Saturday, December 6, 2008

My Hijab Tan


My trainer decided to take the workout outdoors today in light of the nice weather. I wish I knew beforehand so I could have been better prepared for pilates in the bright sun and brought a bottle or 2 of sunblock....and some oversized sunglasses.

I like being tan, I think it look it better on me...I think a little bit of color looks better on everyone in general; however, what I really don't like is my Hijab tan. This is a chronic problem that many hijabi girls suffer from which means that the front part of your face, hands, and feet are about 5 shades (in my case 10) darker than the rest of you.

When my first cousin to get married decided to have a gender segregated ceremony a couple years ago I wanted to take full advantage of not being covered at the party. So I decided the most effective thing to do about my hijab tan is tan the rest of me to reach tanning equilibrium. I signed up with a tanning salon where I would sit in a tanning bed with hands feet and face covered. After 2 sessions I gave up on that previously genious idea because I realized the difference was very subtle each time. I would need like 20 tans at least to get to the goal while increasing my risk of skin cancer exponentially.

I had it under control for a while but then Egypt this summer brought it back full force. So unless I decide to move to Alaska-it's a lose-lose situation.

So how do you deal with your hijab tan?

5 comments:

Waed S. said...

I etshammas on our balkona bel sef so that I reach tanning equilibrium while building up my bones with some vit D
I also use some sunblock , but I hate it ! it makes ur face shiny and so u have to apply it some time before going out which is sth I forget to do :S
u can try to use some foundation or base makeup thingy to hide the color in parties , though i never did it coz well, I don't care lol

Anonymous said...

hijab tan used to be a major problem for me before i started using sunblock.. not that sunblock has totally solved the problem, but it definitely did lessen it.
yeah, solving the problem completely is a lose-lose case and that's why i no longer care!

Anonymous said...

my friend who also wears a hijab uses the loreal sunblock 50+ spf it's like anti-tan anti darkening for the face ya3ni if you if sit 3a wij el shams you won't get tan even if you wanted it says xxl or something look for it

Waed S. said...

ti Kol 3am w enti b kheir =)

Hani Obaid said...

I never thought about it. Who knew there'd be an advantage to niqab over hijab.

If it makes you feel better, I get a hat tan in the summer!