A person with glowing, bronzed, tanned skin looks beautiful and pleasing to the eyes, but soaking up in the sun to achieve that bronze-tanned look is not safe.This blog reveals the techniques for attaining that desired tan while speeding up the process without jeopardising skin health. Say goodbye to the hazards connected with UV radiation and hello to a thorough tanning strategy that combines speed and safety.
We’ll look at a holistic approach to tanning lotions, conscious exposure durations, healthy diets, and successful physical exercises. In addition, we’ll reveal winter tanning alternatives and dig into the realm of natural oils that may improve your bronzed look. Lying down open in the sun is the most common natural tanning method used around the globe, but due to safety measures, there are some factors we will discuss. Using them, you can get a tan faster and safer.
How to get a tan faster?
To get tanned more naturally in no time, there are a few factors that you need to follow.
1- Tanning lotion
2- Time and Exposure
3- Foods for Tanning
4- Physical Activities
Tanning Lotion
Tanning lotions are widely used to quickly tan in the sun. There are ingredients like DHA (Dihydroxyacetone), Tyrosine, Vitamins, and Aloe vera. DHA is an FDA-approved ingredient for external use on the body. It interacts with the amino acids in our skin to produce a darker color on the skin. Tyrosine is an amino acid that helps to stimulate the blood flow to get a darker and deeper tan. Vitamins A, C, and E are the antioxidants that protect the skin from the radical damage of sunlight, and aloe vera keeps your skin moisturized and smooth.
Applying tanning lotion before getting a suntan is a good and safe option as it will accelerate the tanning process. You don’t have to spend hours and hours under the UV rays to tan yourself and risk your skin with cancer or problems like premature aging etc.
Tanning lotions don’t always contain sun screening ingredients to protect your skin from sun damage, so you must make sure that you always look for a cream that has a minimum SPF of 30, or you should apply a separate sunscreen to protect your skin.
Time and Exposure
Your safety needs to decide the time and exposure yourself to the sun already. The sun’s peak hours are 10 AM to 4 PM, which are pretty much the same around the globe. Now some people think that when the sun is in the peak hours so they should get the proper benefit of it but I would say this is the wrong approach as in the peak hours UV rays penetrate your skin more strongly and that burns your skin which can, later on, turned into the skin cancer.
First, you should do the morning sessions for the tanning as the up rays are not that strong then, so you can get the desired amount of tan much more safely. But, if you cannot do the morning sessions, you should limit your sun exposure time in the peak hours outside home. It is suggested to do the 15-minute session in the peak sun hours, find a shade, and repeat the process until you get the results. using reflective tanning blankets can also help getting you tan faster.
Foods for Tanning
Certain ingredients can help your skin tan and glow. Diets rich in lycopene, Vitamin D, antioxidants, and water are proven healthy for skin health and tanning.
Lycopene is a natural ingredient that helps your skin to protect from dangerous UV rays and enhances the results of tanning. It is commonly found in fruits and vegetables with deep red or orange colors, Such as tomatoes, guava, watermelon, and papaya. Eating these fruits before tanning can help you enhance the results and protection against UV rays.
When exposed to sunlight, your body produces vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin.” Foods such as fatty fish, egg yolks, and mushrooms can be obtained. Vitamin D helps your skin to nourish. It also enhances melanin production, eventually enabling you to tan quickly.
Antioxidants protect your skin from the free radicals which cause sunburn or premature aging from UV rays. It can be obtained through dark chocolate, green tea, and leafy vegetables. Antioxidants neutralize the number of free radicals in your body to protect it from harmful UV rays and make it more prone to tanning naturally by increasing melanin production in your body.
Drinking a lot of water will keep your skin hydrated and moisturized, which is very important. In contrast, tanning is because, during the tanning process under the sun, your body’s water level starts to decrease, which causes dehydration and eventually a sunburn. However, when your body’s water level is managed correctly, your skin gets tanned and equally attractive in less time.
