Current Versus Ideal Skin Tones and Tanning Behaviors in Caucasian College Women

Objective: To explore tanning behaviors and whether a discrepancy between current and ideal skin tones exists.

Participants: The sample included 78 Caucasian women from a mid-sized midwestern university.

Methods: Data were collected in spring 2012 via a paper questionnaire.

Results: Sixty-two percent of the sample regularly engaged in salon tanning at least once per week, with an average frequency of 2.5 visits per week. Thirteen percent endorsed regularly tanning 4 or more times per week, and 26% reported visiting a tanning bed more than once in a 24-hour period. Ninety-four percent wished their current skin tone was darker, and ideal tone was significantly darker than current tone.

Conclusions: The data suggest that the young Caucasian women in this sample tend to be dissatisfied with their current skin tone to an extent that leads the majority of them to engage in risky, potentially cancer-causing behavior by either salon tanning or considering tanning in the future as time and finances become available.