No suntan. No fake tan. Four weeks
Emily WardI wanna challenge the idea that having a tan, equals feeling good or looking your best."
Could you ditch the suntan, for good?
Imagine summer, but without a suntan. Easy enough... or not? The End The Trend challenge tasks influencers to skip the suntan, the fake tan and the tan lines, for four weeks. Here, they will be sharing their experience of embracing their natural skin tone, over the summer months.
Last year saw some of Australia’s biggest influencers taking part. This year more influencers will enter their natural skin tone era by waving farewell to suntanning. This year we have iconic influencers Miranda Brady and Emily Ward onboard (and more influencers to come over the next few weeks). Miranda explains how taking on this challenge will mark a real shift in her attitude to her skin health:
“During my 20s I changed almost everything about how I eat, move and think about health, but tanning was the one habit I never questioned.”
While Emily Ward explains one of her motivations was “I want to feel confident in the skin I actually have.”
So what is the End The Trend Challenge?
In Australia, many of us have been conditioned to believe that a suntan makes us look and feel better. But the truth is, suntanning contributes to 2 in 3 Australians developing skin cancer in their lifetime. Dangerous hashtags, like #TanLines and #SunburntTanLines have been trending on social media. They highlight the extent that suntanning is glamourised in our culture - despite it being a visible sign of our skin in trauma.
Fake tanning can contribute to this culture too.
Our research shows that people who use fake tan aren’t any better at protecting their skin and some falsely believe it also offers some protection from the sun.
Let’s see how our influencers going so far
Emily Ward explains why she’s committed to this challenge: “It’s time we change the way we think about suntanning and skin health. Protecting our skin is beautiful, and I want to do my bit to help normalise sun-safe habits for everyone.”
It’s extremely powerful to hear our influencers reflect on their relationship to suntanning as they embrace this suntan-free experience. Miranda explains, “I used to think summer didn’t count unless I was a few shades darker.”
She goes on to talk about how beauty standards have normalised suntanned skin, “It’s crazy how loud our beauty standard can be if you don’t even feel like you’re listening to it.”
Join the Challenge
Australia, it's time to challenge these deeply held attitudes to suntanning. We encourage everyone to give up the suntan - be it real or fake - and embrace your natural skin tone.
It’s time to have a much-needed conversation, rethink the suntan and embrace the beauty of our natural skin tone. You can always get involved (all year round!). Tag us using the hashtag #endthetrendaus.