Today I went out for the first time in over a decade without my fake tan

[Mollysocks]

I know it’s not an achievement and there are people with actual problems in life but I’ve been teased about my fair skin since I was small to the point where I haven’t been able to go without fake tan since I was about 16 (I’m 30).

As a pre-teen my P.E teacher used to constantly say I was pasty and looked ill and people often made comments such as “ghost legs” “Caspar the friendly ghost” “ooh your legs are blinding me” “Victorian child” “Vampire” “oooh you’re sooooo pale”. Once a man just stopped me in the street and asked “Why are you so pale?” I was constantly being told I should put on a bit of tan on to ‘take the shock off’ and to ‘look healthy’ that in my early 20s I got so addicted to being as dark as possible that I’d slap a few layers on and then I’d think I was still pale and I’d put on several layers more.

On holiday a few years back I was so self conscious on going on the beach with my natural skin that I honestly wasted so much of the holiday reapplying tan and it was so dark I honestly looked like a different race.

Anyway, recently I’ve been looking at women (of all ages) and noticed that I’m not seeing as many tans around. I also did a Pinterest search for pale skin and got inspired by celebs like Anya Taylor Joy, Elle Fanning and Elizabeth Debicki and realised how fabulous they look. I also hate that adverts shout that women should ‘love the skin they’re in’ (but only if you’re tanned etc. - flogs product) so, picturing Elizabeth Debicki in my head I have let my tan fade and today I went out in to the world, pale and tan free. No one said anything, no one looked at me with disgust, the world didn’t end and I felt so happy to be in my own skin.

Maybe it’s because I’m on my 30s now and more confident but I also don’t care if people do not think I look healthy. I am healthy.

Anyway, like I said, it’s a 1st world problem and not important with everything going on in the world right now, but if this maybe helps another woman feel confident to venture out in their natural skin(or natural hair) then it’s been worth this post.

I found myself to be interesting many years ago during my backpacking years.

I am very fair, with red hair, light eyes and freckles. Lots of freckles if I've been in the sun.

We were travelling and in a country where people are mainly dark eyed, dark haired and dark skinned. I was quite the topic of conversation and people would come up to me, ask if they could touch my arms, was I contagious (😂), could they feel my hair etc. Some thought I had scars from a burn, and did it hurt. Some said they didn't expect my skin to be so soft.

I think those days are long gone now with more travel happening, but it was quite an amazing eye opener for me.

It is an achievement. Well done for braving the world in your natural state ❤️ It can be really hard to do!

Very well done, lovely to hear a positive story ☺️

Same here. I've never had a tan, naturally or fake.

I am very pale as well and never wear fake tan.

I don't see the point of painting myself orange and I never think it looks good on other people.

I am proud of my pale skin.

That's great OP!

I definitely think the ultra tanned look (whether fake or real) is less popular these days, with our greater awarenss of sun damage. Staying untanned is becoming more common and of course many untanned people are pale. I was in the Mediterranean last year and the deeply bronzed people (as opposed to naturally darker skinned, I'm talking about the ones who'd really obviously put the hours in on the beach!) really stood out to me as looking unusual and like a bit of an 80s relic.

Well done you! And welcome to the club. I’m super pale with black hair and dark navy blue eyes and have spent my life being called vampire; Morticia; milkbottle; ghost; Beetlejuice (erm not quite right but ha ha, I guess).

Happily I have also spent my life loving my pale skin and giving not one single fuck about these ‘insults’. I also thank this attitude for avoiding the sun and reaching my mid 50s with barely a wrinkle.

Of course, the lack of wrinkles could be because of being a vampire. Who can say 😆😆

Well done you! I had to have a slightly stern conversation with my mum the other day, because my dsis had just bought a short dress, and mum had said (to me) it didn't look right with lots of white leg on show. I pointed out that times had changed, and women these days were not feeling pressured to give themselves skin cancer in the name of (a rather odd take on) beauty, and that pale was also fashionable now. Anyway a few days later, she bought herself some shorts for the first time in decades, and complimented me on my skirt (pale legs and all) and said rather sheepishly that she's getting used to it now! 😂

Well done OP. I'm seriously considering ditching the fake tan too. I'm so pale and it's my crutch for confidence I think. I am older than you but I follow this woman on IG and think she looks so classy with pale skin and no fake tan.

Your colouring sounds gorgeous. Shouldn’t you have been nicknamed Snow White?

@BreakfastAtMilliways funnily enough we used to act this book out as kids. No prizes for guessing who I played!

I'm naturally reddish blonde and very fair. With age I do tan a little bit - think creamy very pale tanned skin with freckles instead of blue tones skin. When we went to Bali, the local (brown skinned Indonesian) ladies loved my skin tone, it was apparently "just like a baby". Ha ha. Who cares anyway?

Ha! it would take about three bottles of fake tan to get me looking that dark!

Sorry for the cardinal sin of bumping up my own post but would just like to announce I am still fake tan free and am looking forward to another summer of not ruining my clothes and bedsheets and being confident in my natural skin.

I also thought that there may be others out there like me who are thinking about ditching the orange for this Summer but are unsure about it and hope this helps them somehow😊

I’m pale, a bit blotchy and tend to blush and get rashes so have always disliked my pale skin. So I know the feeling so well and congratulations!! How lovely to finally be able to relax in your own skin.

Hi @rivalsbinge I know what you mean, I get red flushes on my cheeks either side of my nose and tan helped hide this but I just use a bit of green correcting concealer under my foundation now and it does help.

I’m pale too!! Come join!!

Yay! Pale girl club 🎉

Thanks for bumping this.I’m glad to have read it. My lowest point came when a colleague commented on my skirt, but said it would look so much better if my skin was darker. I gave her quite a hard stare. I had a sun allergy. It’s gone now, but I still dont tan. On the plus side,I don’t have many wrinkles either.. I love natural skin, in all its variations, but I don’t find fake tan convincing. I’m also pleased to see more hair allowed to curl, wave or just do it’s thing.

I'm also incredibly pale, to the point where recently a few people saw a picture of me and thought I was wearing pale blue tights when it was my bare legs!

But I'm bare legged from this time of year till it gets cold, because I won't go brown if I don't have months of sun exposure, and generally people don't say anything. Some do though and I think it's so rude!

If I had a pound for every time my parents had said ‘you’d look better with a tan’…well done for ditching it.

Well done, it takes guts to kick away your crutch! People can say such horrible things, I often wonder if they are so dumb and insensitive that they are totally oblivious to how they affect the other person or if they are actually just mean spirited! I suspect the latter. We all need thicker skins!!

Thanks everyone. I nearly caved today. All my friends are fake tanning. Must resist.

I love this 🫶🏻
Good for you OP
I have been doing the same but with make up - I stopped caring when I turned 40

I just saw this in my profile. It’s a year on and I’m still fake tan free 🎉🥳