Keeping Skin Hydrated After Tanning
Drink Enough Water When You Are Tanning
Tanning is good for you. It feels good, makes you look good, and exposing your skin sunlight or the light from a tanning booth activates vitamin D in your skin. And vitamin D is good for your immune system and your bones. But, tanning also dries you out. One of the things to be aware of is the importance of keeping skin hydrated after tanning, as well as beforehand. Whether you will be out in the sun, at the tanning salon, or getting a spray tan, it is always important to moisturize your skin after tanning.
If you are out in the sun and wind for a long time, or even if you use a tanning booth for too long, you can get dehydrated. You get thirsty and maybe even dizzy. The first line of defense is to drink water. If you want to go with a hydrating solution of the Gatorade variety that is OK but make sure you are getting enough water. Bring a bottle of water with you to the tanning salon and bring more if you are spending the day at the beach. When your skin is exposed to the sun and the elements for hours at a time, even using sunscreen does not keep your body from drying out. To moisturize your skin after tanning, first and foremost, drink water!
Moisturize Your Skin after Tanning
It does not matter if you drink enough water to maintain good hydration for your body. Your skin is the part of you dries out the most when you are tanning. And this applies to sun exposure as well as trips to the tanning salon. Luckily, you can deal with skin dryness by applying a moisturizer. Your moisturizer should not be just water but should protect your skin and help keep moisture inside. And, just because you are getting a spray tan does not mean you can skip the moisturizer. However, there are several ingredients that you will want to avoid after a spray tan. That is because those ingredients will start removing your artificial tan! Many fragrances and most essential oils should be avoided as should mineral oil. Retin-A, an effective anti-acne medicine, is another product to avoid if you want to keep your spray tan as this medication removes the top layer of skin along with your new tan! Hair removal products fall into the same category as to toners and anti-aging creams and lotions. And, avoid any lotion that contains alcohol as it will work to remove your just-created tan! When you get a spray tan, ask the professionals who did your tan which moisturizers they suggest.
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Stay Out of the Pool after a Spray Tan
You may be thinking that a great way to moisturize your skin after a spray tan (since you are supposed to avoid all of those oils) is to go for a dip in the pool. Be careful in that case. If you take a quick dip in the pool and immediately pat yourself dry with a towel after you get out. Doing this reduces the time that chlorine from the pool water is in contact with your skin and the chemicals that create your artificial tan. Think of a long swim in the pool like you would think of adding bleach to the wash water. It makes colors (including your spray tan) fade!
Take Time Off Between Tanning Sessions
Excessive sun and artificial sunlight can both be bad for your skin over the long term. To avoid getting long term skin damage, stagger your tanning sessions to let your skin recover from drying out and always avoid getting a sunburn! If you need to maintain your tan between sessions at the beach or on the tanning bed, consider a spray tan to maintain your tan, but still be sure to moisturize your skin after tanning.
Spray Tanning Is Not Base Tanning
Many sun worshipers go to the tanning salon to establish a base tan before leaving the frozen North during and winter and flying to a sunny Southern climate. It is true that a bit of tanning before you head off to Cancun or a similar location will reduce the tendency of your skin to burn, you can get better burn protection by using a number 30 sunscreen.
What is important to know is that a spray tan is not a base tan. It is the application of color to the outermost layer of your skin. A spray tan does not increase melanin in the skin, which is the purpose of a base tan. Going for a spray tan before you head to a Caribbean resort will allow you to arrive with a healthy glow instead of looking as white and faded as a washed and bleached bedsheet. But, you will still want to use enough sunscreen at the right times to prevent sunburn and the host of skin issues related to skin damage from tanning.
Keeping Your Skin Moist after Tanning
When you get a tan, you are doing it so that your skin looks healthy. When you moisturize your skin after tanning, you keep your skin healthy and not just looking good. Whether you are tanning from the sun, going to the tanning salon, or getting a spray tan, aim for healthy skin as well as good-looking skin by moisturizing!
Author of this article – Grant Kantsios has been in the sunless tanning industry for over 9 years. He started in the industry working for Sjolie Sunless, one of the largest companies in the sunless tanning industry. Since then, he had a passion for helping sunless tanning business owners through his work at happytans, with the happytans podcast and website builder. In addition, he created Sunless Evolution with world-renowned spray tan artist Jimmy Coco, who sprays A-list celebrities like the Kardashians and Ashley Graham.
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