet! It's the tan.

 

[auscheerflyer]

Tanning beds have been banned in most states in Australia since 2014, since figures show around 43 deaths on average were caused by them every year. The sun is VERY bad here, with approx 11,000 new cases of melanoma and 1,500 deaths in Australia each year so we always emphasize to everyone that fake is the only way to go. We have a spray tanner come to our gym before each comp and she uses an organic, sensitive skin safe type of product, although personally I still tend to use the one a cheap one out of a bottle.

Specific question for other flyers - is there any product that's suitable to use on the day of comp itself? I often find I'm not as dark as I want on the day since it's started to fade but I'm too scared to apply anything in case my legs are slippery.

 

[Official OWECheer]

I know of a 16/17 year old cheerleader on an extremely popular team that owns a tanning bed and a lot of her teammates go to her house and use it. And they are all under 18. I couldn't believe it when I saw the pictures.


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And her parents are okay with this?

 

[njallday]

Am I the only one who has an insane fear of getting locked inside a tanning bed?

no. I blame final destination.. 2? I don't know which one, but the shelf fell down and lodged itself between the wall and the tanning bed door and she got stuck in there and burned to death. like what if the computer controlling the timer to turn it off glitches? though I am equally as paranoid about MRI machines so it's half claustrophobia, half irrational fear of weird things happening lol

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Tanning beds have been banned in most states in Australia since 2014, since figures show around 43 deaths on average were caused by them every year. The sun is VERY bad here, with approx 11,000 new cases of melanoma and 1,500 deaths in Australia each year so we always emphasize to everyone that fake is the only way to go. We have a spray tanner come to our gym before each comp and she uses an organic, sensitive skin safe type of product, although personally I still tend to use the one a cheap one out of a bottle.

Specific question for other flyers - is there any product that's suitable to use on the day of comp itself? I often find I'm not as dark as I want on the day since it's started to fade but I'm too scared to apply anything in case my legs are slippery.

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs. It's not a moisturizer so you won't be slippery.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

I know of a 16/17 year old cheerleader on an extremely popular team that owns a tanning bed and a lot of her teammates go to her house and use it. And they are all under 18. I couldn't believe it when I saw the pictures.


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Whaaaaaaaaat? I need to see this to believe it. I mean, I could probably guess what gym this person is from. But still. I need proof. Where can I find this picture?

 

[Official OWECheer]

no. I blame final destination.. 2? I don't know which one, but the shelf fell down and lodged itself between the wall and the tanning bed door and she got stuck in there and burned to death. like what if the computer controlling the timer to turn it off glitches? though I am equally as paranoid about MRI machines so it's half claustrophobia, half irrational fear of weird things happening lol

There was an episode of 1000 Ways to Die in which a girl used her roommate's psoriasis cream thinking it was tanning lotion and laid in a tanning bed. She got out and her skin was leaking and melting off. She died, obviously. Not sure whether it really happened.