Meghan vs. The Sun. It's On!

So as mentioned in previous post I don't have a good relationship with the sun. In fact it could be called shoddy at best. Don't get me wrong, summer is my favourite season and I am elated at the thought of strapping on sandals, tubing down river and frolicking in the park. I believe I was born during the summer for a reason and any day with sunshine can bring a smile.

And a sunburn. I do not tan. Redheads tend not to tan. Plus people with pasty white skin. Who get bad ass heat rashes. I either spend the summer with a blissful glowing white demeanor hidden under layers of +85 sunscreen and hats or a sexy shade of fire engine red. A few lucky summers have giving enough freckle coverage to almost feign for a splotchy tan or a life sized connect the dots game.

Last summer I came to terms with it and decided to go to the tanning bed. I had a handful of appointments that even dracula could handle. 2 minutes here and there and it lead to a smidge of colour. Not a tan, but not a glowing white either. Hurrah. Until I reached that dreaded 5 minute mark on the bed. Then all hell broke loose (burn/blisters/ skin irritation) and I ran back into my shell of coverups. You know it's bad when you tan and your friends have devised a way to use your paleness to their advantage...

"So if the cops try to take our alcohol on the river, we'll just get Meghan to flash them. They'll be blind and we'll paddle away!..."

This year, much of the same deal. The barometre is rising and winter coats are getting traded in for spring ones. And me and the tanning bed are making a sequel together. 1 week of 2 minute tans....fine. No change. Alrighty, so two weeks ago I had a couple sessions of 3 minutes....gradual skin change. Hurrah. No pain, nada. Everything is in working order. Finally this week I went upto 4 minutes. First appointment...fine. Nice, even. Second appointment, yick. Rashyness on my body. Itchy painful yuck. But I figured it could be the lotion I was using as I am sensitive to fragrance so I chucked it.

Today I go in again for 4 minutes and the epidermal apocoplyse happens. Red skin so itchy I would have taped oven mitts onto me if not to blog. Bright and tight and uncomfortable. I've thrown on some hydrocortizone cream, but it's barely touching it. That's it, another year bites the dust and time to hang up my tanning minutes and pass them off to cute blonde and brunettes who get a golden brown.

Or not.

No, this year I have decided I will prevail. The sun will NOT win this year. I will not spend another year peeling my layers of skin after the burn heals. I'm going to come up with a plan to get past this, get a base tan and have a burn free summer. So I figure before my next appt (which will be a handful of days to let my skin heal) I shall take some Claritin to see if that works. It is in fact an allergy, so why not. If that doesn't...I shall mix allergy cream with sun lotion and get the funkiest smelling stuff ever. If that doesn't work....well I'll come up with something.

UV Rays, pass along a little message to your friend RAYS of SUNLIGHT that it's on like donkey kong.