Coming from an Irish family, I'm with you on this one! Jergens has some pretty good moisturizer that gradually darkens your skin, which I like a lot. (Just remember to keep exfoliated well or you will get an uneven tan) I prefer the lotion MUCH MORE compared to the tanning creams, sprays, and foams. They all go on so unevenly and have never worked for me. There are also some tanning places nowadays that have these spray-on tan booths. I was a bit skeptical at first, but they do an amazing job of giving you a realistic and even-looking tan. They're pretty much just these big boxes you step into unclothed, and a nozzle on the wall sprays you down with a tanner. And yes, you are the only one in the room. I highly recommend them. If you're looking to get a real tan, I'd suggest you slather yourself up in sunscreen and go outside sometime AFTER noon, when the sun is not directly up in the sky. Try lying outside for only a short period of time, maybe 10 minutes on each side, or 5 minutes if you're really sensitive to the sun. Repeat this again the next day, only add a few more minutes. Continue this each day only adding a few minutes at a time. Do not forget the sunscreen. I cannot begin to stress how important it is! Personally, I think that it's smart to stay out of the sun and save your skin. (I promise you, you'll be happy you did when you get older!) Sure, it's fine to go outside and get some color, but if you're pale like me, your skin doesn't have much melanin in it and you are at a greater risk of developing skin cancer.

good answer from tidbits, but if possible, stick with the fake tans, much safer, and your skin won't wrinkle if you stay out of the sun.

1)Sunlamp for short times. But be careful because wrinkles can disappear from this. 2)There are sprays, and salons that do it like showers (and can leave goggle marks). some turn orange like QT. 3)sun-tan lotion while in the sun. These come to mind. I have fair skin, and know what you mean. I got really badly burned in a cool pool once and a doctor in Florida gave me some red gel that smelled like cloves. It cured my one inch blisters overnight, and I did not even have a tan or burn the next morning. Like new! I think it is in Mexican Pharmacies only. But the doctor was not Mex. I called to find out what it was when we ran out but he had passed on, and they did not know. (and the hospital sent me to him).

use a mild sunscreen

Just go out for limited periods of time, say 10 minutes or 20 max. per day, till you get a little color. then get under shade, if you want to stay outside.

Like they say "the safest tan is a fake tan"..stick with the fake tanners - they will make you brown fast, are safer than sitting out in the sun and nowadays many moisturise your skin while darkening as well.

Before you tan, First apply suntan lotion (SPF 50) And then after that, Apply Aloe Vera, It realy works!

use a 15 spf sunscreen so it protects your skin, but not to much.

First start out in the sun in short periods of time.then work your way up slowly to longer periods.Why burn yourself than have your skin peeling.I am fair skinned and have to be carefull.I either use no sun tan lotions but sometimes pure olive oil.Anything with chemicals in it like suntan lotions or sunblockers,I would stay away from for the chemicals baking on the skin could cause cancer.I am 55 and never had a problem with the sun and I have not used lotions in 30 years and my skin is still healthy and elastic.

I've gone tanning in tanning beds (I know I know...its bad for you)before summer, (starting out at only 5 minutes at a time then gradually adding a few more minutes with every other visit) then after about three weeks I actually had become tanner than I had ever been before, once summer started I stopped tanning, and then I rarely ever got sunburned from the natural sun outside, but still maintained my tan but you HAVE to be careful when indoor tanning you MUST MUST MUST only go a couple times a week,(and not make it a regular thing because it can become addicting) and make SURE YOU PUT SUNSCREEN ON YOUR BUTT, THE BACK OF YOUR LEGS, AND YOUR BACK!!! beccause if it is a laydown tanning bed...they may burn without suncreen also Make sure that your tanning lotion also has at least an spf 15 in it I'm not saying tanning beds are good for you, but if you USE THEM CORRECTLY and not OVERuse them they can build you a gradual tan without burning you

As a fair-skinned person who also burns easily, I would advise against getting a tan at all - unless you opt for a spray tan or some bronzing lotion. Fair skinned people are at a greater risk of skin cancer and sun damage from prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun. The fact that you burn easily also predisposes you to cancerous growths. Besides that, tanning makes your skin thick and leathery and makes you look older than you are, not to mention that it can contribute to premature wrinkling of the skin!