I am pale and I would not spray tan. Tans scream "sun damage" to me, even if they're spray-on, so I don't find them appealing.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for all of the great feedback! Looks like a pretty good split between embracing my inner Casper the ghost and trying a spray tan. I do feel self conscious wearing dresses because of how pale my legs are.

If i did get a spray tan i worry my legs and arms wouldn’t match my face and neck if i didn’t do those. But I don’t want to do anything i regret.

With two kids in daycare I don’t have a ton of $$ to spend on this kind of stuff. I do get high quality skin care products. And I’ve decided to spend the money on laser hair treatments on my legs. With the dark hair /pale skin you can see the follicles right after i shave. Maybe I’ll do my underarms too. Then at least my pale legs will be silky smooth... haha.

The good news is that with your combo, the results will be fantastic. 15 years later and though there has been minor regrowth, no follicles show.

OP here, thanks for all of the great feedback! Looks like a pretty good split between embracing my inner Casper the ghost and trying a spray tan. I do feel self conscious wearing dresses because of how pale my legs are.

If i did get a spray tan i worry my legs and arms wouldn’t match my face and neck if i didn’t do those. But I don’t want to do anything i regret.

With two kids in daycare I don’t have a ton of $$ to spend on this kind of stuff. I do get high quality skin care products. And I’ve decided to spend the money on laser hair treatments on my legs. With the dark hair /pale skin you can see the follicles right after i shave. Maybe I’ll do my underarms too. Then at least my pale legs will be silky smooth... haha.

Anonymous wrote:Who cares if your legs are pale? What's the big deal?

You do you.

I don't know if this an issue for the OP specifically but cellulite is generally more visable on pale skin.

Darker skin/a tan also tends to have a slight slimming effect (ie if two women are the exact same size & are wearing the same exact style of bathing suit but one is significantly more pale than the other, the women who is not as pale will look a bit thinner).

Mystic tans (the kind where you stand in a booth) can work for a pale person as long as he or she chooses the lightest shade offered (& doesn't pull a Ross Gellar ). It's worth trying out, imo, but I would do a "trial run"during the winter or early spring when you can more easily hide most of the result under clothes in case you don't like it. If you ask the employees, there may be some way to avoid being sprayed the face & on your neck the first time since those are a lot harder to hide.

I wouldn't just go anywhere to get it done,though. The quality of the machines can differ quite a bit from place to place. Read the reviews on Yelp, Google, etc before choosing one (ideally you should also get some recommendations from people you actually know but this may not be possible if there are no other pale spray tanners in your circle ).

-a fellow demi-albino

Anonymous wrote:The people who say don't do it, like the other PP said, have never had a good, professional airbrush tan done.

I'm very fair, I've gotten spray tans before, and I always ask for the absolute lightest shade available. Afterwards I look fabulous - for me. To everyone else, I still look pale. So NO ONE would know that I had a spray tan! Even my family thought I just caught some sun. I loved it.

The people who say don't do it love their lily white skin tone.
I do, too.