To Tan or Not to Tan: Beauty Standards and Complexion

This being said, it’s a long accepted fact that intense UV exposure is dangerous and increases the risk of melanoma, yet somehow many societies today can’t seem to get rid of their tanning crazes. With feeds flooded with tanning tips and “base tan” hacks, we can’t help but wonder: why is a practice that’s known to damage our DNA still such a popular beauty standard? 

Tanning has a complex history in the United States. American beauty standards often uplift a darker complexion on white individuals, reflecting a contradiction when white individuals are praised for achieving a tan, while people with naturally darker skin tones continue to face colorist and racist bias. This summer trend is so ingrained in American beauty standards that it seems as if it’s always been the norm, yet historically, this isn’t true.

Tanning in Western society was mainly brought into the picture because of celebrity influenced fashion trends. Tanning’s popularity can be most recognizably traced back to Coco Chanel in the 1920s. Inspired by consumers’ envy of Coco’s smooth caramel complexion, Jean Patou introduced the first tanning oil, named Huile de Chaldée, in 1928. After the tanning craze spiraled into an international beauty standard, Friedrich Wolff invented the first tanning device in 1970. With avid demand for a darker summer complexion and Wolff’s innovative invention combined, the tanning industry took off, populating itself throughout the world, most notably in the United States. According to IBISWorld, there are somewhere around 18,200 tanning salons across America. Since Wolff’s invention, scientists have discovered that, although society views tanning as conventionally desirable, it carries with it a multitude of dangerous side effects. 

While UV damage is commonly known to cause damage, many are still naive to the effects. This is due, in part, to misconceptions surrounding the health aspects of tanning. One notable one is the idea of getting a ‘base tan’, prior to prolonged UV exposure to limit damage. Science shows, however, that this can be equally damaging. In addition to skin cancer risk, UV exposure can cause other problems, too. It can cause blindness, and weakening to the immune system, consequences that are not usually attributed with sun damage. 

Tanning is a cultural phenomenon: While some cultures idolize being tan, others view it as entirely negative. Many cultures avoid getting tan, normalizing paler skin tones in the summer as conventionally attractive. This is due to many factors, such as a desire not to appear aged, or a desire not to appear dark. This complexity creates a web of beauty standards that are objectively difficult to navigate. On their website Drops of Ink, student writers Sarah Wuh and Zahraa Patel concisely explained that “those who fall cleanly into one culture might be unaware that it’s hard to feel beautiful when inundated with both Asian and American beauty standards.”

Across many cultures, tanning has a double standard. While it can be seen as beautiful on some, it can be equally criticized on others. This trend can be seen everywhere, from standards of beauty to media representation. Classism is another factor contributing to the stigma surrounding getting tan; many associate being tan with lower socioeconomic status and outdoor labor, and avoid tanning out of a desire to appear more affluent.

This is not to say that colorist aspects of tanning are limited to cultures that value staying pale — colorism is a problem that exists everywhere. Even in cultures where tanning is a common beauty standard, like the US, colorism is still a problem. Further, the idolization of getting tan is ironic in a society that often looks down at people for having dark skin. 

The tanning craze’s roots may be in fashion, but the societal and health impacts it causes are much bigger. It reveals troubling double standards when we examine who tans are praised on, or look into the real reasons why people do or don’t want to tan. Between the irreversible DNA damage, and the reinforcement of colorist beauty ideals it is associated with, it is clear that society needs to rethink why it holds so much power.