Sun-Kissed and Beautiful: Who could ask for anything more!

In an effort to avoid skin cancer, but still not be that girl at the beach who is blinding everyone with their skin, I'm embarking on a little tanning experiment this season. Faux tanning that is. Yes, that's right, I'm going to use self-tanners of all forms. I swear that they are better than they used to be, and rather than streaky orange, you actually look tan (so I hear). Get your cringes out now, because here's where it gets exciting.

I happen to be allergic to self tanners. I'm not talking slight irritation. I'm talking, last time I did a full-body self tan, I broke out in full-body hives to match accompanied by burning itchy eyes that only susided with a healthy dose of benadryl. And, no, it wasn't the self-tanner I used. A friend had used it, and things turned out just fine.

To add to that, I have been graced with Polish ancestry, and the lily white skin to match. This gives me a high risk for skin cancer when exposing myself to UV rays. Until I discovered tanning beds in high school, I don't think I had every been tan. I have two skin colors, white and red, pale and burnt. Granted, by the end of each summer, I have managed to get a slight golden tint, but I have never been by any means nearing brown or bronzed. Even with tanning booths, I barely got to what most people call normal. Yet, tanning beds changed my skin. They allowed me to change to slightly tan after a burn instead of going back to white. However, they also gave me the starts of pre-mature wrinkles, and a 75% increased chance of someday having melanoma.

That said, now that I've wised up to the risks of tanning beds, I swore them off. I'd rather brave a few hives than cancer. I figure the only way to find out which self tanning products my body can handle is to try em out. I'm a reformed tanner, but I will not be caught in a bikini with no color anytime soon. The first on my list is the one pictured above, Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful legs. It promises a decreased need to shave (not really sure how it plans to accomplish that), along with a gradual natural looking color. I figured it was best to start out with a low dose of tanning agent and hopefully avoid the hives. All I have to say is so far, so good. Though it does have an unsavory tanning cream odor, if you put it on before bed it's not so bad. My legs are looking tanner without a sign of streaking. I'm on day 2 of application, and there's not a hive in sight.

Now, what to do about the rest of my body....

Acne Skin Lasering

My sister just got married, and thanks to a week spent in the Tennessee heat without washing my face, I had the worst breakout since my teen years. Luckily, thanks to a slightly bullying mother and a family friend who is an MD and laser technician, my prayers were answered and I had the solution to my skin problems with almost instant results. That's right, I willingly had my face lasered, for free. And it was worth it.

It's called an acne zapping laser. It's attracted to red pigment in your skin, and it works to reduce the redness by targeting red zones and emptying out the pores. First they strap on metal goggles, not all together different from goggles worn in tanning booths to protect your vision from the laser light. I'm not going to lie, this comforted me a little bit, like my old friend the tanning booth who I can no longer visit was there to hold my hand. Then they smooth a clear jelly over your entire face, and run a little glass disk over your entire face. The laser passes through both of these surfaces, but stays icy cool from the glass and the ointment. It feels like a targeted static electric pulse, not exactly painful, but uncomfortable definitely, especially at the top of your forehead, on your nose, and on any blemishes. Those it zaps extra hard.

At first I was ambivalent. I mean the wedding was two days away, and I've heard that laser treatments can be harsh on the face to say the least, and extremely abrasive at their worst, and I have extremely sensitive skin. I've heard of people being swollen for two weeks from a harsh treatment. And here I was, offering myself up to the mercy of the laser doctor only 48 hours before millions of pictures would be snapped of me carrying my sister's train, making a toast, and flitting around in my maid of honor gown. What can I say? I was a little desperate. Turns out that people with very fair skin, like me, are the best candidates for acne lasering, as it is attracted to pigment and there is the least risk since we have the least pigment in our skin, and I was in good hands.

After about 10 minutes of stinging and sweeping with the laser over my entire face/neck area, and 5 minutes of reassurances before starting the procedure, I was done. I looked in the mirror, and my blemishes were gone. Poof. They had just disappeared. My skin looked smooth and refreshed. However, my tan disappeared with them, a small price to pay. Yet a full four days later some are back with a vengeance. Instant, though impermanent results.

Would I do it again? Hell yes. Would I pay full price and undergo several costly treatments? Probably not. Would I make sure to choose a qualified and experienced physician every time for any laser treatment? If I didn't want permanent scarring, definitely.