Summer is just around the corner and as soon as the summer sun is out, people will be out on the beach as well for that yearly tan.
Don’t leave your house without your tanning lotion. Don’t leave your house without your beach towel. And while we are waiting for summer sun to say hello, here are some basic info about tanning.
1. Is it possible to have an even tan under the sun?
Sun tanning doesn’t happen evenly on your entire body. The skin in the inner portion of your arms and legs contain less pigments than the rest of your skin in your body.
Your face is also slower to tan because its cornea layer is thicker. This is our natural protection against the sun’s rays.
Freckles and moles will tan faster.
2. Can I have a tan every day?
Tanning every day is not advisable as the skin might get burned and damaged. Even if you do it every other day or even less frequently, you have to control the dosage.
Remember that tanning under the sun can create a certain amount of skin damage that needs healing. Unless your exposure to the sun is kept on the minimum, say 10 to 15 minutes and there is no feeling of pain or burning sensation, then you may have your tan under the sun every other day.
3. How does showering affect my tan?
Some people say that taking a shower after tanning will lighten their tan.
There is no basis for this statement because tanning is something that happens within the skin and not just on its surface. The only thing that water can remove is the sands that tried to hitch a ride with you out from the beach.
4. Now long will my tan stay?
The tan lasts for about a month. Towards the last week of the month you will notice that the renewed skin is coming out and your complexion begins to lighten.
The tan lasts longer if you applied tanning lotion while tanning under the sun.
5. How can I prolong my tan?
One of the best ways to extend the life of your tan is to complement the one that you already got on the beach with some sessions in tanning salons. There, the experts can exactly give you the right dose of tan than will be safe for your skin’s condition as well as give you the proper skin care lotions that will keep your skin healthy under continued tanning.
6. Should I go to a tanning salon immediately after I get my tan on the beach?
Not yet, you have to wait at least a week. Give your skin some time to heal because if you got a significant tan under the sun, chances are your skin has sustained a certain degree of damage that needs rest and healing.
7. Can I have a tan while wearing sun screen?
Some people might find it ridiculous but, some people do go out for a tan at the beach wearing sun screens.
Contrary to what people might think, this is a good idea. Sun screens will make your skin tan a little longer but it will also make it safer.
Gradual tanning will prevent your skin from getting sun burned.
8. Can I get a tan under a shade?
Tanning under a shade would raise a lot of eyebrows as much as wearing sun screen for tanning but, it has its merits.
Even if you are under a shade, say under a tree on a sunny morning at the beach, you will still get a tan but very much slower than directly being under the sun. Again, gradual tanning is safer.
Tanning under the sun and tanning in a salon exposes you to the same ultraviolet rays. There is really nothing different in the process of stimulation and skin pigmentation.
The main advantage of tanning in a salon like L.A. Tan is that it is under a controlled environment where the intensity of the ultraviolet radiation is constant and within a safe range.
Whereas, the sun on the beach is uncontrollable, nobody can predict nor tell if it is safe at a certain time or dangerous at another.
Given that nobody can really tell the intensity of the sun at any given time, nobody, not even skin experts, can tell you exactly how much time you can spend under it; much less give you the exact dosage to get the results you want.
The best value of tanning salons is their professional supervision and personalized procedures.
In tanning salons, you get the tan that you like and they can give you a confortable and safe procedure for your special skin type.
Under the sun, everything is just approximation with your fingers crossed.