# Do black people tan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548 "2009-01-09T17:41:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/21 "2009-01-10T15:08:12Z")
Yes, we tan. But I’ve noticed that white people tend not to notice, as least not as readily as other black people. For instance, a black coworker returned from vacation and I complimented her on her tan. The white people standing around claimed I was seeing things, even though to both me and the woman the tan was obvious. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/22 "2009-01-10T15:36:15Z")
I agree, although I am chocolate colored(blush). Once I went on a road trip on my bike, and not only did I get a farmers tan, I had all the symptoms of a serious sunburn too, yucky skin flakes and all. The amount of exposure that would sunburn a paler person does not affect me, so I guess it is just a matter of degree. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/23 "2009-01-10T15:56:25Z")
> [@dedmonwakin](#): > > In my younger years, I was absolutely oblivious to what a sunburn was. I spent all of my days as a child baking in the sun from Japan to California. It wasn’t until sometime around the age of 17-18 I experienced my first sunburn in Florida. I had an African-American boss several years ago. He went to Cozumel on vacation during the winter and came back…RED! Everyone else in the office was pretty amused, just because he looked so odd. He said it was the first time he’d ever gotten sunburned and that it was horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Agonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Agonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agonist)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/24 "2009-01-10T19:43:11Z")
Any darker-skinned people here ever do recreational tanning? As in lying on the beach or by the pool, carefully making sure your skin is evenly exposed to the sun (and incidentally showing off your bod to the opposite sex)? There’s also a social aspect to tanning for teen girls. I’ve always kinda wondered if black teens missed out on that. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/25 "2009-01-10T22:05:30Z")
Generally, naturally darker people are either want to get lighter, or are happy the way they are. Of course, blacks go to the beach, but not usually for the purpose of getting darker. A black teen girl with a tan is more likely to complain about it than be happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/26 "2009-01-10T23:53:50Z")
> [@Agonist](#): > > Any darker-skinned people here ever do recreational tanning? As in lying on the beach or by the pool, carefully making sure your skin is evenly exposed to the sun (and incidentally showing off your bod to the opposite sex)? There’s also a social aspect to tanning for teen girls. I’ve always kinda wondered if black teens missed out on that. I did the lying on the beach or by the pool with my friends because that’s where my friends were. And I like lying in the sun. (Unfortunately, the opposite sex never gave a rat’s ass what I was doing) But I obviously never did the hardcore dedicated tanning that some of them did. I don’t remember burning until I was adult, in New Zealand, on a day that didn’t look all that sunny, so I hadn’t bothered with sunscreen. That was a mistake. And 30SPF and I became friends for the rest of that vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/27 "2009-01-11T00:31:13Z")
She wasn’t black, but one of my Americorps housemates was Indo-Fijian and a deep coffee color. After a couple of months building Habitat houses in Alabama, she returned with arms about two shades darker than her legs. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/28 "2009-01-11T00:48:04Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > A black teen girl with a tan is more likely to complain about it than be happy about it. I’ve never encountered this. However, I don’t really like how I look when I get a real dark tan. A little bit of sun and my skin turns a nice golden brown. But after awhile I turn an ugly gray shade. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/29 "2009-01-11T01:08:08Z")
Maybe it’s a northern thing. It’s fairly common around here in the summer to hear someone saying “ugh, I’ve gotten so black!” or saying they’re going to stay inside lest they get any darker. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/30 "2009-01-11T02:14:09Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Maybe it’s a northern thing. It’s fairly common around here in the summer to hear someone saying “ugh, I’ve gotten so black!” or saying they’re going to stay inside lest they get any darker. I don’t know; maybe an old-fashioned thing? I had friends growing up who tried their darndest to stay as light-colored as they could. A lot of folks divided into two camps: dark and light (the country people used the term “bright”). ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/31 "2009-01-11T02:19:55Z")
A thought just occured to me—is that why the native tribal black Africans you see pictures of are so dark colored, or is it mainly a genetic difference, as I had previously assumed? Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/32 "2009-01-11T02:28:36Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I don’t know; maybe an old-fashioned thing? I had friends growing up who tried their darndest to stay as light-colored as they could. A lot of folks divided into two camps: dark and light (the country people used the term “bright”). Well, I’m only twenty-six, and hear it from people my age and younger… It’s the opposite with my white friends. “Ugh, I’m so white I glow in the dark! I need to get some sun!” Or buy bronzing cream, if they’re concerned about UV rays. **Vox** , I don’t know any black African immigrants to know if they get any lighter over here, but your average black American isn’t 100% black, which plays a part. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/33 "2009-01-11T02:59:23Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > (Keep in mind black people, due to their skin, also have a much harder time **photosynthesizing** it. They should NOT wear sunscreen unless they’ll be exposed to strong sunlight excessively. Same for white people, to their own degree.) I do not think that word means what you think it means. White people don’t have any more chlorophyll in their skin cells than black people… > [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#): > > A thought just occured to me—is that why the native tribal black Africans you see pictures of are so dark colored, or is it mainly a genetic difference, as I had previously assumed? Genetic; American black folk usually have at least one or two white ancestors; for obvious reasons, African blacks usually don’t. That said, there’s tremendous variation in skin tone among Africans, too. