Personally, I don't go tanning in tanning beds because of the whole skin cancer thing (minor detail XD)... still, I've always thought about it, just because of how high society holds tan skin compared to pale skin.

I have my own ways to "tan" though and was wondering what you all thought about the pros and cons of tanning beds?

I usually just spend a lot of time outside on sunny days and hope to get a natural one. Or, for winter and colder days, I'll use tanning lotion. I use Bath and Body Works tanning lotion, it doesn't leave streaks and generally comes out with a good, natural looking tan color. I'm assuming some people have had bad experiences with the lotion and was wondering if there were any brands to avoid or brands that worked very well. I've never really used a bad brand. The only bad thing about lotion is that it takes awhile to slather it all on, sometimes you can miss spots, and sometimes if your skin is rougher in certain areas it will be a weird dark orange color. So you have to be careful and apply it lightly to these areas.

Also, it has a smell. It's not necessarily bad, it's sort of citrusy but it's not always pleasant. It smells real bad until you shower four hours later, but even after you shower it still lingers some. It's not horrible, but I usually don't use the lotion the night before I have a big date or anything. Don't want to cover up the pheremones ;;

Any other personal experiences or horror stories? Or do you just use tanning beds?

Oh, another thing about tanning beds... the ones here are so expensive! I find it cheaper to just get the lotion or hang out outside.