I think the subject line pretty much says it…
The soles of my feet can sunburn.
you tan upside down?
They can, just more slowly due to the thickness of the tissue there and the fact they get less exposure. Extremely dark skinned people may actually be more prone to burns in these areas.
A Brit of my acquaintance once spent a few days on a friend’s boat in Florida, during which time he spent a significant amount of time dangling his feet over the side. The reflection of the sun off the water fried the bottom of his feet something fierce (and made watching him walk rather entertaining).
I don’t follow the logic here at all. Extremely dark Africans, Austrailians, West Indians walk barefooted all the time at the beach or in the bush. If anything, their feet get more calloused and hardened than shoe-footed Westerners.
It’s the pigment. For light skinned people, the pigment is similar or only slightly lighter, for dark skinned people there can be a more pronounced difference.
I’m not sure pigmentation is much of a factor in burns on your palms and soles. I think has more to do with how calloused that extra layer of clear skin is on your hands and feet. I’m willing to bet that Brit friend of jr8’s – the one with the sunburned feet – doesn’t walk around barefoot outside on rough ground or hot pavement much and has relatively soft soles.
My great-grandmother was mixed race mulatto – could pass for white easily in her younger days – but she sharecropped, she worked textile mills as a seamstress and helped her husband shoe mules, so her fingers and hands were understandably tough. On Sundays, I remember Granny would open the stove and pull out the cornbread and baked chicken by the pan without an oven mitt on. Hence my earlier confusion and skepticism.
Askia, Here is a doctor talking about dark-skin and the sun
http://beckysingleton.com/doctor2.htm
She doesn’t state why, but does state that dark-skinned people should pay attention to the palms and soles.
It’s an assumption that pigmentation is the reason, but I wouldn’t believe that the dark skinned people Dr. Singleton is talking about have any tougher palms and soles than anyone else.
Another area we don’t think about (no, not THAT one!), is our lips-lips cannot tan, but they CAN burn. So wear lip balm with an SPF.
or… just keep your panties on.
Incidentally, you can also get freckles on your palms. They’re not common, but they can happen. I have one. I’m keeping an eye on it (and my doctor has seen it), but it seems utterly benign.
I recently aquired a freckle on my right palm, right over the red LED in my optical mouse. Maybe it is mouse-cancer!
Uh-oh. As soon as I read Phage’s post, a feeling of dread swept over me as I realized I too have an optical mouse with an LED constantly aimed at my palm…uh oh.
Uh-oh. As soon as I read Phage’s post, a feeling of dread swept over me as I realized I too have an optical mouse with an LED constantly aimed at my palm…uh oh.
I have never been tanned or sumburned on my souls or palms. This year I have a really decent tan and it looks like my hands are dirty. This is because the underside of my hand is pretty white while the back is tan.
What I would like to know is why is my chest and stomach and arms so much darker than my legs. They are at least two shades darker. Especially my stomach. And I wear shorts too so my legs are more exposed to the sun. No hair doesn’t have anything to do with it as I am shaven (for the purpose of getting a tan).
yeah, i have the same dysfunctional pigmentation in my legs…thats what i call it anyways. The knees tan, the shins don’t…the backs of the knees burn like hell.
i’ve gotten sunburn on the soles of my feet before - its hard to see, but trust me - you know when it’s there.