50 Tanning Quotes For That Golden Look

By Clifton Sankofa | Published August 1, 2023

If you have ever wondered about the history of tanning, check out our tanning quotes.

Tanning is a complicated topic for some people.

Learn more about this interesting phenomenon with the quotes below.

What is tanning?

Tanning is the practice of darkening the skin.

People use the sun, tanning beds, or tanning spray to darken their skin.

Some people even get melanin injections under their skin to maintain a darker look.

Check out these tanning facts:

In 2010, the tanning bed industry grossed over 2.6 billion dollars.
Artificial sources from tanning beds are known to be cancer-causing.
70% of people who go to tanning salons are white females between 16 to 29 years old.

The complicated history of tanning

Tanning has a complicated past, and the present culture of tanning also has problematic aspects.

It is impossible to address this topic from any one point of view, so let’s discuss it via region and culture.

In cultures across the globe, laborers are sometimes looked down upon.

Historically, in the Western world and some parts of the East, pale skin was often desired because a tan showed you did manual labor outdoors.

Pale skin was the preferred beauty aesthetic in Greek, Roman, and Elizabethian cultures of the past, albeit for different reasons.

The Greeks and Romans found ivory skin pleasing

The Greeks and Romans thought pale skin was beautiful.

Much of Western culture is founded on Greek and Roman principles.

Countries like England and France preferred pale skin for other reasons.

During the reign of King Louis XIV, French society was encouraged to stay out of the sun and use whitening makeup.

These chalky white cosmetics were used to cover up smallpox scars.

While many cultures have grown from these perceptions, there are others where tanning remains in vogue.

Tanning and the Victorian Era

During the Victorian era, people were known to carry parasols and umbrellas or wear hats to keep their skin white.

Many of the European lightening creams manufactured during this time contained lead and other poisonous ingredients.

Tanning in the twentieth century

In the early twentieth century, sunshine was used to cure all sorts of diseases, such as rickets, depression, and gout.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, some beauty aesthetics began to change.

By the twentieth century, the “surfin’ sixties” were here, and tanning became a national craze.

Today tanning is a billion-dollar industry that continues to grow.

To learn more, check out our tanning quotes below.

Short tanning quotes about the perfect bronze

Let’s get started with these short and sweet tanning quotes.

1. “I’ll get a spray tan.” — Hillary Scott

2. “You feel more sexy when you’re tan” — Nicole Polizzi

3. “I used to spray tan a lot when I was a teenager.” — Emma Stone

4. “And it’s sunshine, blue eyes, tan lines, slow tide.” — Jake Owen

5. “McCain would never put a 10 percent tax on tanning.” — Nicole Polizzi

6. “I took part in the sun-tanning Olympics. I just got bronze.” — Tim Vine

7. “I don’t go to a tanning bed, and I get bored when I lay out.” — Taylor Swift

8. “Self-tanning lotion always streaks and looks kind of crazy.” — Brittany Snow

9. “I’ll quit tanning when the satchel handle grows out of my back.” — Kelly Ripa

10. “The healthcare reform bill now includes a tanning booth tax of 10 percent.” — Jay Leno

The top tanning quotes about sunkissed skin

Some people love the sun, others love the tanning bad, and there is spray tan for the rest.

11. “I’m not a tanning bed person at all.” — Hillary Scott

12. “I am a huge fan of tanning products.” — Kim Kardashian

13. “I use fake tan myself with a self-tanning spray.” — Lisa Snowdon

14. “People go tanning because they like to feel tan.” — Nicole Polizzi

15. “Surfing is not my strong point. And I don’t really have a tan.” — Lori Loughlin

16. “Tanning is tricky, because a lot of people just look orange.” — Laura Linney

17. “Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never return.” — Island Company

18. “Sometimes I get tan, but I don’t really think about it very much.” — Taylor Swift

19. “I don’t go tanning anymore because Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning.” — Nicole Polizzi

20. “I love the sun but don’t have the time to get a good tan and keep it year-round.” — Kim Kardashian

The best tanning quotes about that year-round glow

Check out these interesting quotes about tanning.

