What's YOUR favorite tanning method?

Mine is to not tan at all. Not in a bed, not in the sun, not with a spray, or a lotion. Not in a box, not with a fox...you get the picture. Do I have a problem with dark skin? No! Of course not - it's beautiful. Do I think that MINE needs to be baked and painted until I'm no longer blindingly white? No. But apparently MSN disagrees. In their article about "looking beautiful all winter," listed right alongside helpful tips like "don't linger in the bath or shower" and "protect those tresses" is "self-tan."

WHY?!?

Dry skin and damaged hair I can understand avoiding, but I do NOT understand why the color of my skin is something I should try to change in order to be more "beautiful." Do YOU like pale skin? Yes? No? I mean, sure, there's washed-out pale, there's sickly pale, there's anemic pale, etc. But I have rosy cheeks. Rosy cheeks, dammit! I'm healthy!

I'll admit, I've tanned before. And I've self-tanned. And though I look pretty good with an actual tan, I also burn if I'm not careful, and because of my complexion and family history I have a high risk for skin cancer. Tan...cancer...tan...cancer...not worth it. The self-tanners I've tried in the past were all super high-end, but I never really felt like they looked close enough to the real thing, and they made my skin feel gross. So over time I grew to accept my skin for what it is: pale. Sometimes referred to as "marshmallow white," sometimes "fish belly white," "peaches and cream," "milky," "ivory," or even "damn girl! you are WHITE!" The list goes on. But I'm okay with it. I even LIKE my pale skin.