The term "suntan" has a cultural origin, arising from the color tan. Its origin lies in the Western culture of Europe when it became fashionable in the 20th century for people to seek a less pale complexion.
Renaissance artists glorified the young-a throwback to the times when fertility and beauty were linked. Paleness of skin was symbolic of a woman's inner purity. Rosy cheeks were considered a sign of sin and lust, as well as of common birth.
Fashionable middle class Europeans in the 16th century favored white skin against the tanned faces of the peasants. Elizabeth I of England herself painted shadowy veins on her face to augment the effects of translucent skin and wore white make-up on her face with white powder.
The 16th and 17th century aristocracy's efforts to achieve ashen white skin had catastrophic results. To achieve the very white faces, women applied white lead. This resulted in their skin becoming pockmarked, starting to rot and even death through lead poisoning.
In the 1700s, European women achieved a pale complexion by eating "Arsenic Complexion Wafers" which was actually made with the poison.
The 19th century saw an increasing emphasis on innocence and purity. This was epitomized by pale skin. Fire screens became increasingly popular as a means of preventing any redness of face from sitting by the fire.
In 19th century Western Europe, the upper social class used parasols, long sleeves and hats to avoid sun tanning effects.
It was after World War I that people changed their opinion on tanning. By then, sunshine was taken to be health-giving and a sun-tanned face beautiful and desirable.
In the 1920s, designer and fashion icon Coco Chanel popularized the idea of tanning. By taking in the sun, Chanel made suntans not only acceptable, but a symbol denoting a life of privilege and leisure. By the middle of the decade, women could be seen lounging on the beach without a hat to shield them from the sun's rays.
Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream by cooking cocoa butter in a granite coffee pot on his wife's stove, and then testing the batch on his own head. His invention was introduced as Coppertone Suntan Cream in 1944.
The first fake tan arrived in the Fifties was called Mam-Tan and contained a chemical found in sugar cane.
A sunburn is the result of your skin cells committing mass suicide to protect you from their damaged DNA, which can cause cancer.
Brazil were the first country to ban tanning beds followed by Australia.
Ten trillionths of your suntan comes from the light of other galaxies.
Blue whales can get a tan.
Elephants, rhinos, and freshly shorn sheep get sunburns very easily.
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| Sunbathing on a cruise ship, 2009. By giggel, CC |
Renaissance artists glorified the young-a throwback to the times when fertility and beauty were linked. Paleness of skin was symbolic of a woman's inner purity. Rosy cheeks were considered a sign of sin and lust, as well as of common birth.
Fashionable middle class Europeans in the 16th century favored white skin against the tanned faces of the peasants. Elizabeth I of England herself painted shadowy veins on her face to augment the effects of translucent skin and wore white make-up on her face with white powder.
The 16th and 17th century aristocracy's efforts to achieve ashen white skin had catastrophic results. To achieve the very white faces, women applied white lead. This resulted in their skin becoming pockmarked, starting to rot and even death through lead poisoning.
In the 1700s, European women achieved a pale complexion by eating "Arsenic Complexion Wafers" which was actually made with the poison.
The 19th century saw an increasing emphasis on innocence and purity. This was epitomized by pale skin. Fire screens became increasingly popular as a means of preventing any redness of face from sitting by the fire.
In 19th century Western Europe, the upper social class used parasols, long sleeves and hats to avoid sun tanning effects.
 |
| La promenade (1875) by Claude Monet. |
It was after World War I that people changed their opinion on tanning. By then, sunshine was taken to be health-giving and a sun-tanned face beautiful and desirable.
In the 1920s, designer and fashion icon Coco Chanel popularized the idea of tanning. By taking in the sun, Chanel made suntans not only acceptable, but a symbol denoting a life of privilege and leisure. By the middle of the decade, women could be seen lounging on the beach without a hat to shield them from the sun's rays.
Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream by cooking cocoa butter in a granite coffee pot on his wife's stove, and then testing the batch on his own head. His invention was introduced as Coppertone Suntan Cream in 1944.
 |
| Original Coppertone ad |
The first fake tan arrived in the Fifties was called Mam-Tan and contained a chemical found in sugar cane.
A sunburn is the result of your skin cells committing mass suicide to protect you from their damaged DNA, which can cause cancer.
Brazil were the first country to ban tanning beds followed by Australia.
Ten trillionths of your suntan comes from the light of other galaxies.
Blue whales can get a tan.
Elephants, rhinos, and freshly shorn sheep get sunburns very easily.
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