How to PREVENT Tanning in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

So I started playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf in the second week of September, and have been addicted ever since. Michael got it for me because he wanted to give me a way to escape my thoughts, relieve stress, and just… ya know, chill. Well, he says that, ever since I started playing it, I’ve been more “me,” so I guess it’s working. I do feel kind of better; I just get so excited about everything going on in this game, I stop thinking about my worries.

BUT… but… okay, I’m paler than a newborn Caucasian baby’s ass, so I like to make my characters pale. I didn’t know about the questions in the beginning determining your appearance, but I lucked out with pink pigtails. My eyes are a bit… soulless… but anyway… I didn’t think about ethnicity choices like you get in Pokémon X/Y because… I’m always pale! Welp, little did I know… YOU CAN TAN IN THIS GAME.

According to Liquefy’s FAQ (http://www.gamefaqs.com/3ds/997811-animal-crossing-new-leaf/faqs/65246), “July 16 to September 15 – Tanning Season. Your player can tan while playing outside at least 15 minutes between 10am and 5pm, if it is not raining (and your player is not holding an umbrella or wearing an item that prevents tanning). There are seven stages to the tanning, leading to a shade close to that of the darkest fur on [Tom Nook] Tanukichi {Neogul}.”

I started playing on September ninth, to be exact, but I didn’t notice any skin color difference until I spent a few hours on Tortimer Island. Of course, you don’t get the result of your tan until the next day, so when I loaded my data the following morning, I had completely changed ethnicities!! It didn’t look that bad, considering I had light hair, and I always like the look of dark skinned people having light hair, but this shade did not represent me.

So, I looked online to research tanning in this game. All I got was, “carry an umbrella or wear a straw hat.” I got the straw hat, which is ugly as fuck, but I can’t just carry an umbrella everywhere! You can’t carry an umbrella while you’re fishing, bug catching, digging, etc! This was so inconvenient, I was like, “so I have to avoid the sun for the rest of my in-game life like I do in real life? WTF is this shit?!”

While wearing the hat, my tan wasn’t noticeably fading, though it is a little lighter now. I researched again, because why isn’t it fading? I kept getting, “How to Tan in ACNL,” not how to get rid of it. When I did find forums asking how to prevent/remove a tan, the answers were so vague and contradictory, and no one seemed to have the correct answer. Some people said, “look on Liquefy’s FAQ,” and I thought, “wow, great information, no link, no explanation on what it even is, no context…”

Finally, I found someone who posted the link. The FAQ is HUGE, so hunting down section twenty-three was quite the task. At last, I found all of the headgear that prevents tanning, and to save people the trouble of searching for this damn thing, I will list all of them here.

1-Up Cap

Fi Mask

Outback Hat

Stagehand Hat

Alpinist Hat

Fireman’s Hat

Paperboy Cap

Star Cap

Baby’s Hat

Floppy Hat

Pilot’s Hat

Straw Boater

Balloon Hat

Football Helmet

Pink-Zap Helmet

Straw Hat

Batter’s Helmet

Ghost Mask

Plain Black Cap

Straw Umbrella Hat

Big Bro’s Hat

Grandpa Hat

Police Cap

Student Cap

Birthday Hat

Green Cap

Puffy Hat

Top Hat Black

Veil Green

New Year’s

Hat Pumpkin Head

Tulip Hat

Blue Cap

Green-Pumpkin Head

Purple Cap

Wario Hat

Blue New Year’s Hat

Green-Zap Helmet

Purple-Pumpkin Head

White Cap

Blue Ogre Mask

Hero’s Cap

Racing Helmet

White Team Hat

Blue Plaid Fedora

Hunter’s Cap

Red Cap

Witch’s Hat

Blue-Zap Helmet

Jockey’s Helmet

Red New Year’s Hat

Wrestling Mask

Bug Mask

King Tut Mask

Red Ogre Mask

Y. New Year’s Hat

Captain’s Hat

Knight’s Helmet

Red-Team Cap

Yellow Cap

Catcher’s Mask

Light-Blue Cap

Red-Pumpkin Head

Yellow-Pumpkin Hd

Cavalier Hat

Li’l Bro’s Hat

Red-Zap Helmet

Cucumber Pack

Cloche Hat

Lion-Dance Mask

Retro Helmet

Facial Mask

Conical Straw Hat

Mailman’s Hat

Roman Helmet

Gas Mask

Dandy Hat

Majora’s Mask

Safety Helmet

Hockey Mask

Detective Hat

Makar’s Mask

Samus Mask

Jester’s Mask

Diving Mask

Midna’s Mask

School Hat

Lemon Pack

Elegant Hat

Monster Mask

Ski Mask

Masquerade Mask

Explorer’s Hat

Motocross Helmet

Sombrero

                    All 36 Umbrellas

As far as I know, no one has had the decency to post this list, yet they tell people to refer to it. In fact, when searching, the FAQ doesn’t even come up as a result because it’s on EVERYTHING. It was so frustrating.

But good news, everyone! Tanning season isn’t all year round, except for on the island. So remember, wear one of the above mentioned items on the island every time you go… unless you want a tan, then take all headgear off, and for extra measures, don’t wear long sleeves. Like I said before, you won’t see the results of the tan until the very next day, so don’t just leave your game on for a few hours, standing there like a virtual idiot, just do what you’d normally do, and it’ll get there.

 

Though… apparently getting the tan is much easier than removing it… I’m about the shade of a slightly tanned Caucasian, and that’s not where I want to be. I guess I’ll just keep playing the waiting game and hope for the best!

By the way, my town is “Smlsvill” because I couldn’t fit “Smilesville.” It’s still relatively underdeveloped, but if you want to see what it looks like so far, here’s my Dream Code: 4900-6860-0696. I’m not accepting Friend Codes because I already have one hundred… stupid Nintendo and their… limits! Just kidding. Unless they’re doing it on purpose. Then I’m not just kidding.