OK GIRLS!! I have your answer.

I have been dealing with this for the past 12 years. It doesn't matter if it's the sun or if it's the tanning bed, but initial exposure always caused me to itch. It was so miserable, I felt like I wanted to just die. It eventually went away in about 4 days if I continued to be exposed. After that, I guess your skin gets used to it.

Here is how I have gotten 100% relief. I went to the doctor about 7 years ago after experiencing this miserable curse for the 5th year in a row. He prescribed me Methyprednisolone. WHAAAA! The clouds opened and a light shined down from the heavens. It is a corticosteroid. I take it once a year, starting the day before my initial exposure. It keeps my skin from getting the "allergic reaction" to the UV Light.

Of course this option is only available by prescription, but it works!! 100%!

oh my goodness, yess i have been itching 5 hours now : [ i can tell you all that well okay im from southafrica and the remedy there is a cold bath with vinegar, weird i know, but okay let me warn you it will sting like crazy but when you get out its like magic and its gone, so give it a try : ) oh and the cold shower/cold bath is the best

ive been experiencing the same thing. ive only been tanning for 3 days now. i have a tanning appointment today at 1 and im debating on going or not. for those of you who have dealt with this problem before, what would you recommend? keep tanning, or take a couple days off?

hahaha yea i know what your going through i recently started tanning not to long ago too only difference is im 18.I am a fare skinned person however i tan easily.Only thing is im use to natural sunlight now faking and baking tanning bed lights so i usually burn once or twice in the beginnning of summer then tan the rest but like u i wanted to start a good base tan.The itching was horrible though...the first 2 or 3 times i went i was fine just a little tingle of itch after but one time last week i went for 3 different days in a row..6 minutes,7 minutes then 8 minutes varrying it up so i wouldnt burn...i got darker faster but after the night of the 3rd night i was sunburned on my shoulders and ass the sunburn went away by the next day however the itching persisted for the next week keeping me awake at night waking up every hour...it was so bad i found myself taking benedryl at night and in the morning and so that i could stay awake at school i would stop at the 7 11 on the way and buy various energy drinks.I would take benedryl in the morning then drink an energy drink and at night i would shower and take benedryl before bed and every time i would wake up itching i would pile on the aloe....which i must add doesnt help!i must of had atleast 15 layers of it or more by morning on my stomach...only result...sticky and tired and still itching lol....my only suggestion is that u go tanning less often and try going for 10 minutes max and go maybe 2 or 3 times a week varry it up and dont go every day or in a row like i did.and like a person mentioned earlier...try wrapping a towel around u really tight it helps when ur itching and so does the ice packs....so basically use lotion...lots of it,ice packs, cold showers,benedryl ....energy drinks if u have to stay awake at school but need benedryl, towels and just do not scratch!!!!Scratching made it intensify a lot i thought i was gonna go crazy i was itching so bad after i scratched...just do the towel thing when u want to scratch or try the ice pack it works wonders.hope this helped some.

ah im going through the same thing right now!!! its the worst pain ive experienced in a long time! you described -exactly- what im going through! I went to the doctor and she gave me medicine and it didnt help. I'm going to read other peoples tips and hopefully something works!!! i cant take this!!

Basically I have had this too and I wanted to add my experience for the benefit of others. For me I actually think it was the lotion. I have eczema, a dry skin condition and the UV lights actually help to marks, however I got this horrible itch. After a few days it went away and I started tanning. I had reduced my time and did not use an accelerator. After a couple days I added back the lotion and here it is, the itch is back. I thought it might be different when nothing anyone had said helped. For me a hot shower and pain relievers helped.

It short watch out for the perfumes they put in the lotions. If you have sensitive skin they could really mess you up. Go with out or test and research each one. Oh and no scratching that makes it worse. Also for me benedryl did nothing, but knocked me out and helped me sleep.

I am so glad that I found this site. I will be MISERABLE if I have the same problem with the regular sun as I experienced with indoor tanning. I have been a regular indoor tanner for the past 3 years without ANY itch. I took two months off and returned. I went in for 8 minutes. Nothing. The second day, 10 minutes and I began to itch at night! I went to the ER because NOTHING made it stop. It was like itch with pin-like feeling. My nerve endings were crazy! I could not sleep. Not even sleeping pills let me sleep. The itch woke me up. The itch was unknown and went away after 24 hours. I waited four months and tried again last month. Sure enough, this time only 3 minutes of indoor tanning and BOOM... the itch returned. This time, I knew the ER would be useless. So I waited to see my Dermatologist. He still is not clear what caused it, but gave me a shot of cortisone. I was up ALL night without it. It helped, but was not the solution. I had to stick it out and miss work! This is crazy. I am not photosensitive and do not have skin disorders, etc. So what causes this? I have read that the melanin in my skin does not distribute evenly because my skin has been so dry from winter. Therefore, my nerve endings burn once exposed to indoor lighting. I wonder if this will happen in the real sun. Mild itch would be fine. This itch causes me to miss work! And it is insane!!! I cannot stop itching and even when I itch there is no relief. So, has anyone had this from indoor tanning only. I read the first person who experiences it all of the time. Is there anyone that has only had it from indoor tanning? I don't want to be pale all summer. It is not fun! Plus, has anyone tried the indoor tanning mist? I am thinking about it as an alternative but do not want to look like an oompa -loompa! Please advise!!!

