Suddenly it’s above 40 degrees, and we Duluthians go buck wild outside – forgetting that we are very white Scandinavians, Norwegians, Swedes and Germans. What does this mean? Lobster fest. The onslaught of terrible tan lines is upon us because sunscreen costs too much, and we are fearless, unfortunately.  Even though I tan and don’t burn, I too am subject to terrible tan lines. I even have some right now – too much sun in a tank top. I hate them, but I’ve come to fine very good way to easily deal with them.  Of course you can just cover them up. That’s the easy way out, but they won’t go away. My solution is to just embrace your god-awful tan lines. Wear skin revealing clothing and work it. The more you’re out and about, the more these tan lines will fade into an all over complete tan. Men, this means turning your farmers tan into a tank top tan into a hey-I went-swimming-all-day-and-now-I-have-no-tan-lines tan. Maybe if you had gone outside without sleeves, this wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place. It’s not too late to fix it, but if you go all June with a just a t-shirt on, there’s no going back. The same thing goes for your feet. I’m not saying wear sandals; just get your bare feet on. And Ladies, I know how bad tan can look with certain outfits. Maxi dresses aren’t as cute when you have two white lines on your shoulders, but those tank top tans will go away as soon as you’re at the beach for a few hours in your halter-top swim suit. But what if you’re an uneven tanner? Wear clothes that will help your legs or top tan to match the rest of your body – the cover up trick. My legs take a very long time to tan. I’m lucky if they’re not white. I suck it up and wear shorts with long sleeve shorts just so my upper half doesn’t look like I fake bronzed with my jeans on. Being that we have warm weather for only three months – it’s hard to think ahead when it comes to how our skin will react with the sun.
So plan ahead and take proper precautions. We Minnesotans DO need sunscreen. There has to be a statistic somewhere saying something about how we’re more likely to get skin cancer than someone who gets to sit on the beach year round. Protect your skin, but don’t be afraid to show it off when it’s fire engine red. Hiding won’t make it any better. Flaunt it; fix it. You’ll enjoy your summer even more when you’re not pestering about your tan lines.