Kylei Halbakken, a US-based content creator, has created a fake tan-free movement. The redhead beauty decided to quit self-tanning last year and has been embracing her beautiful fair skin tone ever since. Fans have been following her lead, and she has inspired many with her new take on conventional beauty routines. The stunning Instagrammer has evoked such a huge reaction with her self-penned 'pale girl exposure therapy,' which has single-handedly made snow-white skin cool again. Even I, a redhead beauty editor who had always been heavily reliant on fake tan, was so taken by her ethos when I stumbled across her profile that I even tried it for myself, as she made it look so appealing.
"In 2024, my obsession with self-tanning was at its peak, and my confidence at its worst," the 25-year-old exclusively tells HELLO!. "For years, I built a corner of the internet around redhead beauty, and every autumn, I would pause my tanning routine. The timing was purely practical: cooler weather meant less skin showing. But don’t worry, I would never skip my face (the one part that showed)," she explains.
It was seasonal fun that made YouTube star Kylei rethink her beauty choice. "I decided to stop tanning altogether for the first time in years. Halloween ended up being my turning point. When I saw photos of me dressed as Poison Ivy, I was stunned; my fair skin against the sparkly green costume looked bright and radiant. It was such a contrast to the orange-toned tan that always blended with my hair. For the first time, I actually liked how I looked pale."
A pale skin awakening
This was a huge self-acceptance journey for her. "That moment was the start of a larger unravelling," Kylei confesses. "I relearned how to do makeup for my real skin colour instead of my 'spray tan' undertones. I explored colour analysis and saw how much better certain clothes looked against my natural skin. By spring, I coined 'pale girl exposure therapy,' which was the best way to explain what I was doing; literally exposing myself in my fair skin, faking the confidence until I actually felt it. Beach days, brand trips, bridal events, vacations…I showed up pale, and somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling scary and started feeling freeing."
Kylei's fake tan-free wedding
When it came for Kylei to marry her long-term love Luke, the content creator knew she had to stay true to her new skincare promise. "Ironically, I had always sworn I'd definitely get a spray tan for my wedding. But over time, I realised my hair looked brighter, my eyes clearer, and my face more youthful without the orange tint. Entering my bridal era, I leaned into that: ivory tones instead of stark white, brown lashes over black, pink blush instead of bronze, freckles popping through. For the first time, I felt not only confident but truly myself."
© Sophia Savage PhotoKylei felt more confident and radiant than ever on her special day. "I felt effortlessly ethereal," she mused. "My natural skin tone gave me a softness that felt both timeless and true to me. I never once thought about being pale; instead, I felt the most beautiful I have ever been in my own skin. My makeup was still that traditional bridal glam with more of a soft, luminous look. It felt like the truest reflection of me, and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to begin this new chapter. It was proof to myself that choosing authenticity over insecurity was the best decision I could’ve made!"
© Sophia Savage PhotoThe future's bright
Kylei has created a long-standing commitment that has encouraged women all over the world to do the same. "The ripple effects have been my favourite part: mothers of redhead daughters messaged me, brides deciding to skip spray tans, creators tagging me in their own pale girl exposure therapy. That’s when I realised this was bigger than me," she reveals.
© Sophia Savage PhotoReflecting, she adds: "It was easier to tan, to blend in, to meet the beauty standard. But the standard worth striving for shouldn’t be an artificial one: it’s confidence in your own skin. So to my fellow porcelain, freckled, redness-prone girls: the journey toward acceptance is worth it. Exposure therapy for me turned into self-acceptance, and self-acceptance turned into confidence."
© Sophia Savage Photo
