# Can you get tan through a window? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437 "2018-08-11T17:21:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/1 "2018-08-11T17:21:38Z")
I swear I’ve gotten tan through my car window, but a friend says this is impossible. Google search has turned up conflicting results, so what is the straight dope on this? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/2 "2018-08-11T17:29:22Z")
I totally believe it. I have been sunburned through a car window. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/3 "2018-08-11T17:30:45Z")
I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible; I think you’re still being exposed to ultraviolet light radiation, right? Even if not directly. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/4 "2018-08-11T17:37:02Z")
Glass blocks UVB light but not UVA. So you can get burned. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/5 "2018-08-11T17:44:10Z")
Glass will block UVB radiation but not UVA unless it has been treated to do so (like in a car’s windshield sometimes). So yes you can get tan through glass unless it’s been treated to block UVA radiation. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/6 "2018-08-11T18:09:48Z")
I used to have a loft with a big southern exposure window. I used to tan there all of the time. Quite possible. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/7 "2018-08-11T19:39:41Z")
Cecil wrote a article on this: > **[Can you tan through glass?](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/152/can-you-tan-through-glass/)** The answer is yes you can, but it aint easy. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/8 "2018-08-11T20:18:31Z")
Truck driver tan is a real thing. 28 years on the road. The left side of his face has obvious skin damage. > **[Trucker accumulates skin damage on left side of his face after 28 years on...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage-on-left-side-of-his-face-after-28-years-on-the-road/)** > > Image published in New England Journal of Medicine shows damage from long-term exposure to UVA rays ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/9 "2018-08-11T20:50:57Z")
There was a thread on this recently. The upshot was: standard window glass transmits about 50% of the nearest-UV portion of the spectrum. I don’t know how much total UVA energy is present in this small slice, but it’s probably less than 20%, so the SPF of a piece of glass is somewhere in the the SPF 5-10 range. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-tan-through-a-window/819437/10 "2018-08-12T01:24:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Cecil wrote a article on this: > > [Can you tan through glass? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/152/can-you-tan-through-glass/) > > The answer is yes you can, but it aint easy. Cecil’s article is similar to the Myth Busters article my friend provided, which stated that it’s _possible_ to get tanned or burned through a window, but highly unlikely. That is totally inconsistent with my experience however. It’s possible that I’m just extra sun sensitive though…