# Will differences remain while tanning?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-differences-remain-while-tanning/590880>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 31, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-differences-remain-while-tanning/590880 "2011-07-31T01:42:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-differences-remain-while-tanning/590880/1 "2011-07-31T01:42:18Z")

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I have a “farmer’s tan”: my lower arms and face and neck are tanned while the rest of me isn’t. This is a result of wearing T-shirts and long pants when outside.

However, I find myself going to the beach these days. Can I differentially tan myself so that I even out? If I give myself sun exposure evenly\*, will the dark parts get darker as the light parts get darker, or is there a maximum tan that I can attain, and the light parts will catch up to the dark parts? Do I need to put sunblocker only on the dark parts so that the will not tan more?

[sub]\*Assume proper use of sunblocker, etc, etc.[/sub]

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**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-differences-remain-while-tanning/590880/2 "2011-07-31T17:53:51Z")

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It will all equalize eventually. Enough to fool the naked eye, anyway. No need to mask off body parts.

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**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:** [July 31, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-differences-remain-while-tanning/590880/3 "2011-07-31T18:14:01Z")

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Although masking off body parts might help you achieve an even look sooner - but after you get that, you’d have to stop masking and let everything get darker at the same time.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-differences-remain-while-tanning/590880/4 "2011-07-31T22:52:55Z")

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Even if you started out uniformly pale, you won’t ever uniformly tan. Consider the direction of sunlight, and your upright posture. Some parts of you will always get more exposure.