Do you ever fake it?

I don't have to fake it, I'm a peasant by trade. It's healthier to have a spray or bottle tan. I know many people in my profession (landscaping) and farmers that have had bouts of skin cancer, even at fairly young ages. The sun is very damaging to the skin, probably as bad as smoking.

I think you are correct about the history of tan skin, dark equalled the labor class. Southern American women were especially obsessed with keeping their skin as white as possible and always wore large brimmed hats (some with veils) and gloves no matter what the temperature. It was the American version of a burka. It's only in the last 75 years that a tan has become associated with leisure.

You can get a very real looking tan with a salon spray system that does the whole body. It evens out the skin tone and gives the idea of a "healthy glow", and probably costs less than a vacation in the Bahamas.

In Asia a tan generally denotes a lower class- working in the fields as you put it. In modern western society, a tan is generally connected with the easy life of time on the beach instead of working in an office.

I'm well aware that I'm buying into a beauty myth.

I think I'll stop and go back to porcelain (pallid).

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Let's put it this way:

From Pamela to Nicole in two weeks.

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In Australia you can see TV ads for tanning products. In Thailand you see TV ads for skin bleaching products.

When my wife saw the tan line on her already reasonably dark skin when we were holidaying in Phuket, she actually screamed.

Thought tan lines were supposed to be sexy?

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Our daughter has a skin tone almost perfectly between her and me. She's only 3 months old and already people are commenting on her beautiful colour.

Awww, three months old...

My daughter has darker skin than me, some think she's Spanish. She has lovely skin too.

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I've got tanned arms and head, and now sunburnt legs. Should I now use fake tan on the rest of me to balance things up?

White bits are sexy and practical. Sort of glow in the dark pointers, if you like.

You need glow in the dark pointers?

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My sister uses some kind of lotion that gives her a fairly even tan but I don't like the tanned look anymore. I don't mind sun-kissed... I have a bronze powder that I dust on my face, but my skin is more Mediterranean-toned for a whitey, so I don't need much.

As far as tanning the whole body, I thought that was passe. No? What do I know? I'm not up on the latest.

I read somewhere that the average person absorbs at least five pounds of gook into their systems every year through the skin. Moisturizers, tanning lotions, fake tan lotions All sorts of stuff that Madison Avenue Advertising Agencys tell us that we can't live without if we want great looking skin.

But then on the other hand, this gook has to be proccesed through the liver leaving undesirable residues. I keep a small bottle of baby oil handy. Which may or may not be any better. Does anyone know?

I don't. But there is a prog on tonight about chemicals in make-up, moisturisers, etc. And how much we absorb. The trailer shows bars of lard, stacked up, saying the average woman will consume 50 (?) of these through a lifetimes use of lipstick!

Urghh!

Makes you think...

Still I suppose there's no difference to the lead poisoning of years ago, and health problems caused by the application of Belladonna to the eyes, to enhance your 'come hither' look.

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Keep us posted,

Watched it!!!!

Never wearing make-up again!

Shocking.

I'll post a link tomorrow.

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Never use baby oil, or any other oil, when in the sun. It basts and bakes you like a roast chicken. Here is information on what is considered safe and what is questionable:

Sunscreen Safety

I've been wondering about that (absorbing chemicals thru the skin from makeup), where's that link, smorgsy?

Sorry, cypher...

http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/T/toxic/images/header.gif

And don't get me started on deoderants!

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