How to get a healthy tan
As summer is coming I decided to post about how to get a healthy tan.
Sun can be a blessing for our health, but it can also be our enemy if we don’t have the basic information about it.
By exposing our bodies to the sun we can benefit of vitamin D which helps calcium absorb better and increase the strength of our bones. This is why as children our parents used to force us take sunbaths during the summer mornings when all we wanted to do is sleep or take baths in the sea.
Since researchers discovered the fact that sun exposure can cause skin cancer people have been careful with sun exposure and quite avoided it. Due to this fact the industry of solariums and tanning lotions had an outbreak as people had more confidence in artificial tanning than in the natural one. Well after a few years, solariums have proven their malignancy on our bodies and people began to trust the old sun again.
Sun tanning can be done in a healthy way by respecting a few principles:
1. Skin exposure to the sun should be made during the morning between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and during the afternoon between 17 p.m. and 20 p.m. These hours are the best for sun tanning as the sun is not that strong and will not burn our skin causing later on skin cancer.
2. Applying and reapplying sunscreen is a must. If you do not only lie on the beach but also swim you should apply sunscreen every time you get out from water. This way you will be fully protected against ultraviolet radiations.
3. Sun exposures should be done gradually. Those who have a fair skin should not stay more than 10 minutes exposed to the sunlight during their first annual session of sun tanning. After a few days their skin will be ready for longer sun exposures and they will be skin burned free.
4. Diet plays an important part in sun tanning. It seems that fish and olive oil are good for the skin during summer time as they increase its capacity of defending itself of the harsh sun light.
Having a chocolate like skin is nice and fashionable, but for achieving it you must not push the limits of your body. Skin cancer is not something to joke about. You might be young, you might thing that your body can pass over a week of intense sun exposure, but the truth is that only in years the consequences of your acts will be seen and then it might be to late for regrets.
Choose life over a fast achieved tan. Sun can be your ally, but you must learn how to cope with it.
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Comments
Yowza! My kinda Tan!!
I love soaking up the Sun + I just feel Healthier + frankly look better getting a Good Tan!!
Especially after this brutal long Freezing Cold Canadian Winter we had!!
)
Great post – I really appreciate this. I love being out in the sun in the summer time – but everyone always talks about skin cancer. I have a natrual olive skin color that makes it very easy for me to tan without getting burnt. My question to you is this. If I am very tan late in the summer is it still necessary to apply massive amounts of sun screen when I know i probably won’t get too burnt?
Dear Jesse,
I do recommend that you do not give up your sunscreens. Even if your skin does not sunburn, by not applying any protective cream/lotion your body will be exposed to the harmful UVA and UVB rays. You will need to use a sunscreen that prevents skin penetration of these rays every time you expose your body to the sun. This way you will prevent any DNA modifications that can occur in your skin cells due to UVA and UVB contact.
Hi there im going on holiday to turkey for 2 weeks and i always wear sun cream at 40spf then go to 30spf! i tan really quickly and i always move about doing sports!
but this time i would also like my kin to be healthy and ready for the sun…i drink loads of water, fruit & veg…any other suggestions? thanx!
To Mona_08:
It is great for your skin if you drink at least 1.5 liters of water daily and eat vegetables and fruits. In order for your skin to get a nice tan I suggest you do a peeling before going to Turkey. This way the dead cells of your skin will be removed and your bronze will last longer at the end of the summer. But remember, do the peeling with a few days before your sun exposure and not afterwards. Doing it after you get tanned will only remove your bronze.
Also, if you do not want your skin to look too white in the first days at the beach, you can eat a carrot daily, for about two weeks before going in vacation. You will see that your skin will get some color after that.
As long as you protect your skin and hair against the UVs and eat vegetables and fruits there is nothing to worry about.
Have a nice vacation dear!
Yes that is very important…10 minutes a day for a health tan. Don’t over do it one day and get too many hours or aget sun burn. This will show negative signs later on in life.
Hmmm, I didn’t think that there was such a thing as a “healthy tan”. Tanning is damage to the outer most layer of skin…period.
If you never had a burn in your life, and all you ever did have was a tan you are still a VERY likely canidate to have skin cancer before you die.
Remember a burn is not the only time that you can get skin cancer. And for the getting a burn indoors, most of the UV is blocked by glass so you don’t have to worry too much. It is the UV that burns you NOT the heat.
Great info, I love seeing the tanning industry evolve and more and more people becoming a part of our community. I am launching a new site soon that will be totally industry related, from tanning lotion sales to industry new. Please check out our blog in the mean time:
Excellent article ! Too often we hear hysterics raving about how any sunshine will kill us, as if the human body hasn’t adapted in the last 40,000 years.
A bit more information on how to get enough Skin Based Vitamin D while sequestered here in the North would be nice.
It seems as though every girl I know is obsessed with getting that dark italian tan. This trends been in for decades and I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon unless it starts to pose serious health problems. Which I do know that it can create skin cancer, however, that’s not as common enough to scare these women off. Thanks, great article!
Many people are still not aware how dangerous is sun…Unfortunately at same time also many sun creams are not really safe…So, better just to stay in shadow
Yeah right, don’t enjoy the sun that much coz it’s not healthy for us to be exposed to it. Always wear sun creams.. it’s a must!!!
Great post that to remind us that while we work to be healthy overall, you’ve got to consider sun exposure too. I will be referencing it shortly in my blog
I would like to also offer two tips to your readers on protecting yoursel from sun exposure:
1. Wear a hat or baseball cap to keep sun off your face and scalp–many skin cancers can develop in the hairline, and you can keep away a few more wrinkles and sun spots. Don’t want to wear a hat? Use a spray sun screen in your hairline or any thinning hair spots.
2. Don’t forget incidental sun exposure when you are driving or running around doing errands and not specifically spending a lot of time in the sun. Use a moisturizer for your face and neck that has at least 15 SPF and try one of the new lotions for hands, arms and legs that also has SPF.