Pale and uninteresting...

[Tolkienista]

I'm in my early 60s and have always struggled with my paleness, freckles and inability to show my body in this intense heat. I'm slim and active but just feel I'd rather partially cover up than expose my very pale, freckled body. I know there's heaps of fake tans out there, but I've never gone down that road, feeling I shouldn't hide behind a fake tan. Ironically I've been to Australia four times and the one thing that stood out to me was the number of women covering themselves up against the intense sun to avoid sun damage.

I'm much happier in every other season when I can cover up, but summer and I just don't make great partners. Anyone else out there pale and happy with their lot?

I am blue/white type of pale, and so I do shove a bit of fake tan around on the bits that show (cleavage, arms, legs if hot) about once every week or two weeks, I don't look brown but I don't look glow in the dark white either. It takes about 10 min. I think being teased a lot as a child about my milk-bottle white legs did make me a bit self-conscious about them, so this is my easy solution. I don't think I'm 'hiding' particularly, any more than putting on mascara is 'hiding' my pale lashes- I don't think there's any obligation to do either, but I prefer to do what makes me feel good and the least self-conscious. I do go out though without fake tan and make-up quite often now, as I care far less than I used to (fifties).

I’m pale and happy with it. I’ve probably saved myself lots of UV damage wearing sunscreen and covering up over the years. Fake tan doesn’t get me out of the pale category so I don’t bother with it.

I honestly don’t think it matters.

I'm 41 and in the last few years I've never bordered tanning.

I wear summer linen long sleeve shirts etc. and a lot of sun screen on my face. Tried fake tan in my early twenties but definitely not interested in it now.
As PP I really don't think it matters. We just need more people out and about embracing their 'pale- ness'.

I have that lovely pale corn beef type colouring. I burn at the drop of a hat and have a permanently red sun damaged décolletage which looks nice and patchy. Also, because I'm so pale any insect bites, small bruises, slight shaving rashes etc. really stand out. I tend to cover up because;
A) I can't be bothered smothering on the sunblock constantly
B) I feel self conscious with my gleaming white legs on show (would hate to confuse any animals' navigational systems)
C) I look less scruffy
D) Fake tan is a PITA to apply and goes all patchy within days, especially if swimming on holiday.

My other tip is if you are pale is to wear lovely pale colours- white, beige, cream, it looks really flattering I think and I always feel more summery and wafty in a linen shirt over a little tank top. There's no need to expose lots of skin if you don't want to, you can still be cool as long as stuff isn't tight.

I'm pale and don't fake tan. I feel actually cooler not exposing too much skin and the beauty is it means I don't have to wear as much sunblock. Don't bother fake tanning, don't see why I should be expected to. I wear hats too because I've got blonde hair and my scalp has become irritated in the sun before.

Pale IS beautiful! I truly envy people with lovely pale skin especially with freckles I think it's beautiful.

Thanks for all your messages, really appreciate your time in writing them and its lovely to hear from fellow fair skinned women. I think what prompted me to write this post was that today it hit 30°C and everyone I worked with looked so lovely in their knee length dresses with equally lovely tanned skin, maybe some of them had fake tanned I don't know, but I was easily the palest of the bunch.

Now I feel I'm amongst friends.......

I'd like to join please!

Late 30s here, very pale with the same joyous corned-beefy-ness at times, and although slim, blessed with chubby knees

I spent my teens / twenties / early thirties feeling painfully self conscious from June - August, sweating in trousers while everyone else wafted around in tiny skirts / hot pants etc, wondering how on earth they weren't concerned about marks / thread veins / cellulite etc. Then I simultaneously began to give far fewer f**ks about what people thought, and found an excellent gradual tanner to take away the blue glare. Now legs out, cooler, and have found a summer clothing niche that I'm comfortable with.

I feel your pain!

I've blue/white skin and I get this! I do fake tan but it's not particularly because I want to look like I have a tan, it's more to do with evening everything out: light brown freckly arms, pink décolletage, and the rest of me is milk bottle white 😂

I use a tanner that you put on and wash off after two hours so no marks on the bedsheets.

I wish I could embrace my translucent self but like a pp said, if you get an insect bite or you have a scar or any tiny imperfection, it stands out like a sore thumb!

I am very pale and I have always been proud of it! I have never understood the appeal of fake tan. It always look orange, patchy or cheap to me...

It has never bothered me to be pale and that bothers other people they are very welcome look at someone else.

I always wear sunblock and I try not to expose too mush skin but I still wear dresses and tops with short sleeves.

I really would not worry about your skin. Just enjoy being yourself.

Embrace it! I used to religiously use fake tan, until one day I got over the time and the mess. I still occasionally use it for big or special events.

I'm very pale and just rock it now. As a side note, being a very pale Aussie I'm one of the people who you saw covered up (slip on a shirt/slop on sunscreen/slap on a hat). Because I've always actively had to protect myself from the sun, my skin is ageing incredible well, especially compared to my friends. When I meet someone new, they think I'm still in my twenties vs mid thirties actual age. So, I'll take my pale skin for the win!

