The Student Room Group

Is a tan required?

How important is tanned skin to people?

Are people really put off by pale bodies?

I've not had any sort of tan since about 5 years ago, and my gf has implied she'd like to see more colour in my skin.

I don't know if it's the idea of baring my not ver well toned flesh or if it's the idea of what the solar radiation does to the body, but i don't feel a desire to spend time in the sun when i don't need to.

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Reply 1
I've never understood it personally. in ghana both black and white hardly go in the sun because they think lighter skins are more attractive (and it's just hot and sticky and ew). my boy is v pale and i think he's gorgeous- though I'd still think that whatever colour his skin was!
Reply 2
It seems to change by generation. At present, yeah, a tan is a good think (how those tanning places make their money.) Um, am trying to get a bit of colour in my skin as I incredibly pale... even by British standards.
It depends on the place you're in. In asia, many people, ie. chinese, japanese etc. regard the pale people as "attractive". In fact, they think the paler the better, and we have so many whitening products everywhere it's actually quite scary.

in other places, ie. Europe, most people would think that tanned skin is attractive. I personally think that it's better to be tanned because it looks far more healthy, and also tanned skin can lower the risk of skin cancer from UV rays exposure. There are some people who can hardly get tanned (like my brother) and often just end up getting burnt. Those people have to be very careful when going under the sun and should already wear a low SPF sunscreen for protection even if they want a tan. My brother tried those "Easy Tanning" stuff and came home from Thailand looking like a lobster...all red-skinned and peeling. He came running to me for lotion. :rolleyes:

I get tanned very easily, even with SPF 60 :eek: I use that for swimming on my face to prevent goggle marks so I don't look like a panda. :p:
Reply 4
I think that tanned skin looks more healthy in a way, but guys don't seem to be as concerning about getting brown as girls do. It only has become a concern for you becasue your girlfriend has commented on it, i wouldn't worry about it.
Reply 5
I don't mind having a tan, but I'm fine with paleness. Maybe pale is better...
Reply 6
Some people look much better without a tan though...i look ok with a tan on my body, but if i use bronzer on my face, i just look silly, however light it is.
Like I've probably said before, I used to want to get a tan, until I started going out with my Taiwanese boyfriend. His skin colour is beautiful - golden, and when he tans in the summer, its even lovlier. But I like the idea of my skin contrasting with his. Our skin colours look really nice together, as I am really pale. He really likes my colour too. So I don't want a tan - it would mes up the effect! Also it wouldnt really look right on me as I have reddish hair.
Reply 8
lol, thank you for all your comments.

i'm pale to the point where i make an albino person look tanned.
Reply 9
Mr_Pedantic
How important is tanned skin to people?

Are people really put off by pale bodies?

I've not had any sort of tan since about 5 years ago, and my gf has implied she'd like to see more colour in my skin.

I don't know if it's the idea of baring my not ver well toned flesh or if it's the idea of what the solar radiation does to the body, but i don't feel a desire to spend time in the sun when i don't need to.


Being tanned is overrated. What's nice is having white skin and having lightly tanned skin. It just makes you look healthy.
The main reason being tanned is appealing is the fact it hides skin imperfections. If you have marks, acne, scars, a tan can hide them.
Friends from Southern Europe have sometimes made comments about pake skin being less attractive but that's pretty much a load of ********. They're probably trying to reassure themselves that their latin lover looks are universally accepted as being better looking :rolleyes:.

The thing with tans is that they go in and out of fashion: about 50 or 60 years ago, being white and tanned meant being ugly and rough. Most models had pale skin. Then people really got into tans and then that trend slowly disappeared. These days, what's considered best is not too pale and not too tanned: when you see a topless 35 year old on a French, Italian or Spanish beach, already covered in wrinkles and with saggy boobs and who still probably thinks she looks great with her browner than brown tan :rolleyes:, you realise some people don't think straight...
Reply 10
pale is normal and nice... tan = ewwww
Reply 11
i worship at the altar of the sunbeds. i do indeed know when i am tangoed. and that is always.
Reply 12
I think that this whole pale skin vs tanned skin needs to stop. I have some friends who are really insecure about themselves just because they cant tan and all these magagazines and ads that present tans as the only way to beauty do not help. These ads only reinforce the view that tan=better, as if there is a wide spread consensus about that sort of thing! I think that this whole promotion of one colour needs to stop, people should be left to discover what complexions they like best and suits them best.