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/34 "2009-01-11T06:11:19Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Well, I’m only twenty-six, and hear it from people my age and younger… Perhaps it’s fallen out of favor down here, then. I don’t hear it so much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MatthewStabile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dfb087/32.png) [@MatthewStabile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MatthewStabile)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/35 "2009-01-12T01:13:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That story mentions both proposed risk factors, FTR. I apologize for my stubborn view (and am only keeping this little sub-discussion going because I feel the OP’s question has been answered adequately). I started another job where I have to get up very early compared to when I used to have to wake up, and have been a zombie for the last week. In my first post I was actually responding to **WhyNot** ’s post where the tiny article he linked says > [@](#): > > African Americans are more likely to die from melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – than are whites. That has commentator John McCann concerned that blacks need to pay more attention to sun exposure. It also has a link which you can click where you hear someone on a radio talking about in a little more detail about the topic. But my effort was to straighten out that article a bit. AAs aren’t more likely to die from melanoma because they don’t wear sunscreen, but because they don’t realize that they actually do have melanoma in the first place. My article does point out that blacks are susceptible to melanoma from the sun (thats the basic point of the first half of the article, and suggests using sunscreen not because they are more or equally susceptible to melanoma than other races, but because they are actually susceptible and not immune to developing it). But the second half of the article points out that blacks should get regular skin exams checking for melanoma, > [@](#): > > “paying particular attention to those areas that we commonly don’t consider skin cancers would occur, such as palms, soles, fingers, toes, under the nails and mucosal surfaces like in the mouth and genitalia.” Palms, soles, mouth and genitalia are probably the least likely places that sunlight will reach on a human body although palms and soles are anecdotally more likely to receive UV exposure than mouths and genitalia, this suggests to me at least, that sunlight might not be the only thing causing melanoma. I am not very good at writing, so I tend to be long winded. But what makes skin cancer deadlier to blacks is not that they don’t use sunscreen, but that the cancer is not found in time, whether thats because of ignorance or inactivity. ---
**Author:** ![Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barefoot_Black_Bull)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/36 "2015-10-02T20:19:39Z")
Yes, I go tanning and I’m black. I get darker. But I’m really just trying to tan the bottoms of my bare feet and palms of my hands. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/37 "2015-10-02T22:21:30Z")
But do zombie negroes tan? My ignorance on the matter was ended in Basic training when one of my shower buddies caught my eyes checking out the tan line on his neck. Big laughs ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/38 "2015-10-02T22:44:15Z")
> [@Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](#): > > Yes, I go tanning and I’m black. I get darker. But I’m really just trying to tan the bottoms of my bare feet and palms of my hands. Dumb question, but… does that work? I thought palms and soles appeared lighter because they had very little melanin. I thought it was the same in all people, just more noticeable when contrasted with darker skin. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/39 "2015-10-02T23:31:34Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I wonder, though, does dark skin protect one from cancer-causing damage done by UV light? Only somewhat, as has been said already. > [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > That’s strange. I was under the impression that black people could, indeed, sunburn and needed to wear sunscreen every bit as much as light-skinned people. Maybe not _as much_ - if my skin hasn’t seen sun for several months, like in the spring, it only takes 15-20 minutes in direct sunlight for me to start to burn. The average black person, even an African American with a relatively light skin tone, isn’t gone to start crisping up that quickly. But I’ve had several black friends who discovered the hard way that “sunburn” really is an actual _burn_ and not a joke. A couple of them achieved 2nd degree sunburn (that’s blisters) when vacationing in tropical places, possibly because they had never burned before and were unfamiliar with the hazard and early warning signs you are having a problem. > [@dedmonwakin](#): > > In my younger years, I was absolutely oblivious to what a sunburn was. I spent all of my days as a child baking in the sun from Japan to California. It wasn’t until sometime around the age of 17-18 I experienced my first sunburn in Florida. I absolutely thought something was medically wrong with me. It was horrible I must admit. I constantly thought I had received some sort of chemical burn and finally went to the doctor…needless to say, I felt pretty stupid once told it was just a sunburn. Yeah, but if you haven’t had to deal with one before… On the other hand, sunburn is why I spend all summer dashing from tree to tree and keeping to the shade. My complexion has been described as “vampiric”. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I suspect the main reason why melanoma are more dangerous to black folk is they don’t wear sunscreen. My people don’t either (including me, and I live in Florida). I think it can also be harder to spot on dark skin, at least in the early stages, and they don’t perceive it as a risk. A little like how a lot of people seem unaware that men can get breast cancer. Sure, on average the risk isn’t very high but when it does happen it’s just as dangerous as when it happens to someone with a higher apparent risk, and if you ignore it (It can’t happen to me, that must be something else!) yes, it can kill you. Or, as we were saying back in 1981, [just ask Bob Marley about skin cancer in black people…](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marley#Illness_and_death) ---
**Author:** ![Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barefoot_Black_Bull)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548/40 "2015-10-03T01:44:30Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > But do zombie negroes tan? > > My ignorance on the matter was ended in Basic training when one of my shower buddies caught my eyes checking out the tan line on his neck. Big laughs ensued. What is a Zombie Negro? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-tan/480548.md?page=3)