While shopping for that sunless tanning product or walking into an indoor tanning salon for your regular tanning session, has it ever crossed your mind why you want to be tan? Where did this desire come from? Why do you think being tan makes you feel younger and more beautiful? What is it about tanning that has made it so popular for decades that it has spurred the creation of a $5 billion dollar industry?
Well, the answer actually lies in our natural instinct to mate and reproduce healthy offspring. Yes, you might think that it may be absurd and that it does not relate to you in any way. You’re thinking that you don’t even want kids right now and you’re not looking to get married. But psychologists have proven that: ONE, a tan makes you feel and look healthier as it connotes activity, ie you have participated in some form of athletic activity in the sun or been to the beach; TWO, it makes you feel and look beautiful as a tanned complexion conceals blemishes and other skin imperfections; and THREE, makes you look and feel younger by hiding age spots and wrinkles. All three of these benefits you get from tanning come from one thing. And is that the tan makes you feel attractive.
Now, where does the need to feel attractive come from? It stems from the innate desire of humans to find the perfect mate and procreate. Have you ever wondered why we’re not attracted to people who don’t look healthy? It is simply because we tend to look for a healthy partner, one who can give us healthy sons and/or daughters. This is a biological instinct and has nothing to do with your specific types or that you have chosen to remain single all your life. It is simply built into all of us to look for a healthy partner.
Now, generally a pale complexion connotes some kind of illness. Keep in mind the frequently asked question: “You look pale, do you feel good?” In contrast to this, a tanned complexion can elicit comments like “Wow, you look great! Where did you take a vacation?” or “You look healthy; good for you.” This is the basic reason why people want to have that tanned complexion. They want to look healthy in order to attract equally healthy partners. Now, when a pale complexion was considered healthy and beautiful, tanning was avoided. Now, thanks to Coco Chanel, tanning has come to denote health, youth, beauty and being fashionable, qualities that make people feel attractive. Therefore, people have evolved to accommodate and nurture this desire to tan.
