Pale Skin - Is it really that bad?

RedMuse · February 2013

Ginger here

I did tan and I did go to the tanning bed.. I don't anymore... My husband likes me the way I am. Red hair, blue eyes, freckles and pale skin.. I have learned to love me the way I am. I think that's the biggest issue. People always want what they don't have. Curly hair , straighten it, pale skin then tan.
Love yourself there's only one of you

Your a limited edition !

Poods71 · February 2013

I am from sunny Scotland and as pale as they come lol. I am at one with my paleness and don't care what anyone else thinks

Would be nice if I didn't burn like a crisp in the sun though lol

humorousone · February 2013

Don't listen to them, I think porcelain alabaster skin is so beautiful. I think the ultra tan and or orange spray tan is gross and unhealthy. Be prepared to say "Ouch, that hurt." Tanning is unhealthy and spraying on poison to be tan isn't my thing." It seems people want to point out things to try and make themselves better than others. You are perfect and beautiful just as you are. I was at the beach and a friend said, "Why do you wear glasses? You look so much better without them." I replied, "You look so much better without my glasses on too." It's like f^*# off...

jemjemsh · February 2013

I'm Australian and I'm so white. I burn so easily and the midday sun just makes me feel uncomfortable, so I don't really like to tan. I get people giving me grief all the time about how can I be Australian and not tan, and even when I got a little bit dark (for me, which is still white for everyone else) my friend commented that I looked like I had used fake tan! Can't win. Anyway, I've never had a boy complain

justgowithit17 · February 2013

Pale girls are always hot.

so true!

trophywife24 · February 2013

we gingers do NOT look good with a tan. sun can kill us if we use it long enough to "tan" - and by that i mean our freckles merge. and fake-and-bake looks TERRIBLE with our hair/eyes. we gingers are meant to be a pale ppl.

I disagree with this. I'm a freckly ginger with olive skin. My family is Italian/Jewish. I tan standing next to a window and I don't think think that I look so horrible. We're rare, but we happen. :glasses:

jbutterflye · February 2013

I like my pale skin. I look good with a tan, but prefer not to, as not having one keeps my skin looking younger. At my age I have pretty much no wrinkles (maybe some faint ones at the creases of my eyes) and my skin still looks tight and youthful. Being a non-smoker and very little alcohol helps, I'm sure.

DamnImASexyBitch · February 2013

I'm pale. I love being pale. I use a little highlighter in my make up to give me a natural looking glow. My skin is amazing for my age. I get a lot of people who never guess my age correctly. I don't look like a wrinkled leather handbag like a lot of the sun worshipping/tanning bed friends I have.

thankyou4thevenom · February 2013

I love my pale skin. Even if it is a pain to try and find foundation I wouldn't change it for the world.

SanteMulberry · February 2013

I would just like to throw this out there - I get a lot of hate for being pale. A /lot/ of people say "Oh, you look so pretty, but a tan would make you look amazing." No, it won't. I'm from Scottish and Norwegian blood, with red hair, and I like being pale. Stop telling me to tan. I wouldn't tell someone from Hispanic or African, or even 'darker' places in Europe like Italy and Greece, to bleach their skin to get paler, so why tell me to tan? I, personally, find pale skin beautiful on /me/. That doesn't mean I'm racist. It doesn't mean I don't find tanner skin ugly. I just don't think it looks the best on me.

So please, those of you who make fun of people who are paler than normal, don't tell us we look 'unhealthy' or that we should 'get some sun' or, even in some cases, that we're 'ugly'. Just because it isn't the standard of beauty in most places in the Americas and Europe, doesn't mean that we are any less attractive than you are.

Anyway, where do people of MFP fall on the spectrum? Do you think being pale truly is bad, or just different?

I have very fair skin too and I ALWAYS burn in the sun---even late in the summer, so I never even tried to tan ever. It means that NOW I have very youthful skin for my age (everyone is shocked to find out how old I am). I do wear a bit of blush and lipstick though as I like having a "healthy" glow (although I need less now that I have been exercising regularly).

SanteMulberry · February 2013

we gingers do NOT look good with a tan. sun can kill us if we use it long enough to "tan" - and by that i mean our freckles merge. and fake-and-bake looks TERRIBLE with our hair/eyes. we gingers are meant to be a pale ppl.

I disagree with this. I'm a freckly ginger with olive skin. My family is Italian/Jewish. I tan standing next to a window and I don't think think that I look so horrible. We're rare, but we happen. :glasses:

True--I know several brown-eyed redheads who are quite striking with a tan. Probably we should go for what makes us look natural and healthy.

I have to agree with one of the posters that fake tans look a bit weird--especially on redheads and blondes.

olDave · February 2013

Pale skin is great! I say...if you're pale...EMBRACE IT!

I'm particularly attracted to redheads with pale skin and freckles. But seriously...it's simply a matter of taste. Some people like red wine...some like white...some will drink ANYTHING.

trophywife24 · February 2013

we gingers do NOT look good with a tan. sun can kill us if we use it long enough to "tan" - and by that i mean our freckles merge. and fake-and-bake looks TERRIBLE with our hair/eyes. we gingers are meant to be a pale ppl.

I disagree with this. I'm a freckly ginger with olive skin. My family is Italian/Jewish. I tan standing next to a window and I don't think think that I look so horrible. We're rare, but we happen. :glasses:

True--I know several brown-eyed redheads who are quite striking with a tan. Probably we should go for what makes us look natural and healthy. I have to agree with one of the posters that fake tans look a bit weird--especially on redheads and blondes.