Physical activities
Doing physical activities like water sports, running, swimming, playing volleyball, or exercising will get you tanned quickly in the sun because, during these physical activities, your heart rate goes high, increasing the blood flow in your body. The higher the blood flow is, the higher the melanin your body will produce, which will get your skin to darken even more quickly.
Also, while doing these activities, a different part of your body gets exposed to the sun, which helps you get an even tan on your whole body. But even if you are not doing any physical activity, you should change your positions on the sunbed frequently to get an equal tanning effect on the different parts of your body.
How to get Tan without Sun in the Winter?
Winter is the most challenging season for a tanning enthusiast as due to weak sun’s rays during the season won’t let you get naturally tanned, so what now? Do you have to wait for the summer to get your bronzed-tanned lookback? The answer is NO! There are many alternatives to traditional tanning that you can use during the winter to get a best tan in a week without the sun.
Self-Tanners
Self-tanners are the best alternatives to traditional sun tanning, as by using these fake tanning products, you can achieve your desired glowing tanned look any time of the year without risking your skin’s health. The most common self-tanning products are spray tans, mice, wipes, and lotions.
Tanning Beds
Tanning beds are also an alternative to sun tanning because they emit UV rays and make your body tanned. But you must know these tanning beds are not recommended as they can harm your skin. It increases the risk of skin cancer and other skin problems like burning and premature aging. Tanning beds are also known as indoor tanning.
Vacation
When it’s the winter season in your country or region, there are plenty of other sunny locations where you can go and enjoy the sun tanning. But this is not an option for everyone because traveling to a different country or region could be very costly. But if you can afford a vacation abroad, this could be fun and adventurous.
Natural Ingredients
Natural ingredients like coffee, black tea, and cocoa powder can help you get an artificial tanning effect on your body.
Coffee
The caffeine in coffee can create a temporary dark effect on your body if you apply it correctly. Infuse a strong pot of coffee and let it cool for some time, then add lukewarm water according to your measured quantity and paste it. Apply the mixture to your body using a clean cloth or a tanning glove. Leave it for 30 minutes, then rinse it with warm water. Repeat the process 2 to 3 times a week.
Black Tea
Black tea contains tannins, an ingredient that gives a dark color to the tea. This can also be used on your skin as a temporary tanning ingredient.
To use it, you need to brew the black tea and leave it to cool, then take a clean wet cloth and soak it into the black tea. Apply that damp cloth to your skin and rub it evenly on all the areas of your body you want to take its effect. Then let it sit on your skin for at least 20 to 30 minutes, then rinse it with lukewarm water. Repeat the process 2 to 3 times a week.
Cocoa Powder
Applying cocoa powder on the skin can create a slight dark effect on your skin because it contains a compound called theobromine which can produce a dark color by stimulating melanin production once it interacts with the skin’s layers.
Add ¼ of coca powder with ¼ of coconut oil and mix it well until it becomes a paste, then apply the mixture on your skin using a tanning glove or some washcloth. Leave the paste on your skin for 30 minutes, then rinse it with warm water. Repeat the process two times a week.
Cocoa powder can cause allergies or irritation on your skin, so you must check your skin history. Avoid this method if you are allergic to such ingredients or have sensitive skin.
Pros and Cons of Tanning
Achieving bronzed tanning look whether from natural or any artificial source of tanning have both advantages and disadvantages. Let’s discuss some of them.
Pros of Tanning
Sitting in the sun can be helpful for your body in many ways. There are many advantages of tanning including, 1) Vitamin D 2) Enhanced Appearance 3) Kills Bacteria 4) Boost immune system.
Vitamin D
Exposing yourself to the sun light don’t just tan your skin but it produces the Vitamin D in your body. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient which helps with the bone and muscle health by helping your body to absorb more calcium which strengthen the bones and other muscles of the body. Researches shows that vitamin d also boost the brain and heart health and prevents the risk of diabetes.
