How to get a nice tan?

It depends on where you live. If you live by a lake, go to it and lay out there. The water by the lake will bounce off of the water and it will give you a great tan. Then you can also jump in the lake and the water on your body will magnify the sunshine giving you a good tan.

A base tan is about an SPF15. The key is to never burn! When you start out on a piece of equipment, whether a bed or a booth or under the sun, cut the maximum exposure time at least by 2/3. In a bed, start out with a 20 min. maximum, for 5 or 6 min. In a booth with a 10 minute max. go for 4 min. Just like a day at the beach, you may not notice any change in your color for several hours. If you sting in the shower, cut a minute or two off the time. Always use lotion and always moisturize after every bath or shower. You do need a lotion for tanning! The reason being, everyone has dead skin cells laying on top of the skin. These skin cells create an uneven surface. When the UV rays hit the uneven skin surface they reflect the light in an uneven way. The fastest results are achieved when the UV rays go straight through several layers of skin. Lotion use smooths out the dead skin cells on the surface so that UV light can penetrate deeper layers of skin more efficiently.

If you have no symptoms of a burn, you can safely go the next day. If you have no color at all, add a minute at a time. I went about 4 or 5 days a week. Stick with very low times for about a week or two. Don’t add on more than 1 minute at a time. Always stick with a low power bed or booth! I recommend using a booth. A lot of people like to “nap” for their tanning. Not a good idea. Booths wrap you in light, direct light. Beds have a layer of Plexiglas and somewhat filter the light. That’s the reason for higher tanning minutes… usually about 15 or 20. Booths are generally 10.

Booths also do not have high pressure facial tanner, they don’t seem to get you as dark. When you have the light evenly surrounding you, you tan much more even. When you are in a bed, your sides tend to look a bit faded. Also, in a bed you sweat, and that effects your tan also. You also don’t tan wherever you have pressure points on the hard surface, like your elbows and parts of your spine. There is also sanitation thing…

Ok well yea I am really white too. But I am pretty lucky because I don't sunburn that much if at all. I can go outside for an hour and be dark like a Mexican. But I think for you you should use sunscreen. You can still get some sun with sunscreen. It may take a while but it is better than a sunburn. And think about how you got a tan on your arms.
Sometimes I go outside on the lounge chairs and read and I just get a tan without trying. But that just might be me.
or just use self tanner. Like jergens. It won't leave you orange and it will look natural.