Why do girls tan? Is it for dating?

[marsle85]

Like I said my gf is Half Irish and DAMN she's the HOTTEST thing in my world.

 

Yes I was HARD on the Irish people in my previouse post. You really can't tell some people are irish and RED hair on a girl can be hot.

 

Haha, you talk about your gf so much, -I- feel like I know her.

[deebeechrisyo]

I love the natural light tan look. Spend 20-30 minutes a day outside and it can be bestowed upon thee. As most have already posted, excessive tanning is terrible for the skin as you age.

[Green]

Haha, you talk about your gf so much, -I- feel like I know her.

 

Well she doesn't have any tan. Though we both like boating and the beach we hate tans. I use sunscreen and beach umbrellas when ever posible.

[marsle85]

If you paid attention I was agreeing with you. Sorry, you're not that special that anyone would ever be obsessed with you.

 

Sorry, you're right. But in all honesty, your random, uncalled-for attacks prior have made me a little hypersensitive to your commentary.

[Jilly Bean]

What kind of tanning are we talking about?

 

I've never done a fake bake (though I once did the mystic tan thing, and had a funky smell for a few days), but I spend a LOT of time outdoors in the sun. Either running, cycling, swimming in the pool, or laying on a beach from time to time. That's right. I said it. Laying on a beach.

 

Why? I LOVE the feeling of getting my bones warm. Being in the sun makes me feel light and happy. (that's a happy sun - lol).

[LucreziaBorgia]

if that were true then black women would all look thin.

 

i think women tan to look better than other women. its some sort of competition, just like having the best clothes or best looking bf

 

This is purely a regional 'white southern girl' thing I think - they write this on their FB updates when they are announcing a trip to the beach (we are close to the coast).

 

I'm with you, I think it is a ridiculous thing to say, but for the most part the girls here tan frequently whether in tanning beds or heading to the beach, and you hear the tan fat/white fat thing a lot.

[Bangle]

I like a natural tan but this spray stuff is horrible, I will never date a girl who uses fake tan that's a dealbreaker for me.

[kiss_andmakeup]

Haha, I started a thread about this a while ago in the Health & Fitness section. Got some interesting responses.

 

I am extremely fair and have never been into the tanning thing. I wear sunscreen religiously and I actually like the way I look without a tan.

 

I do know people that feel ugly and insecure when they haven't gotten to the tanning booth recently, and I think they're crazy. I think a person's natural skintone is the one that looks best on them. :]

 

And it DEFINITELY haunts you later in life. My mom has always been careful with her skin as I have, and at 50, she looks fantastic, while her sun-worshipping friends look a good 10 years older.

[espec10001]

I love being white. In fact, the whiter I become, the better. Who glows the most in a room or anywhere else? A very white person! You want to be able to tell if someone's Irish? Look at the freckles. Like others, when I was young I was teased for not being tan so I tried to get tan and guess what? All that happened was I burned really bad and got covered in freckles. I got freckles all over my neck and arms cause of the Sun.

 

Irish people come from a rainy climate where the sun does not shine very often. And when it does it's not as strong. Unless I want to look like a freckle face and destroy my milky white skin, I stay out of the sun at all costs!

[Shakz]

yeah, lovely!!

 

http://cheezpictureisunrelated.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/129034930175788410.jpg

 

Ooh, baby, baby! Now that is a nice tan!

[stillafool]

I don't understand why people don't like the color of the skin God gave them. The only people who look good with tans are people with a high amount of melonin in their skin. When the sun tans these people they still have very soft and smooth skin. When you start to freckle and get spots it looks downright nasty. So what if you were born pale, your hair and eyes probably go with your pale skin. Embrace it!

[shadowplay]

As a woman, I don't get heavy tanning. Yeah, looks good for a few years, before it all goes to shiat.

[shadowplay]

Actually I believe the result of the "tanning craze" is directly related to the media and it's glorification of certain aspects of "beauty". Most models these days are recruited from south american countries. There was an article in the NYtimes where they stated they did studies about which settlers from which countries settled there, and then used some algorithims to calculate what body features were most likely to show up given the current population spread.

 

But I digress, skin color has to do with the amount of melanin that a person produces, which generally corresponds to the climate that their ancestors originated from. Generally, peoples from regions closer to the equator have darker skin and those farther from it have lighter skin.

 

Therefore most women buy into the craze that they need to look like models...hence the excessive tanning. The problem is their skin will never get that "healthy" glow. People overtan, and burn, and then their skin either ends up peeling (and it's white undereath, plus you never see models peel....) or their skin ends up looking like burnt leather.

 

Actually most models these days originate from Eastern Europe and tend to have naturally pale skin. The South American thing was a brief craze in the late nineties, early oughts.

[aerogurl87]

I don't understand why people don't like the color of the skin God gave them. The only people who look good with tans are people with a high amount of melonin in their skin. When the sun tans these people they still have very soft and smooth skin. When you start to freckle and get spots it looks downright nasty. So what if you were born pale, your hair and eyes probably go with your pale skin. Embrace it!

