Tanning implies the response that occurs on the skin through ultraviolet light after natural exposure of the skin to sunlight.
The skin requires these ultra-violet rays. Nevertheless, too much exposure to the rays can cause burns, wrinkles and other extreme effects like cancer.
As a result of the warm and soothing effects of tanning, it can aid in stress reduction and also mild discomforts and pains in the muscles.
The kind of tanning you like better does not matter. It can be natural sun tanning which uses natural ultraviolet rays or enclosed tanning which requires non-natural ultraviolet rays.
Tanning can be a delightful experience if you follow some simple instructions and guideline.
Various guidelines on sun tanning:
- Begin two times a day with sessions that last for 5 – 10 minutes, slowly increase the period as you progress.
- Sun tanning around 11am to 2:30 pm as these are the times when the sun is coarse.
- Beforehand, smear sunscreen on your skin.
- After tanning, do not rub in cream or lotion.
- Take care to avoid exposing yourself to the ultraviolet rays.
- Wear a hat or a shade.
Direction for sun tanning (outdoor)
- Be cautious when choosing your soap.
- Thoroughly clean your skin before you start tanning; for that reason, cautiously chose your soap.
- Your skin dehydrates when you use chemical soaps such as tablets and sweet-smelling soaps even though they keep you clean, but they cause dry skin.
- Make use of liquid soap that is decent, mild and yet active because it has a lesser amount of toughness; on the other hand, keeps the skin very clean.
- Before tanning, exfoliate your skin
- Before your sun exposure, exfoliate as this will give the most soothing effect of the tan.
- Before tanning, make efforts to get rid of as a lot of dead skin cells as likely.
- After exfoliating, moisturize your skin.
- Trim before you begin exposing your skin.
- Shaving will make your skin renewed and charming, so if you need to shave, do that before tanning.
- When you shave before tanning, you will have the finest effects.
- Also, for the skin to recover very well, it is acclaimed to shave some hours before tanning.
- Make use of sunscreen cream and moisturizer
- Making use of sunscreen cream is essential for tanning, for it shields the skin from ultraviolet rays which is as a result of the suns direct effect.
- Moisturizer of better quality is necessary for better tanning of the skin.
- Nevertheless, you can prevent damage to the skin by making use of moisturizer and sunscreen cream of superior quality.
- The sunscreen cream should undergo a test hypo allergenically and to be perfume free as this will ensure that the list of allergies will be in the minimum.
- You can also use creams with moisturizing properties as it can retain the softness and hydration of your skin.
- You can blacken your tan by using a lot of creams with bronzers.
- Tanning itself
- When tanning, it is necessary to change positions at intervals, to avoid exposing some parts of the body more, as this could lead to burns.
- Wear a bikini or swimsuits, or you can as well stay nude.
- While getting yourself tanned, you can lie on a piece of cloth, sit on a beach rocking chair. It could be anywhere or on any medium that seems comfortable.
- Put on a sunshade or wear a hat to protect your eyes
- Shower or bath once you finish tanning
- The most effective method of removing creams and oils from your skin is by having a bath after tanning.
- A shower or bath additionally helps in eliminating salts or sweat left on your skin.
- Nevertheless, do not use too hot water for your shower and ensure that after towel drying, you use a good moisturizer.
The basic rule of tanning is on no occasion should you burn yourself. Long-lasting skin damage has an association with sunburn as its opponent.
Therefore, under no circumstances should you deliberately burn yourself. There is this wrong notion that sunburn will sooner or later fade into tans. Harm as a result of tanning is sunburn.
Due to some risks that might come with long exposures of the skin under the sun, most people prefer to use self-tanning lotions than the natural methods.
Or in some cases, people use a secondary medium that reflects the sun rays such as water (swimming pool) or sands while under a shade that provides the same result.
Direction for self-tanning (indoor)
The general idea of this kind of tanning is to avoid the sun, which causes some risk when the skin is overexposed.
And also, you do not have to wait till the sun is out to tan; you can do it anywhere and anytime and achieve results as well.
For Sunless Tanning, note that this could come in the form of a tanning lotion, spray or even a tanning pill.
- Tanning lotion and spray
It contains DHA otherwise known as Dihydroxyacetone, which is the chief content in tanning lotion and sprays.
And it works by changing the color of the skin after it must have reacted with the body’s dead skin cells.
This reaction that turns the body brown is just the same process a browning of bread undergoes.
How a tan lotion can be applied
- You should choose the product that you want to go for like the gel or lotion, from any of the selling brands of your choice.
But make sure it will notclog your pores and check the product to be sure it matches your skin color as well.
- Put on gloves, before you apply the tan lotion, to prevent your hand from getting too dark from the product.
But once you are through with applying them on your body, then apply to your hands to make sure the tone is the same with the rest of the body.
- Apply it uniformly on the skin so that the skin will have the same tone, not some parts darker or lighter.
And make sure you follow the guidelines/instructions on the leaflet or the body on the container.
- Repeat this process daily until your desired result is achieved.
How a spray tan can be applied
Unlike tan lotion and gel that you can do on yourself, you need someone to help when it comes to spray tan.
- Select the tanning product that is most suitable for your skin. The darker you are, the more you are to use more layers of the spray tan.
- Unclog your pores by exfoliating to remove dead cells on the skin and allow the spray to penetrate.
- If you want to do that at home, get a professional who would help you spray the tan onto your body, or else you visit a spray tan salon.
Because you may not spray it evenly, and the spray bottle may be difficult to reach all parts of your body, especially the back areas.
- Unlike the tan lotion, you may not wash off the spray tan.
It endures for a minimum of one week, then again to make it last longer, you can use a lotion to moisturize your body often. With that, it can’t fade quickly.
- Tanning pill
Contains canthaxanthin most times, and it is approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not as a tanning product or ingredient, but as a food colorant.
Tanning pills may also contain beta-carotenein high doses, which even a food colorant in the group called carotenoids and it acts as a natural pigment.
The tanning pills which can contain any of the color additives help to give the skin a dark yellow, orange to brown color.
U.S FDAstrictlywarns its users to avoid such pills as it may cause other harmful effects to the internal organs such as skin problems and liver damage.
Also, canthaxanthin can cause vision problems or eye injury, as it may reflect on the eye as yellow crystals.
How to use tanning pills?
- Depending on the product, there will be a guideline on the number of pills to take daily
- These pills have to be taken consistently for about 2weeks to see a result
- But if you think, the color it gives you is much than you wanted, then you can stop the pills
- Once you stop taking them, the color will start to fade. But not so quickly, results can appear from 2 weeks of stopping the pill.
Warning: Using this is at the detriment of your health, as the damage is irreversible.
- Tanning beds
Another way you can tan yourself indoor. It tans the body using U.V. radiation which emits from the inbuilt U.V. light bulbs in the bed.
How to get tanned using a tanning bed
- Get into in the tanning bed undressed or in a bikini.
- Position yourself, either lying face down or up, and you can switch position at intervals
- Once you are inside, the pod-like bed will be closed and will operate for about 12 minutes
- When the time reaches, it automatically goes off by itself
Warning: Tanning beds may produce the fastest result, but there are claims that it does more harm to the body than adequate, as it can cause skin cancer at a high rate.
Do not tan every day. Let your next tanning be 24 hours after the first, whether indoors or outdoors.
Will repair minor damage to your skin and create melanin and a tan.
And while there might be easy and fast ways to get results, probably weigh your actions to avoid any potential risks which might be involved.
