Farmers Tan

[Alice.Wonderland]

So I've always wore shirts that have sleeves that come to my elbows.  Over the years I've developed a serious farmers tan.  This seems to be very unnatural looking when I wear anything with shorter sleeves or even sleeveless.  Has anyone else overcome this problem?
Do you use fake tanner?
Or do you just take off your shirt outside and tan naturally?
I'm looking for a solution before the summer hits so I can't really tan naturally outside (it's way too cold!)

[kyril]

Wear long sleeves through the winter, and try to take really good care of the skin on your forearms - moisturize and exfoliate like crazy. It should lighten pretty substantially although it can take years to truly blend a long-term tan.

Consider going tanning, and wear heavy ~SPF50+ sunscreen on your forearms, but only a light ~SPF15 sunscreen on your upper arms and shoulders. You don't actually want to tan that area very much, just add a little bit of colour to help it blend.

Then in summer, make sure you always wear sunscreen on your arms, and over it wear one of those lotions with light-diffusing particles when you go sleeveless. They can really help even out skin tone. You can use a self-tanner to help even it out more, but make sure it's a natural-looking one, and make sure to blend it all the way down - they don't usually match your natural tan very well.

[erocse]

I had the same problem. I think what Kyril said are good suggestions. In the meantime you can use a little foundation on the lower part of your arm and hands to help them blend better.

   

   Hugs, Roxy

[Alice.Wonderland]

Thanks for the suggestions
I really appreciate it.

[Sharky]

They make shirts you can tan through.

[BridgetBby]

lol wtf??? who cares seriously, just let it fade..
and whats all this nonsense talk about foundation on ur arms.

[rejennyrated]

  BridgetBby - kindly moderate your tone. We do not permit the routine use of expletives even when skillfully concealed from the profanity filter.

Also telling someone to "get out of here", even in jest is inadvisable. It could be misinterpreted by some as an attack. I know that probably wasn't what you meant, but within the context of the rest of the post I felt it was pushing a bit too far.

Consider this a friendly but official warning. We try to uphold high standards on this forum.

Thank you 

[Eva Marie]

I have the same issue, but never noticed it until i took some pics of myself and saw that i had these dark tanned arms and pale legs LOL..... now i find it extremely annoying. Next summer i'll definitely be wearing sunscreen and log sleeved shirts. Kyrils advice sounds good too.

[BridgetBby]

BridgetBby - kindly moderate your tone. We do not permit the routine use of expletives even when skillfully concealed from the profanity filter.

Also telling someone to "get out of here", even in jest is inadvisable. It could be misinterpreted by some as an attack. I know that probably wasn't what you meant, but within the context of the rest of the post I felt it was pushing a bit too far.

Consider this a friendly but official warning. We try to uphold high standards on this forum.

Thank you 

lol.......

[V M]

I burn fairly easily but then it usually will turn tan... But I'm deathly afraid of getting skin cancer so in the summer I will usually keep most of my body covered and put sun block on my face and hands

As a result, I'll end up with tan face and hands and a nearly blinding olive toned white body 

[Battle_On]

I have a similar problem from all the time I had spent out playing tennis. While there is still a considerably noticable difference in the pigment tones on my arms they have started evening out. I just try to either keep the skin on my arms completely covered or exposed when possible.

[Cindy]

I got told off by my laser technician for not wearing 30+ screen all the time on any exposed flesh.  I think you may be better off trying to fade the lower arms rather than bronze the upper. I know the 'look' varies from country to country and definitely in age groups.

I have a similar problem, my legs are too untanned, and in summer, now down under, woman are wearing skirts whatever with no stockings etc, and my white legs look terrible. I have used a spray on tan and that looks good, but it needs practice to make it look OK.

I would be very hesitant of using UV tanning studios. Certainly from an Australian survey, and it may have been limited to SA. Few were calibrated, there were essentially no control of people who should never use UV, and of those that were OKish they really had no idea how much they received and there where little restrictions on how often they could be used. The down side is melanoma, a very nasty cancer that makes most other issues in your life rather insignificant.

Cindy

[VeronikaFTH]

Sun is a good thing to generally avoid. I try and stay out of it as much as possible, always have. While all of my more sun-loving friends are developing crow's feet and bad skin, I remain wrinkle-free at 37. :-) I prefer pale porcelain skin to tans anyway.

These days, I do spend much more time outdoors because of work, and it's entirely too hot to wear long sleeves. But, I usually wear hats, long pants, and at least 30+ sunblock on my arms whenever I am outside, this has minimized the farmer tan look.

If you are working outside, you can also get sun sleeves, sun blocking elastic material that you just slip over your arms. You still get the air circulation of short sleeve shirts that way.

Also, turn on the air conditioning in your car and roll the windows up in the summer. It may use more gasoline that way, but you'll be more comfortable, and the glass blocks a lot of UV. On the freeway the fuel mileage loss will not be as noticeable since your windows are up, aerodynamics are usually better.