Everyone looks best when they have a little tan - it adds a warm glow to the skin, masks imperfections and enhances your colorful clothes. It can be tricky to get the right tan, there are UV burns to worry about, that ugly orange color to avoid, and tan lines to consider. With a little knowledge and attention, you can overcome any obstacle, and get the tan you are looking for. Follow these simple steps and you will get a beautiful golden color in no time!
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Having fun in the sun
Step 1. Choose your UV resource
For a natural tan, nothing can beat the great good old sun. But if your sky and climate don't allow it, tanning beds can prove to be an effective and year-round alternative to keep your skin slightly darker.
Do all this in moderation. Great looking skin can get damaged if you stay in the "oven" for too long
Step 2. Moisturize your skin
Well-hydrated skin tans better than dry skin. To prepare your skin for a good tan, follow these guidelines:
- In the shower, exfoliate dead skin cells by washing it gently with a coarse washcloth or exfoliating soap.
- Moisturize your skin with a lotion containing PCA. It is a component of the skin that helps maintain a healthy epidermis. This substance helps the skin absorb moisture from the air.
- Apply the right level of sun protection for your skin. If you have particularly fair skin, use a lotion with a higher level of protection than that used by a person with darker skin. It doesn't matter what type of skin you have or how tanned it is already: never use anything lower than a protection 15.
- If you will be spending time in the water, make sure your sunscreen is water resistant. Otherwise, reapply the sunscreen as directed on the product label, usually every 2 hours.
Step 3. Use sunscreen when you tan
If you spend time sitting on the beach and only tan for an hour, put on a cream with 4-15 protection, depending on your complexion and how tanned you are already.
- If you don't use sunscreen while tanning, UVA and UVB rays can damage your skin, even if you haven't burned yourself!
- Also use a lip balm with sunscreen. If possible, apply it when you are in the shade and leave it on for 20-25 minutes before going out in the sun. Apply it again if you get in the water and the sunscreen is not water resistant, or every 2 hours, as directed by the product label.
- If you notice redness on your skin, move away from light. You are already burned and, by staying in the sun, you will only intensify the burn, increasing the risk of more serious damage.
Step 4. A successful tan
Unless you want a network of different colored lines on your skin, wear the same swimsuit you will use for swimming! Wearing the same costume will give you a smooth, even tan.
Don't wear the costume if you can. The best thing to avoid even the slightest tan lines is not to have them at all
Step 5. Find your place in the sun
You can tan in the garden, on the beach or wherever the sun shines. All you need is sunscreen, water, and a sun lounger or towel.
Position the deck chair or towel so that you receive the sun directly
Step 6. Move while you tan
Think of a spit-roasted chicken - to be well roasted you have to keep moving. Belly up, belly down, right and left flank and where the sun usually does not reach, for example the armpits.
If you don't plan on lying all day but still want a tan, going for a run or a walk can be a great alternative. This not only increases your sun exposure and tan, but helps give you a toned and lean body at the same time
Step 7. Protect your eyes
Even your eyes can burn! While tanning it is better to wear a hat or just keep your eyes closed rather than wearing sunglasses. In fact, when the light hits the optic nerve, the hypothalamus gland is stimulated, which leads to a greater production of melanin and therefore to a deeper tan.
Step 8. Hydrate
Make sure you drink plenty of water. Dive into the water to cool off every once in a while. Don't worry, this won't hurt your tan. Don't forget to put the cream back on after taking a bath.
Step 9. After tanning, hydrate
Use an aloe-based skin lotion to soothe and hydrate the skin. This will help keep your skin healthy and prevent it from becoming slack and dry from the sun.
Method 2 of 2: Sunless
Step 1. Forget the sun
If you have a very fair complexion, burn easily or want to minimize health risks, a sun tan or tanning beds may be the wrong choice. You wouldn't know you're burning yourself until you really are and the damage will now be done.
Step 2. Do it yourself tan
There is a large number of products from companies such as Neutrogena, L'Oréal, Victoria's Secret and many others that can give you a mild tan.
- Follow the instructions indicated on the product, spread or spray it, making sure to evenly cover the entire skin. The best lotions are the non-comedogenic ones, i.e. those that do not close the pores.
- Unless you have incredibly long arms or are particularly flexible, you will need a friend to help you cover your entire back.
Step 3. Visit a solarium center and get a complete tanning treatment
In a few minutes you will have a beautiful tan all over your body.
Step 4. Read the label
Before you spend any money in vain, read the descriptions of the various products and be careful not to buy the ones that would make your tan orange.
Advice
- Wear clothes that go well with your bronzing. If you are not tanned at all, dress in dark green, blue or purple. If you are slightly tanned, dress in black and white, this will accentuate your tan. If, on the other hand, you are exactly as you would like and therefore very tanned, wear the color of your choice. You are tanned, beautiful, and nothing can hide it. Show it!
- If you opt for an artificial tan, which is safer and can give you a really tanned look, make sure you find a bronzer that doesn't make you turn orange.
- Aloe vera gel helps relieve sunburn, and helps you get rid of it quickly.
- If this is the first time you go to a solarium, don't stay there too long; get advice from an employee on the most suitable time.
- Start by spending little time in the sun, say 10 minutes a day, to get your skin used to it. If you don't notice any problems, you can gradually increase the time you spend in the sun. If you have red or itchy spots, take a few days off from the sun.
- Do you want to try topless? Be careful when exposing new skin parts to the sun. You don't want to burn yourself "right there".
- Tanning takes time, so don't expect to see results within a day.
- Make sure you put more lotion on your shoulders, face, ears and feet, or parts of the body that have never been exposed to the sun.
Warnings
- The burns can be light as well as strong. If you burn severely, see a doctor.
- A prolonged tan or UV exposure can lead to skin cancer, the worst type of which is called melanoma. Using a self-tanner is safer. If you want to be tanned but don't mind being slightly orange, you could save your life.
- Using tanning beds, like any form of UV exposure, can be dangerous, especially if you use them for long periods of time.
- Tanning yourself every day is not good!
- Monitor moles and make sure they don't change in shape and color.
- As people become more aware of the health problems associated with tanning they may begin to realize that light skin is just as attractive as dark skin. Be yourself, and you will be accepted for who you are, and not for your complexes.
- If you spend too much time in the sun you can risk a heart attack.
- Remember to drink plenty of water while you tan, but also after you get home. If your skin feels very hot, apply an after-sun lotion to cool off, as if you have burned yourself, a shower may not provide enough relief.
- Beware of tanning pills: Numerous cases of crystallization deposits in the eyes have been noted in people using this type of pills. These crystallizations can lead to blindness.
- People with naturally pale complexions don't tan well! If that's the case, use a moisturizing suntan cream instead. It can make you look slightly tanned, sun-kissed, and not too orange or dark.
