# Do You Find Tans Attractive **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241 "2011-05-26T02:36:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/41 "2011-05-26T16:20:34Z")
I’m very, very white, no matter how much time I spend in the sun. When I’m at my darkest tan, I’m still the whitest girl in the room. So I don’t try, and I guess the good news is that I also don’t have a lot of wrinkles. I think natually dark skin is very attractive, but over-tanned skin just gets weird and leathery and doesn’t look good. Natural tan from just being outdoors…okay, that’s good, because it’s not usually that ultra-dark, unnatural tan that some people get from tanning beds. Upon further reflection, it appears I’m just wishy-washy. 🙂 Generally, I find attractive those people who are my opposite–dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/42 "2011-05-26T17:01:50Z")
I think tans look awful, and they seriously fuck up a person’s natural skin appearance. I feel sad whenever I see a woman who’s skin shows tanning damage, whether it’s excessive freckling or worse. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/43 "2011-05-26T22:01:10Z")
Voted attractive, but agree with already stated “depending on skin-tone” proviso. When I was living in Ireland I saw of lot of beautiful, pale-skinned freckly beauties plaster themselves orange with foundation and I thought it was a real shame as pale looked great on them. I’m more olive-skinned and I sure as hell look better tanned. Everyone I’ve ever met, even relative strangers, tell me so, as does the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![classyladyhp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5ac83/32.png) [@classyladyhp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/classyladyhp)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/44 "2011-05-26T22:02:22Z")
No. I’m very light-skinned and have NEVER used tanning booths. I’d prefer my skin not look like leather. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/45 "2011-05-26T22:04:56Z")
Not a black and white issue with me. sometimes I like shades of gray. I don’t like tans from the sun worshippers or the people that spend a lot of time in tanning beds. A natural tan that gives a women a couple shades of darker color is sexy. Dark Bronze or Orange. Huge turnoff. ---
**Author:** ![classyladyhp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5ac83/32.png) [@classyladyhp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/classyladyhp)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/46 "2011-05-26T22:05:40Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I like the pale look, myself. This is going to sound egotistical, but whatever – I find people with my coloring (pale skin, dark hair, dark eyes) very attractive. Staying pale also keeps you from getting wrinkles as quickly as those who tan, so you look younger longer. That’s me pale skin, long dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. I agree with the not tanning to look younger. I’ve seen people my age who have tanned a lot and their skin looks like leather. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/47 "2011-05-26T22:12:43Z")
On some people yes, on others no. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/48 "2011-05-26T23:01:07Z")
Not at all. The wife has this whole Irish dark hair/green eyes/white skin thing going for her that I love. She’s not allowed to go tanning. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/49 "2011-05-26T23:16:22Z")
No way. After working for dermatologists for years, whenever I see someone with a tan, I react the same way some people do when they see someone smoking- Ew! Why would someone do that to themselves, on purpose?? It might look good now, but I know what their skin is going to look like years from now, and it won’t be pretty. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/50 "2011-05-26T23:16:49Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Kind of along with **appleciders** , if the tan is consistent with the person’s natural skintone. > > A super dark tan on a ordinarily pale blonde looks weird. Doubly so with the raccoon mask from sunglasses/eye protectors. This x 1000. Plus, I am generally attracted to people with medium to dark skintones anyway, so I think the tan just adds to that. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/51 "2011-05-27T00:14:37Z")
I like the look of a tan, but of course it’s been exaggerated and overdone in general to the point of ridiculousness. What’s with that spray orange? Ick! I don’t go out in the sun any more if I can help it. My daughter prides herself on being white as skim milk most of the year, and she’s always annoyed when her other ethnic blood comes to the fore in the summer and she gets a tan just from walking outside once in a while, ha-ah! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/52 "2011-05-27T00:16:49Z")
I like to see tans on others if it is natural and not too deep. That said, my natural skin tone is [similar to this guy’s](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2SSpcgp3SPk/S-LevrC-HRI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/LF5ERYapsyM/s1600/men%27s%2Bhealth.jpg&imgrefurl=http://article-on-health-articles.blogspot.com/2010/05/male-laser-hair-removal.html&usg=__ELgyhr4ibzYvHcsA3PYL9CHjgfs=&h=319&w=425&sz=29&hl=en&start=4&zoom=1&tbnid=yN8SJF97rbUpNM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=126&ei=vOjeTYiBL43egQeEn6TLCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmale%2Bskin%2Btones%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1320%26bih%3D836%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&biw=1320&bih=836), and it takes just a few minutes in the sun for me to become noticeably darker. I tan very deeply, very quickly. The problem is if I become very dark, i.e., a brown/bronze color, within a few days I begin to peel, and then I’m a splotchy red and brown, especially around my hairline and nose, which is not very attractive. My arms and legs don’t seem to peel, at least that I’ve noticed. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/53 "2011-05-27T03:50:36Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Not a black and white issue with me. sometimes I like shades of gray. Pro tip: if it turns grey, you’re overdoing it. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/54 "2011-05-27T03:57:20Z")
Tanning itself? Not so much. Tan lines around the waist area can be very very hot, though. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/55 "2011-05-27T04:16:10Z")
I like the look of tans. Natural, I-was-weeding-the-garden tans on people who aren’t redheads. I used to be out in the sun all day as a kid, and looked ans passed a full-blown Indian (dot, not feather) kiddo. Nowadays I’m indoors all the time so I burn like an almost-white person when I finally get out. I was outside for 10 minutes the other weekend without sunscreen and later felt like my skin was stir-frying for 3 days. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/56 "2011-05-27T05:15:52Z")
My “other” vote came because I was watching David Tutera’s show (women modeling bridal wear) today and thinking that the most attractive skin tone is an **even** skin tone, no matter whether it’s pale or tan. But I’ve been spoiled by TV and movies. I know very few people IRL whose skin tone is even, either way. I don’t look at dresses on the red carpet – I look at skin and wonder how they got that way, whether it’s natural or sprayed on or whatever. ETA: I’m freckled and have always been envious of the non-freckled. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/57 "2011-05-27T09:21:13Z")
It depends on the tan. A tan which looks like it has been obtained by working outside, playing outside? Yes. One which comes from “doing the shrimp”, 15min one side, 15 min the other, 15 min the first side… since the weather is warm enough for it? No. Ora-glow? Hell no. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/58 "2011-05-27T09:30:38Z")
A little bit of color (“sun-kissed”?) is good; totally pasty white is not a great look in general. However, deep tanning (real or booth) just tells me you’re going to be a wrinkly, freckly, cancerous mess in ten to twenty years. And fake tans are horrible - even if you’re not orange you just look vaguely dirty\*, as if you’ve been lying in a bathtub full of coffee or something. It’s not good at all. - and not in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/59 "2011-05-27T09:34:50Z")
depends. tan for strong athletic types. white vampire-like skin for soft-looking round-eyed, oval-faced little things in the suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241/60 "2011-05-27T11:02:03Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > One which comes from “doing the shrimp”, 15min one side, 15 min the other, 15 min the first side.. Who’s cooking shrimp for that long? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-tans-attractive/583241.md?page=4)