# Sun absorption, black skin, and body temperature

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-absorption-black-skin-and-body-temperature/364950>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 18, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-absorption-black-skin-and-body-temperature/364950 "2006-07-18T01:03:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zahava424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/76d3ee/32.png) [@Zahava424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zahava424)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-absorption-black-skin-and-body-temperature/364950/1 "2006-07-18T01:03:37Z")

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It is common knowledge that darker colors absorb more heat, while paler colors reflect more heat. Therefore, a person wearing dark clothing on a hot day will feel hotter than one wearing pale clothing.

Does this extend to skin color? Do people with darker complexions get hotter in the sun than do pale people? Do they naturally have higher body temperatures? Are they more susceptible to heatstroke and less vulnerable to frostbite?

Or, do these things have nothing to do with skin color and I’m just a dumb white person?