Went tanning 6 mins, no sunscreen, got burned. can I go in 2 days using spf on burns or will it aggrevate them

So I went into a medium bed for 6 mins on monday. was a tad pink but not painful or too bad. went tuesday for 6 mins. (both times nude w/ no sunscreen). I know!! I am an idiot like no other!

Then today (wed) I am burned! Not like RED but pink and stingy and painful.

so I am taking today and tomorrow (thursday) off from the beds and applying aloe vera generously several times a day.

Friday is my next appointment for 6 minutes again. I plan to wear spf on my already burned areas (my sunscreen works really really well) and then none on my pale areas.

1) even with really good spf, will the tanning bed further aggrevate my mild burns?
2) should I cover my burns with clothing as well to up the protection level?
3) should I switch to a low spf lotion to use for tanning from now on? What do you recommend? Like spf 8 or 10?

I am really really pale and would like to be a little darker in a couple weeks, without the burn. please help experienced tanners!

thanks in advance too

ALWAYS use a minimum of SPF 15 everywhere. It is better to use high SPF with longer bed times than the other way around. I am very fair skinned and always use SPF 30 - 50, and can still get burned.

For your current burn: By Friday the skin will still be very vulnerable to burning. I would wait until next week if it was me. If you do go in on Friday, use SPF 50 on the burned areas. Repeat burns over existing burns drive up the danger of long term danger (mostly increase in cancer risk years down the line) exponentially! Even one serious burn in your lifetime can produce a measurably higher risk of skin cancer.

<Getting up on my soapbox>

To Everyone with Pale Skin... Our love affair with a dark tan is purely a cultural thing, and we need to change this belief. Learn to love your natural skin color. There is NO SAFE TANNING METHOD. Period. Anyone who tells you differently either doesn't read the study data or is selling something. Period.

As much as I love to see women in thongs (or less) on our beaches, it just isn't healthy. I wish we all went around naked all the time, but that isn't how we are designed. Blame the cavemen who first started wearing clothes in northern climates. Blame the sun. Blame God. Tough bounce...

If you want to wear skimpy clothes, and don't want to wear SPF 50 sunscreen, do it indoors (preferrably at my house!)

Also, make sure your sunscreen protects from UV A & B rays as new data suggests both are very harmful in the long term.

<Getting off my soapbox now>

Pax,
Ed the Clothing-Optional Nurse

You need to take a longer break than 2 days if you are pale and have 'easily burned' skin. The girls at the tanning salon will tell you whatever they want to, they get commission for your tans. DO NOT go back into the booth until you are no longer pink or painful. Yes, tanning booths are safer than the sun, but every burn increases your chances of skin cancer later in life. Space your tans out to every 4 days, less if you burn.

There is nothing quite so perfectly damaging to your skin as tanning beds. The worst part is, the damage you are doing now will not show it's true face for 10-20 years and then it's awful but too late to do anything about it.