Enhanced Appearance
Getting golden attractive look by tanning correctly in the sun is a blessing as it really enhance your appearance and you look very attractive in your surroundings. Appearance is a vital element in your personality and enhanced appearance may boost your confidence too so yeah tanning will help you getting the best looks of your life.
Kills Bacteria
Due to our work centric routines, we spend a lot of time indoor which can give birth to the bacteria that can cause allergy, acne or asthma. So, when you go out in the sun light for tanning the uv rays also kills the bacteria and keep you safe from the allergies and asthma.
Boost Immunity
Sunlight produces the vitamin d in your body which helps in boosting the immune system too by increasing the production of antimicrobial peptides and enhances the phagocytosis. Antimicrobial peptides are the proteins that fights with the bacteria and viruses to improve the immune system. Phagocytosis is a process in which the immune cells macrophages help your body to destroy the infections and not to keep them for long time. Going out in the sun for tanning helps boosting the immunity in many ways.
Cons of Tanning
Tanning in the sun for the longer period and not taking enough precautions have some disadvantages too. 1) Skin Damage 2) Un even look 3) Dehydration
Skin Damage
UV rays penetrates your skin’s sensitive layers, it produces melanin a coloring pigment but after a certain period it starts to burn and damage your skin if you are not taking the precautions. This burn and damage can also risk your skin with cancer as well as the premature aging. It is recommended for you to use sunscreen with high spf to prevent this skin damage.
Un Even Look
Tanning can give you the uneven look no matter if you are a beginner or experienced in getting tanned. Spending more time in the sun thinking to get a dark tan risks your health also it makes you look uneven because of the redness and burns of your skin due to UV rays.
Dehydration
When UV rays interact with our skin, it produces melanin, the color pigment, but melanin cause your body to lose moisture, decreasing the body’s water level and eventually dehydrating. Tanning in the sun also makes you sweat, disturbs the body’s water level, and dehydrates, so drinking water frequently while tanning is essential to stay hydrated.
Natural oils that help you with tanning
People use natural oils to enhance their tanning experience. Let’s discuss how different natural oils like coconut, olive, baby, vegetable, and carrot oil help you with tanning.
Does Coconut oil help you tan?
Coconut oil makes you tan faster and helps you get a smooth tanning experience because it is rich in minerals that keep your skin moisturized for a more extended period. Using coconut oil while tanning helps to attract and absorb the UV rays more quickly to your skin, and usually, it contains SPF 4, which might protect your skin, too, while accelerating the tanning process. But relying just on the sun protection of coconut oil is not recommended. It would help to use a separate sunscreen to protect yourself from sunburn.
Does Baby Oil make you Tan Faster?
Baby oils are generally made up of mineral oil which is odorless and lightweight. Some extra ingredients are vitamin E, soft aloe vera gel, and fragrance to nourish and moisturize the skin. Baby oil does make you tan faster because it attracts the UV rays and helps it penetrate the skin more quickly, resulting in a darker and deeper tan. But it is not safe to use baby oil for tanning as they don’t contain sunscreen protection. As a result, your skin has a high chance of getting burned by the sun’s rays, and the risk of skin cancer and other problems also increases.
Other natural Oils
Other than baby and coconut oil, people use different natural oils for tanning worldwide, including Olive oil, bio-oil, vegetable oil, and carrot oil.
Olive oil, bio-oil, vegetable oil, and carrot oil can help you get a faster and darker tan as they contain the healthy fats and minerals that moisturize your skin, attract UV rays, and enhance melanin production.
As these oils do not contain any sun-protecting ingredient, there is a high risk of getting burned by the sun, which is really not safe for the skin, and that is why experts don’t suggest using any oil solely for tanning purposes. Always use a high SPF sunscreen before you go out to the sun to protect yourself from harmful UV rays.
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Hi, I am Charlotte Hughes. I have in-depth expertise in beauty and tanning and am updated with the latest trends in the glamorous world. I will share the tips and tricks with practical knowledge to help you achieve your desired tanning look.
