As one who can speak from experience, yes.  Sunburn has cumulative effects. Damage is done to your skin with any prolonged exposure to the sun.  The risk of skin cancer is greater for fair skinned people (like me) but it can develop on anyone who is in the sun a lot, say, like with your arm stuck out the window of your car whenever you drive.  The risk is greatly increased with repeated burns, blistering or not.  As I said, the damage is cumulative -- you don't get to wipe the slate clean every spring and start over from zero just because your "tan" has faded.  Damage piles on top of damage.  Tanning beds provide the same harmful rays as the sun does, so don't be fooled.  There is no "safe" tanning. The tanning reaction is your body's defense mechanism to an attack (damaging radiation from the sun).  I believed that I could tan if I just stuck with it long enough and kept on trying.  I was wrong, and have paid for it with having to have skin cancers removed from my face.  If I could go back, I'd have chosen to stay pale rather than have the scars on my face from having cancers cut out.