I'm going to bed with a smile on my face after reading everyone's lovely personal comments and I'm currently embracing my fair/freckled skin much more than I anticipated after a day surrounded by tanned skin. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Like other posters, I’m corn beef pale and have permanent red marks around my neckline and shoulders from when I was younger. I’ll admit I do cover up a bit more up top now to hide the red patches, but in this heat I don’t care how pale my legs are. I’ve given up giving fucks how I look at 42. I mean, I prefer to wear make up and straighten my hair and look good, but I care a lot less now if I go out without make up and looking not my best.

Life is too short.

I'm of the school of thought that it's better to emphasise what you have rather than trying to create what you lack. Fake tan on very pale skin is generally unconvincing, takes a lot of work and begins to get patchy after three days. Who can be bothered with that. I very much embrace my paleness.

Plus I'm not into this thing of wearing as few clothes as possible just because it's hot out. If you go abroad, it's the tourists rather than the locals who have the skimpy summer clothes on. I love maxi skirts with a nice slit so my lovely pale legs can pop out, maxi dresses etc. Nothing too fitted, nothing too billowy.

Just had the annual sunscreen meltdown. Purchased a new one. Son asked if damaging to the environment. Cue rabbit hole of looking up all the components of sunscreen. Always looking for the elusive one with lovely ingredients which doesn't melt off in the heat and isn't like trying to spread thick white icing over the skin which is also affordable.

Upshot is the Malibu all day spray got donated to the food bank and have ordered Ultrasun Sports gel.

So I guess that's a wrap for my post. Loved reading all the positivity about embracing the skin you're born with rather than faking it with a shed load of fake tan. I guess we'll never have to worry about ageing weathered leathery skin from topping up a sun tan every time the sun is out and being a slave to tanning.

Thank you for all your comments........so it's team natural for me, way to go.

I'm pale and always cover up in the sun. I cannot stand the feel of cooking flesh.

I'm pale with freckles and I put sun cream on and moisturise but I can't be bothered with fake tan. I feel like the colour of my skin is fine just the way it is.

I'm a lovely colour OP. Natural olive and mostly tanned ( life long sun worshipper until seeing the light too late in the day.)
I have to cover up a lot of me too because I'm wrinkly and leathery. I bet your skin is amazing, like porcelain. If i were you I'd not be covering up.

I have to cover up a lot of me too because I'm wrinkly and leathery. I bet your skin is amazing, like porcelain. If i were you I'd not be covering up.

Oh the irony!😂 The skin stays 'amazing' because it is covered up!!! (Outside at least!😉)

Yes. I had worked that one out! Just wanted to give the other side, that pale is both sensible and beautiful.

😂

i wore a workout vest on a walk yesterday, with shorts.

I am sadly burned and it isn't nice or pleasant. I had no idea the weather would get that hot , I had dressed in a rush and not thought to wear my lotion.

It is a strange thing in Britain that we are so desperate to force ourselves into such dangers. I love the idea of a sea breeze and the whole chilled out summer vibe but it doesnt have to mean being burned or practically naked.

On the one hand we are obsessed with avoiding ageing of the skin.
On the other we are obsessed with wishing it was tanned.

Fake tan of any sort wears off within days, and that's IF it doesnt go on streaky in the first place and you have to scrub it all off and start again. It isnt as simple as reapplying every few days either, as it wears off in different places first, like the back of knees, and goes patchy. It's a lot of maintenance even if cheap.

I would suggest gentle exposure of the skin through the year will weather/tan it more naturally than getting a tan in summer so violently. My mum and sister had this due to being passionate gardeners - but it will definitely weather your face skin too!
You CAN NOT have both.

We have to rethink how we wish to clothe ourselves in summer. Our summers are violently hot and humid when they come, and many people are going about like angry lobsters We also need to rethink why we culturally despise our natural skin tone so much (if we are white).

Words such as 'lily white, unhealthy, ugly, ghostlike, pallid, ill, beached whale, disgusting, washed out, gross, glow in the dark, deathly, blotchy, mottled, greying, milk bottle' are commonly used words on MN to describe pale skin tones. They are not used in a positive way.

We rarely describe it as 'soft, varied, pretty, angelic, creamy, lovely, porcelain, feather white, glowing, healthy, normal, subtle, delicate', words which would have cultural connotations of positivity, largely.

All skin tones need love, acceptance and representation, and not just some faux-fashion moment in Marie Claire. Uuugh.

Also, I will admit that when searching for new shorts, most of the models (m&s, H&M, etc used black or darker skinned ladies in the images. When one very place white girl showed up in a pair of jersey sports shorts I clicked off quickly and thought 'no way'.
Why?
Her legs were 'milk bottle pale', and I am culturally brainwashed to perceive this as something to avoid. I admit this with shame because it is unconscious and pretty much insidious at this point with all of us (white women), and the cynic in me wonders if this is precisely WHY darker models are used more in uk high street images during summer seasons, rather than for reasons of equality. But that is a very cynical outlook, I would love to be wrong!