Ooooh yeah, I can't do fake tanners. I turn neon Cheeto orange. Blah, sexy lol.

PhotogNerd · February 2013

I totally get what you mean OP, people usually aren't a big fan of paleness.

Currently I'm so white it's ridiculous. I used to hate it, that I was never able to be tan like "everyone else" but now I'm over it. It is what it is.

lotusspark · February 2013

Wow, I get that a lot too..mostly in RL. Ppl want to hate for every reason under the sun, which not all of us are fortunate to have natural pigments..I think ALL skin colors are beautiful.

Erienneb · February 2013

I'm pale. Practically see through. And my hair is naturally very very dark. I can't tan (wouldn't if I could)...the most that happens without a burn is that I get this goldeny brown type color (like toast!) and freckles....I like being pale. I just need to up the SPF haha.

I have an albino friend. Now that is difficult. Her skin and eyes are super sensative to the sun.

LetsMakeupXtina · February 2013

I used to worship the tanning beds, and I used to be VERY ORANGE lol. I honestly can see the damage on my skin too, and I hate it! I havent tanned in over 3 years and I completely embrace my whiteness now... every time someone asks why I dont tan I tell them that PALE is the new TAN...

tifferz_91 · November 2013

I have olive skin & i personally think fair skin is beautiful.

I envy people who are lighter than me in general.

Sometimes i wish i had fair skin so i can feel more accepted.

Even when growing up i was teased & shunned alot for not having fair or lighter skin like the other White girls.

So i personally think fair skin is just as beautiful.

ThePlight · November 2013

we gingers do NOT look good with a tan. sun can kill us if we use it long enough to "tan" - and by that i mean our freckles merge. and fake-and-bake looks TERRIBLE with our hair/eyes. we gingers are meant to be a pale ppl.

There are some day-walkers(red heads that can go out in the sun for more than 10 minutes) that don't have the freckles and super sensitive skin....but MOST do. And you dont' want to look like lindsay lohan orange by getting a spray tan either

My fiance is a "day-walker", but only to an extent. He still lobsterizes lol. No freckles anywhere, though.

HermioneCantDraw · November 2013

I'm a Scot/Irish Blonde haired/blue eyed super pale person myself. I spent all summer on a swim team and achieved...

nothing. Almost no tan.

Ok, a little tan. But not much.

I'm ok with my pale skin. I made peace with it.

LovingLisa2012 · November 2013

I just tell them I'm proud to be a white girl! That usually stops them.

hahah me too , but it seems my niece is the main one who picks on me (she is naturally tan *white girl, then i have another niece and a great niece who are both mexican, so I guess my oldest niece is used to tanner people) .. I am proud to be white .. she should be proud to be tan and if your black, green , purple etc, you should feel proud to be you

x311Tifa · November 2013

Scottish, Irish, and German. I'm fluorescent in the dark, I'm sure. Sun exposure for about 10 minutes equals a pretty stellar burn. The only "tan" bit of me is my arms but that's because they are the only part of me, minus my face, that has constant sun exposure, so it has built up some natural color. Oh.. And I'm freckling EVERYWHERE NOW! Every day, sun exposure or not, I am positive I have a new one...

Tiznonay · November 2013

I think pale, or "fair" skin as I like to call it is perfectly fine, especially on women. Some of the most beautiful girls I've ever known have been fair-skinned. I was just having this convo with a close friend the other day. She stresses getting tan like it's mandatory. I keep telling her how gorgeous she is with fair skin, but it falls on deaf ears.

Only time pale skin is a bad thing is like in my case, when your arms are two-tone, ugh...

jenilla1 · November 2013

I

everybody!

ContraryMaryMary · November 2013

I'm one of the three redheads on the planet who get a tan without trying. I never sunbathe as I don't want to get wrinkles and never go out in the sun in summer without a hat but I still go a lot darker than my blonde sister or brown haired brother.

I say work with what you've got and never fake tan, it just looks silly (and often smells bad too).

Snow3y · November 2013

I need a tan tho :c I hate being pale, girls look alright if pale, guys - not so much

spectralmoon · November 2013

I everybody!

QFT.

I am comfortable in my skin(tone), but I do envy some of the darker shades as well. They get to wear so many more colors than I do, and better!! I am able to tan (Native American father), but at the price of burning first (Irish mother). While I used to be a beach person back in the day, having a sun-kissed complexion just doesn't seem worth the effort and/or discomfort anymore.

*Edit* See hands in picture for scale of pale.

AestheticStar · November 2013

I'm a red-head too. So I'd burn if I tried to tan, & I refuse to use fake tan. I'd look ridiculous probably lol. I like being pale.

HealthyVitamins · November 2013

strange, I'm a red head but have no freckles and tan easily. But I do prefer to be pale as I don't like the thought of looking like a leather handbag by the time i'm 40.

sweetxsour35 · March 2014

I am comfortable in my skin(tone), but I do envy some of the darker shades as well. They get to wear so many more colors than I do, and better!! I am able to tan (Native American father), but at the price of burning first (Irish mother). While I used to be a beach person back in the day, having a sun-kissed complexion just doesn't seem worth the effort and/or discomfort anymore.

*Edit* See hands in picture for scale of pale.

I'm the same way. My mother is Hispanic and my father is German and English and I ended up being pale. Like you, I have to burn severely first, and after it heals it just stays dark, ridiculously long too! However, I'm not too into burning my entire body at once to have an even tan (ouch!) so pale it is for me.

Pale Skin - Is it really that bad?

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