I meant to add that the itch did not happen on my face, hands, feet. It was primarily my legs and butt and arms the first time. The second time, it was just my legs. I am petrified to tan ever again, but of course I want to while I am young. HELP!!!

oh wow....this is the biggest relief EVER. i'm 19, fair skinned, have had the EXACT same problem as everyone else here....when i was younger, i tried going to the tanning bed, and the itch started up on my chest, stomach, and back; i scratched so much that hives came up on my skin, and i had to go to the ER and get an IV to make it all stop. it was the most intense itch i've ever had in my life, and it had happened once before when i tried the tanning bed, although i didn't have to go to the ER that time. now that i'm older, i have a wedding coming up in a few months, and i'm trying the tanning bed yet again....i've been two days, and got ever so slightly burnt yesterday; not too bad, though. the itching has started, but it's nothing that i can't ignore, yet. my biggest advice to anyone is just DO NOT go back to the tanning bed while you are still burnt/itching. give it a few days to clear up, then go back....if you try to tan while you're already itching like that, it will get a million times worse and you WILL end up in the ER. i've found that cold showers do help, and benadryl has a slight effect as well. good luck to everyone!!!!!

p.s. suntan52, the mystic tan is actually really good - or at least, i've had excellent results with it. lots of my friends have gotten them, as well, and it seems as if the mystic tan does better on naturally fair people [i had a few friends who were already tan and just wanted to be even tanner - for some reason, they ended up looking a bit orange from it]. i've used it for prom and special occasions before, and have never been disappointed with it. just be sure, if you have light skin, to get the first setting, MAYBE the second setting - never, ever the third setting, because you will definitely be orange. good luck!

I had this problem with college, all over my body after tanning. However, I haev it again on my back, except this time it was from natural sun. I don't even really have a burn, just intense, painful itching. I am sitting here at work with ice packs because nothing else is working. My husband thought I was crazy, but then he informed me of something that I have not seen mentioned here. He is a Pharmacy student and reminded me that sometimes certain medications cause ultra sensitivity to light. I am personally on BC and , sure enough, when I read the label...ultra sensitivity to sun exposure is a side effect. So, be careful if any of you are on antibiotics, or BC...these medications can cause the itching and severe reaction to the sun.

<b>Ok so last night I was reading this at about 4am because I could not sleep what so ever. It makes me feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only one with this problem. I am 15 years old and have the pailest skin EVER. Im in highschool & everyone goes tanning. So I finally convinced my mom to bring me, because she is like a tanning addict lol. Well so far I have gone 3 times and ever since the 2nd time I have been having this burning, itching feeling on my chest, stomach, and back. It is awful. It hurts so bad and there is basically nothing I could do about it. Last night at like 1am I woke my mother up and she put noxema on it. It actually works pretty good, but doesn't last that long ! Im hoping this pain goes away soon cause I have lost so much sleep because of it, making me even more exausted at school then I was to begin with. I wanted to go to the hospitol so bad to get some kind of crazy pain killer or shot that would numb my body. Uhh but good luck everybodyy! Any tips or anything just leavee me a messagee.! <33 -Ashley</b>

Use any brand After Sun Burn Relief 100% Aloe (usually green gel)and apply 2-4 times and let dry. Within 15 minutes the itching should stop. If itching comes back, reapply. You can buy this stuff at Walmart, Target, Walgreen's, and just about any place that sells tanning supplies.

wow i am a 15 yr old. this is so hard to deal with. so i have been tanning for 4 days now.. for a swimming party and im itching like crazy..i can barely type this as we speak.. but to calm it take a long long cold shower. use a TOWEL TO ITCH not nails .... try not to itch. try and use spf 50 sun tan lotion it has lots of mostureizer. rub dont itch..good luck..bye

I am going to see an allergist. I want to know why I cannot tan anymore. Maybe it is my medicine. There is no warning on the label. Whatever, I cannot even go into the regular sun. It is okay for some reason if I tan on my face and arms, but my legs get it the worse. I itch and it drives me crazy. I never had this problem before. My dermatologist cannot explain it. Nothing over the counter helped me. Just the shot of cortisone in my toosh!

I had this problem when I used to go to tanning beds and the problem is the UVB rays. Those are the culprits that cause the itching!!! I researched it, tanned with the beds that had no UVB rays, and I was safe. If you don't have enough melanin when you begin to tan you will find that you will tan a lot slower. You will need to make more trips to the salon than normal, but skipping the itchies is definately worth the extra trips! I did the 1 month unlimited package and went every Tuesday and Friday, or Wed and Saturday for a month. It pays off in the long run and I had a smashing tan!