Help! How to get rid of natural tan

[Cluckycluck]

I'm super pale and usually never tan, I just go red then back to pasty white. Weirdly this year I'm finding I'm getting tanned and I hate it. I use SPF 50 religiously but I've managed to miss a few areas so now I have tan lines. I'm desperate to get rid of the tan lines, is there any way to help them fade quickly?

I’m half Indian, half Romany, so tanning in the sun is unavoidable but I have found using retinol at night and spf 110 during the day keeps it looking more golden-brown than burned-brown.

If I wore factor 15 I would be able to spend about 4 mins outside
I use 50, all year round on my face and when the UV is high on my body. And yes, I take vitamin d as I'm deficient because I work FT in an office with no natural light

Put your factor 50 everywhere except the white bits?

I am not a skin scientist. However, humans have lived on the third planet from the sun for around 100,000 years -- all but the last 20 years without factor 50. I think the answer is moderation. Stay out of the midday sun, wear a hat if possible (our ancestors did). We need sunlight, and it makes most people healthier... but in excess it causes skin cancer/disease which has become a problem now we all expect to live to 80+.

I am of Mediterranean extraction and quite olive skinned, so I don't burn in the sun like a person of Celtic extraction would. I am still quite cautious about sun exposure, but I also look better with a bit of a tan.

I don’t u detest and all this fear around tanning. Of course, use sun screen etc. to avoid skin cancer but the scaremongering is on a par with Covid.

I lived on the equator for 17 years, always wore factor 15 and went in the sun a lot. I’ve had my skin analysed twice and I don’t have any sun damage on my skin. I’ve never used SPF under my makeup snd I am really fair skinned.

Also, my DH’s relatives are all from the Mediterranean. Non of them look aged or like a wrinkly handbag. In fact they age better.

All this stay out the sun, it’ll age you is bollocks. A lot of it has to do with your genes. Most people mistake those around me as older and I’m the one who has spent years in the sun.

Did you buy your factor 50 this year? Suncream stops working as it ages… so if it’s been around for a few years it’s really just tanning oil now.

[quote Justilou1]@Palavah - I don’t know where you are getting the idea that a tan is natural protection against sun damage, but I think you need to do your research.

www.thehealthy.com/skin-health/sun/sunburn-myths-damaging-skin/[/quote]
I don't know where you got the idea that I said it was, but I think you need to read my post again.

@XingMing

I think the sun’s rays are getting stronger as we are killing our ozone layer and fucking up the earth with all our pollution! So may have been less of an issue historically

I think factor spf 50 is fine. I know people who use it a face cream in the winter, age 30, to reduce the skin aging process. Which is the only that reduce skin damage

Agree skin aging is multiple factors like skin colour, genetic but also a really important factor is sun exposure. If you want to reduce aging of skin then spf cover is important and reducing sun exposure to skin too.

As we get older, we develop darker skin like liver spots. They tend to stay with age

@borntobequiet

Embrace your tan. It’s a natural protection and it will make you look healthier. Ditch the SPF 50 and use 15 if you have to. Going around in the chemical equivalent of a paper bag over your head is a fad that I hope will pass soon.

What nonsense! A tan is skin damage and might look healthier due to our current societal norms but it isn’t healthier your skin is damaged!

Also, not sure why there’s comments about pale skin = vitamin D deficiency. Pale skin absorbs more Vitamin D than darker skin it’s why naturally dark skin needs more exposure to sunlight than light skin and why people living in colder climates with darker skin often have D deficiencies.

@awaywiththefae

Also, not sure why there’s comments about pale skin = vitamin D deficiency.

My comment about vit D was because OP said they use factor 50 throughout the whole year.

Factor 50 would stop vit D being absorbed.

[quote User5827372728]@awaywiththefae

Also, not sure why there’s comments about pale skin = vitamin D deficiency.

My comment about vit D was because OP said they use factor 50 throughout the whole year.

Factor 50 would stop vit D being absorbed.[/quote]
Not necessarily, it seems science can’t agree on this and that factor 50 only blocks ~98% of UV rats AZ bd that 2% could be enough exposure to produce all the vitamin D your body needs.

UV rays and that*

(I even changed rats to rays before I posted 🤦🏻‍♀️ whyyyy)

Your tan will fade as soon as the sun goes away. Don't worry I'm sore that won't be long. Mine tends to fall off on the plane back from holiday. The only way you can completely avoid tanning is to keep completely covered as it's a natural process. Dd still goes deep brown even with regular factor 50. ( which one stopped using now as read many times that 30 is more suitable for Uk)

@Cluckycluck

Thanks all!

I'm incredibly sun sensitive so spf 50 almost all year round if I'm outside is a must for me. I've never developed a tan before so I'm perplexed as to why all of a sudden its started happening. I wouldn't usually be as bother but I have a couple of events coming up in the next couple and tan lines everywhere are going to look terrible. I was hoping to get rid of them for those but maybe I need to look at some kind of fake take to even out.

Could be a hormone change. That can affect tanning.

OP are you taking any new medication or anything hormonal? Some medications can increase skin photo sensitivity.

use an umbrella for shade when you are out and about ☂️☀️

I'm very sensitive to sun too, and also am on medication that makes it worse, so I use factor 50 too. It literally takes a few minutes for me to burn.

OP if it's events coming up soon I think you'll have to fake tan the white bits instead of trying to get rid of the tan. Probably best thing is one of the ones that just washes off, so you can see what you're getting and blend it more easily. Spray on tights/air brush legs type of thing?

I'd worry with the normal fake tan that you put on and it develops you'll have orange stripes that won't come off and you'll be back to desperate exfoliating!

OP there’s a product made by BY Terry called Tea to Tan and it’s a kind of tan makeup that washes off. You can apply it with a fat brush and you can blend it out and vary the amount you use. Might be worth looking it up to see if it’s suitable for you.

I could post a photo of my dads ear following his latest skin cancer removal but it’s personal and gruesome

For those saying a tan is healthy , give your head a shake - for many it’s ok and won’t cause cancer but for fair skinned people it’s very dangerous indeed to over expose

Wear a wide brimmed hat. Do not exfoliate every day, it will make your skin more sensitive and likely to burn. Sun cream and after sun. Stay out of the sun completely between 11-3.

Eat oranges and water melon, culturally/anecdotally this is supposed to help the skin after sun/ promote a less tanned complexion. Not sure how much science would back that up but can’t hurt, and cold melon in hot weather is one of life’s small joys.

Chemical exfoliators such as AHAs BHAs or retinol products speed up the skins turnover. Might be worth looking into that.

@rantymcrantface66 Oh can it? That's interesting as I am having some hormonal issues at the moment.

@Faranth I do have a couple of events coming up so it might be that I have to resort to body makeup or even a spray tan just to even up.

Toothpaste on a mitt