 

This is probably the best comment I've read on this thread thus far. As I said before though, I'm black so I don't have issues with tanning. In fact, when I'm out in the sun I don't get darker, I turn this slightly reddish brown colour and people start mistaking me for being Indian or mixed, lol.

[shadowplay]

People do a lot of stupid things, and I'm not about to stop them. For some the benefits outweigh the costs. They decide it's worth it to look good for a few years in their teens and twenties, at the price of premature aging and an increased risk of skin cancer. If they want to make that choice that's totally fine.

[taiko]

Women tan because the larger society tells them it looks better. In my wife's homeland all beauty and health products are sold proclaiming their whitening properties. I don't mean toothpaste but stuff like underarm deoderant. Beyond the whitening of regular products the women buy all sorts of secondary potions, lotions and soaps for the single purpose of making white. When they come west they are in shock and seek out countrymen who know where to get whitening products since it is hard to find in the west as it is seen as raciest.

[lovelylove]

I live near some beautiful beaches and love love love the way the sun feels on my skin after a short swim!!! I don't "tan", I wear sunblock, but did tan when I was younger. I do like to get a little peachy glow, I think it makes me look healthier, but it's the being outside, with hardly any clothes on, laying down reading a book, ahhhhhh...

[Citizen Erased]

I probably would look thinner and healthier tanned, I have however recently learned the sun brings on the "flares" I get from Lupus. So increase my health problems now, not to mention the huge risk later in life...yeah NOT worth it. Skin cancer isn't fun to me, no matter how "hot" ruining my skin is.

[wendigo]

tbh I have no idea if the amount I use sunbeds is good or bad.

 

I think I am not taking a huge risk with them the amount I use them.

 

you could say it's bad if I use them at all but I quite honestly think I spend so little time exposed to the sun (UK) I feel that the risk I take is really not that big.

 

I use tan beds for about 6-8x10 minute sessions a year. and on top maybe have 1 week in the sun on hols in europe (using spf15). that's it. I can't really believe that 6-8 sessions a year plus one hol is gonna be high or even very high exposure. There are people here who spend a hell of a lot more time outdoors than me!

 

I use them for various reasons

 

I think I look nice with a little tan (and I mean it is not much I get from 6-8 sessions),

 

I feel more confident in my body, i feel it does define my shape better but that is not a reason why I do it,

 

I am dark haired but fairly light skinned so I like the way it hides my arm hair a bit (they're not terrible, but it's just a break from feeling anxious about it - and someone telling me I shouldn't feel anxious about that won't change that)

 

It feels like a treat. I find them super relaxing. Having a tan even from hol feels like a treat.

 

I would never tan more than this. I think it looks awful! But I feel the amount I use them it is not obvious.

 

I honestly think that my exposure is low risk and I feel like I am using them sensibly. So I'm in the low-moderate camp and also free personal choice - it's for me - how I feel - not for anyone else - makes ME feel good about myself. Guys wont even notice! I'm never THAT brown.

 

To me I think everyone has a choice and you have to respect that and if you don't like it that's fine too

[Nuprin]

Because Western culture loves McDonalds. They love it so much, they want to look like Ronald McDonalds' hair. They desire the oompa loompa complexion.

 

Having a woman who resembles a carrot is hawt. Lindsey's and Paris' popularity say it all.

[mortensorchid]

I'm not sure why people tan, especially in tanning beds in the winter. For women, they say that if you have a tan it will reduce the appearance of cellulite. Ever notice that the black girls have less cellulite than the white girls? As for guys, I really don't know. But they say that the presence of sunlight pertains to people's moods. People tend to be less depressed in the summers than they are in the winter because there are longer daylight hours. But as for cosmetic reasons, I'm not sure why people do it.

[threebyfate]

As someone who's naturally pale, I've been getting a spray tan done professionally or using a home tanning agent for the past few years. There's no other reason beyond cosmetics. I prefer the look.

[Ruby Slippers]

^ Doesn't the concept of dying your skin freak you out? Studies have shown that dark hair dyes are associated with bladder cancer (bladder stores up a particular chemical that gets into the system). If I were dying my skin with chemicals, I would be very worried about potential impact to my health.

[threebyfate]

I dye my hair black, use a spray on tan, there are colour dyes in my clothing and makeup. No, I'm not worried about it at all.

[wendigo]

If some people are SO stuck on the idea of I'll go with what God's given me thank you very much - then why all the hair removal? O.k, I know it doesn't cause cancer but I'm sure you get my point.

 

As I've got older I find a woman who has a bit (not loads!) of underarm hair a statement of confidence, and I also think it's a bit naughty/sexy. An insight to the naturalness side of a woman.

 

This is a different topic in some sense, but I do wonder how guys really feel about women's body hair. My ex liked it.... I hated it. Don't mind a bit of underarm but being dark haired no way would I show my legs!