tanning the new and pale dome

• tanning the new and pale dome by paragon on 31 Jul, 2011 11:34
• Hi!
  
  I just got rid of my hair today, shaved it all off. I've been planning this for... probably the past 4 years... I've been lurking on the forum and decided that I have to do it. Yes I was afraid of the head shape, the pale skin and what will be the first reactions of people. Well i'm over the 1st one, head shape seems to be OK, the dome is fine i guess but i would like a wider, larger chin to wear a dome...
  The other 2 concerns are still up, in fact i'm very very Very pale, not just the head, i'm the notorious white type, burning instead of tanning. Of course the newly shaved parts are even whiter and it looks funny as I started loosing hair 7 years ago so the forehead and the back top is face colored, still kind of white. My parents saw the new look and they were just looking O.o at the white scalp. It does look funny ))
  
  So anyway, how can I get it to tan ASAP without burning it? I know, sun+sunscreen, but i have to sit in the office most of the time, so that would take me half a year... How can I go to a solarium / tanning salon to get me a nice color without having problems with the fresh pale parts? I've never been in any place like that, it will be my very first time. I think it's ~5mins anyway for first timers, but do i need any kind of protection for the fresh pale head for those 5 mins or will i burn? I hope i can just go in for the 5 mins and be ok with it... And what frequency should I attend it? Every 2 days? 3? Should i shave on the day or the day before going?
  
  Thanks!
• #1 by D.A.L.U.I. on 31 Jul, 2011 11:43
• Welcome to the Land of the Sly!
  
  Tanning salon--- --NO!  You will pay for that down the road with increased chances of skin cancer! 
  
  There's a product, Jergins puts it out that may help.  Get a low, less than 30spf, sunscreen then get as much sun as possible.  Have a little patience--and before you know it that dome will even out without the dangerous use of sun lamps!  You've planned for 4 years, live free of balding hair and skin problems.
• #2 by mangosink12572 on 31 Jul, 2011 11:44
• Naturally - -your dome will blend into the rest of your head  - -go about your normal routine and in a couple weeks you will be fine
  
  If you do get a chance to be in the sun   be real careful  - -use lotion - sun block  -   and a hat - - - - - -now in the summer my dome is as tan as I am
  
  Good luck and enjoy your melon
• #3 by buddha on 31 Jul, 2011 15:15
• I'm with Saint and Mango, stay out of the cancer beds. Seriously! Let it go natural, it takes a little time but you'll end up being able to avoid having quarter size chunks chopped out of your dome like I did.
  That being said, each to his own. Others have posted this same question in the forum and have ignored advice posted regarding natural vs other methods of coloration of the dome. The choice is yours. Remember, you waited 4 years to do the deed. Waiting a few weeks to color the dome is very short compared to that.
• #4 by paragon on 31 Jul, 2011 16:58
• Thanks all of you for the advice!
  
  It sure feels and looks funny the first day but i'll take it easy and try to get a nice color without burning. It's just kind of embarrassing to meet people i know with the pale dome. I sure would love to be black these days; they own the dome extremely well
  
  I think the hardest part is to get to the point when you don't look like a starter head shaver anymore but instead wearing it cool and confident. So starting the 30 days, Day 2 here i come
• #5 by Arnie on 31 Jul, 2011 23:06
• I use a product that is 15SPF, moisturizes, and actually adds color/tints.
• #6 by valldo on 01 Aug, 2011 03:12
• Just let it tan the natural way, wouldn't do anything different than before, just add plenty of sunscreen every time you are exposed to the sun. If on a sunny day you can stay outside the whole day in the shadow you will be fine in days. Your skin now lacks the protection your hairs gave it, just be aware of that.
• #7 by paragon on 01 Aug, 2011 12:44
• Well i decided to go the natural way but couldn't buy sunscreen yet. I thought it won't hurt to just sit in the yard a bit reading some emails and stuff on the notebook, but I did burn the top of my head a bit, it's kind of pink and hot now. Shouldn't've brought the notebook, i guess it would've been OK for a few minutes but the problem was, with the notebook i kind of lost track of the time. Darn...  
  
  Well i guess that means i'm not going to shave it tomorrow, just after tomorrow, it would be kind of bad for the pink part on top.
• #8 by MarkMusicNYC on 02 Aug, 2011 01:49
• Rather than sitting in the sun and risking burning, skin cancer, etc., why don't you try Sunless Tanner? All of the major drug stores carry them. They have a chemical in them which harmlessly darkens the top layer of your skin--how much it darkens depends on the concentration of the chemical (most drugstore brands have a low concentration so it looks completely natural) and how often you apply it. I've been using it for years and I can tell you that it works great for a shaved head.
  
  The only downside to it is that each time you shave, you end up removing tiny bits of the top layer of skin. You'll find that the tan color will start to fade more quickly on your scalp than it will anywhere else. I probably need to apply it to my head twice as often as I need to apply it to my face and arms.
  
  If you decide to try it, avoid any product that talks about "gradual" tanning unless you want to wait a few weeks to see any color at all. Oh, and when you're in the store, open the tube and just see what the stuff inside looks like. A small minority of the drugstore brands put a glittery-like substance in the mix to provide shimmer. Not a good look for a guy.
• #9 by sailor61 on 02 Aug, 2011 10:03
• Jergen's Natural Glow - available at most major retailers.  It's the one selftanner that does not turn orange.
  Use that for a fewdays and continueto go about your business and let nature take over grasdually.  As the days go by just gradually use less of the product and allow the natural skin tone to take over.  This is NOT a sunblock so be cautious/wear a hat in the sun.
• #10 by philp on 02 Aug, 2011 11:08
• I'm a pale dude and over time, have become ok looking that way. But I have a friend who uses the jergen's product that people have been mentioning and it really does work. He always looks tan and you would never know he was using a lotion to make it that way. Definitely put sunscreen on your head though!!
• #11 by paragon on 02 Aug, 2011 12:52
• I've learned my lesson.
  For some reason, i always thought that sunscreen was for the beach when you're in the sun the whole day like 10 hours so that you won't get burnt.
  If I go out for an hour with sunscreen i'll never get tanned... It's just not enough with sunscreen... So i thought that i'll save myself the time because i'm busy and go out for an hour without sunscreen. Now others are telling me that everybody burns without sunscreen, the sunscreen is not for making the process slower, so you get be on the sun the whole day, so if you don't want to be there the whole day you don't need it, but in fact that makes get a brownish color instead of red. Hmm... I know it's a stupid question.... but is that right? I mean the sunscreen doesn't just buy you more time in the sun, but you need it even for shorter periods?
• #12 by MarkMusicNYC on 03 Aug, 2011 00:52
• Sunscreen filters out the harmful rays of the sun that cause skin cancer and premature aging (wrinkles, sags, etc.). It's an absolute MUST for us sly guys. Your head is pointed *directly at the sun* and in our case there's no hair to act as a barrier. Ever see someone with a really bad sunburn on the tops of their shoulders? That's what your head will look like if you don't use sunscreen. You can still tan using sunscreen, but it'll take longer which isn't what you want. But it's a fair tradeoff.
  
  I'm telling you, though--my advice is to skip the sun exposure and use the sunless tanning stuff. It's far safer than the sun, and far less time consuming and messy. You can either sit in the sun for hours/days slathered with greasy sunscreen, or you can throw some stuff on in your bathroom and have color on your dome in 2-3 hours.