I am black and with us there is a growing like for darker skins. Its really stupid because only a few years ago, it used to be the opposite and people were into lighter complexions. This just shows how relative this whole concept of beauty is and that people should just stay as they naturally are, or as they are comfortable with (i.e. you can change your colour as a white person, but cant really when your black!)
I might be getting a bit too serious and political but I really hate the way that these concepts of beauty in the media affect the pple around me. Just stay as you are, pale and handsome!
Its not a case of him getting a really GOOOD tan, like that golden brown tan, but he really is a little bit pale! He looks healthy with a small amount of tan is all!
I must say, I like a tan. Not too much but just slightly brown. But I wouldnt think any different of a guy who didnt have one, its just an added bonus.
Reply 15
I normally have very pale skin and I always think I look so much better tanned - not a deep tan, but a light one makes me look healthier and thinner, I think my natural skin colour makes me look ill to be honest
Nina166
I think that this whole pale skin vs tanned skin needs to stop. I have some friends who are really insecure about themselves just because they cant tan and all these magagazines and ads that present tans as the only way to beauty do not help. These ads only reinforce the view that tan=better, as if there is a wide spread consensus about that sort of thing! I think that this whole promotion of one colour needs to stop, people should be left to discover what complexions they like best and suits them best.

I am black and with us there is a growing like for darker skins. Its really stupid because only a few years ago, it used to be the opposite and people were into lighter complexions. This just shows how relative this whole concept of beauty is and that people should just stay as they naturally are, or as they are comfortable with (i.e. you can change your colour as a white person, but cant really when your black!)
I might be getting a bit too serious and political but I really hate the way that these concepts of beauty in the media affect the pple around me. Just stay as you are, pale and handsome!


That was pretty well said! The whole image of a tan being beautiful is of course created and reinforced by the media. Only a few decades ago, for a girl, being tanned meant lacking class and being rather manly. It's all pretty stupid.
A lot of people love the idea that one piece of clothing will increase your sex appeal, that one type of piercing will make you more beautiful whoever you are and whatever you look like... it just isn't that way. Something that makes one person more attractive, will just emphasize some other person's flaws. It might seem like a weird comparison but it's a bit like the underwear debate: girls were asking which type of underwear is sexier. It totally depends on the person of course. A thong will look amazingly sexy on one girl whose curves it emphasizes whereas on another girl it will make her look awful because it emphasizes her flaws.

Everything needs to be taken in moderation and you need to find what makes you look good. A strong tan is usually as repulsive as pale skin. Some people tend to be attracted to pale skin and some people tend to be attracted to darker skin. There's no secret formula that can be applied to everyone.
Reply 17
Loads of people have been asking me if i am ill recently....the main reason for this is I look quite pale...I have a naturally tanned skin, so when I have not been in the sun for a while people start to think i am not well! So my opinion is for me a tan is better. I am not saying that a tan is better for everyone, but some people do look healthier with a sun kissed look.
The tan is your skin trying to protect itself. Your body creates the pigment to protect your skin from sun damage. Does this not make you think about what you are doing to your skin?

If for a change, a fair skinned person looks tanned and utterly sun-kissed, good they may look and feel, but the "healthy" image of brown skin is anything but.

Result of damage. People are beautiful, and shouldn't sacrifice their health to uphold a certain image favoured by others.
i dont really care if people are tanned or not, some look better than others. it all depends on their natural look and i go by my instincts on whether a girl is attractive or not. fake tans are horrible btw...