Visiting tanning salon is no joke. In this article you will learn how to get ready for this important thing and what rules to follow to get cute even suntan without harming your health.
Consult Health Specialist
The number one rule goes, before tanning – naturally or in a tanning salon – consult health specialists. Visit dermatologist, cancer specialist and gynecologist.
Tanning Contraindications
- If you are under 18, tanning salon is not for you. Until this age, our skin is more vulnerable to sunburns, which means higher risk of cancer.
- Suntan may be harmful if you take antibiotics, hormone pills, antidepressant medication and blood pressure drugs.
- UV-light dampens the effect of these medicines. Moreover, we know so little about how UV-light interacts with some medicines that the result could be simply unpredictable! Avoid tanning during pregnancy, lactation and monthly cycle.
Taking Shower before and after Tanning
Do not wash yourself with soap 4 hours before going to tanning salon and for 4 hours after you finish. Taking shower before tanning, you wash the outer layer of dead cells away, leaving your skin without natural protection. On the other hand, taking shower or a bath within 4 hours after visiting tanning salon brings your efforts to nothing.
How Often Can You Tan?
Do not go to tanning salon every day. The minimal interval should be 1-2 days depending on how sensitive your skin is.
We get suntan because UV-light injures our skin and it develops melanin pigment for protection. It takes 1-2 days for the skin to recover after UV-light attack. If you overlook this rule and get suntan every day, you may experience health problems in future.
Red Skin after Tanning
Also, there is a common misconception among most visitors of tanning salons: if my skin doesn’t get red, I won’t get my suntan. That’s absolutely wrong! Red skin after tanning is a sign of sunburn. Sunburns are dangerous. To minimize the risk, you should get your suntan gradually, increasing the number of visits to the salon.
Try not to increase the time you spend in tanning bed by more than two minutes. If you have fair and sensitive skin, increase it by no more than a minute.
How to Protect Your Skin during Tanning?
Don’t forget to protect most sensitive parts – genitals, breasts, eyes, lips and moles. Doctors encourage us not to put underwear off, but if nothing stops you to tan in the nude, use tanning stickers (nipples protection). Besides, you must wear special glasses that are available at every decent tanning salon.
It is a must to apply tanning creams. This rule is often ignored by most visitors who say that they can get even suntan without creams. Well, creams are there not only to get a better tan. Primarily, they work as moisturizers. It’s crucial to apply them because UV-light dries the skin, resulting in premature aging. