Sun Tanning in Japan
The sun here seems to be quite strong even when it’s behind clouds.
I was disturbed to find my face was looking very red all the time. It eventually dawned on me that it must be sun burn since I have been out jogging and cleaning the river with no sun protection. So I went with my wife to the local supermarkets and drug stores in search of some tanning lotion. The theory being that if I develop a tan, I won’t suffer from a red face all the time.
What we found is that sun tan lotion doesn’t seem to exist! Only sun screen with a minimum factor of 25 but with most being factor 50! So it is all designed to completely eliminate any UV and sun tan. This theory is backed up by ads I see on TV where they have slogans like “UV off”.
What you need is to get a good indoor tanning lotion. They have no SPF’s in them. You must be careful though because in the open sun you can really sunburn if you are not careful. Designer Skin makes a great product called Halo. It comes with a UVB inhibitor with an SPF 4. This blocks the UVB rays (which is the burning ray) and still allows the UVa rays through (which is the browning ray). There are several brands out there like Australian Gold, Swedish Beauty, Designer Skin, Body Drench, Tan Inc, California Tan, Fiesta Sun and many more. Just make sure that you do not get a tanning lotion with a tingle or a heat factor. Good Luck.
Comment by Best Indoor Tanning Lotion — May 16, 2006 at 12:04 am
I know the past 10 years or so that tanning beds have gotten really popular in Japan. Try to find a tanning bed with a low UVB tanning lamp in it. Good Luck.
Comment by Tan Mart Inc — May 17, 2006 at 12:59 pm
There has to be a happy medium, between getting a good healthy tan and not burning. It is a fine line for some people, but most Japanese folks are lucky in the respect.
Comment by Tanning Lotion — May 21, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Well I can’t easily avoid sun exposure since I go out running and cleaning the river. So the best I can do is wear protective gear and sun-block.
For tanning companies you may be interested to know that currently the Japanese don’t want any tan at all, at least in my experience. All the “GENKI” drug stores have only high factor (~50 sun block). They call it names like “UV off”. So I think it would be near impossible to sell a sun-tan bed in Japan.
Actually, it used to be a status symbol in Japan to have a tan but now lilly white skin on the beach is apparently cool for Japanese. It’s the current trend which shows you don’t work in the field to get tanned. Seems like a kind of snobbery to me.
p.s. there are many admired dark-skinned people like K1 fighters such as Remmy Bonjevsky - so it’s not a racist issue at all, just a local trend.
Comment by blogmaster — May 22, 2006 at 6:48 am