21. “I go to the tanning place, the one that sprays you with color.” — Lori Loughlin

22. “How silly to fuss with artificial tanning salons and lotions and lights when the Son is out!” — Peter Kreeft

23. “If I need a quick fix, I get a spray tan, though it’s never a good idea for me with my fair skin.” — Brittany Snow

24. “Sometimes I’ve sat outside, not to tan, but as a result of that, I ended up tanning slightly.” — Julian Casablancas

25. “All you’d need is a Bible, a tanning bed, and some holy water to send us shivering to our dooms.” — Jeaniene Frost

26. “In a thousand years, archeologists will dig up tanning beds and think we fried people as punishment.” — Olivia Wilde

27. “I went through a period when I was about 19 where I’d go tanning with my boyfriend in tanning beds.” — Brittany Snow

28. “In high school, it seemed like everybody cared about being tan all year round, but I haven’t really thought about it since then.” — Taylor Swift

29. “I mean a downright bumpkin dandy; a fellow that, in the dog days of summer, will mow his two acres in buckskin gloves for fear of tanning his hands.” — Herman Melville

30. “All those thick swatches of lifeless strands clustering lankly round ladies’ necks! Like orange tanning spray, this is a fashion fad that should be put out of its misery.” — Camille Paglia

Famous tanning quotes to live by

Here are some insightful observations about tanning.

31. “My skin looks naturally sun-kissed. I don’t need a tan.” ― Dionne

32. “Because tanning and steroids are only a problem if you plan to live a long time.” — Chuck Palahniuk

33. “It’s just a lifestyle, it’s being Italian, it’s representing, family, friends, tanning, gel, everything.” — Pauly D

34. “And I don’t want to hear any lectures about how bad tanning is for you. That’s my vice. Everybody gets one.” — Charlaine Harris

35. “I’m pretty pale. In high school, I was insecure and thought it’d be cool to go to a tanning bed. Now I just let it look the way it looks.” — Taylor Swift

36. “I changed my direction and opened up a skin-care company; healthy tanning, skin-care products and rejuvenation and all of that, and it took off.” — Drew Waters

37. “In the very aspect of those primitive and rugged trees there was, methinks, a tanning principle which hardened and consolidated the fibers of men’s thoughts.” — Henry David Thoreau

38. “Someone with a figure like Jennifer Aniston has a trainer, a cook spinning out some version of the latest diet, and probably a stop at the tanning salon.” — Amanda Peet

39. “I don’t look like a desert person because I stay indoors most of the day and fool around at night. That’s what the desert animals do; they don’t have a tan either. ” — Don Van Vliet

40. “What’s left out there is a great deal of shrapnel and a whole bunch of cinders, one of which is, fortunately, still hot enough and close enough to be good for tanning.” — Barbara Ehrenreich

Tanning quotes and sayings about life

Some people feel life is like a tanning bed full of warmth and bright lights.

41. “I love spray-tanning so much.” — Emma Stone

42. “My spray-tan woman is amazing.” — Christine Teigen

43. “I’m gonna get a spray tan and make red-velvet cupcakes.” — Flynn Meaney

44. “The last time I got spray-tanned was for the Golden Globes.” — Emma Stone

45. “I never wear pink clothes or spray tan, and I never wore heels to school.” — Carly Chaikin

46. “The second you dye your hair blond and get a spray tan, people treat you as if you’re a bit stupider and happier.” — Anna Paquin

47. “She came through the door the moment my beer arrived. Fortyish, salon-blonde, spray tan, fake boobs, and real diamonds. ” — C.I. Dennis

48. “Calling MacKenzie a mean girl is an understatement. She’s a cobra with hoop earrings, blond hair extensions, and a spray-on tan.” — Rachel Renee Russell

49. “I just went to work for a vampire, was scared by a spider, and got knocked down by a tanning bomb. And that’s just my day, not my week.” — Rachel Caine

50. “Unfortunately, my army consists of one unreliable criminal, one girl with a disability, and one incredibly foolish young vampire with a tanning issue.” — Rachel Caine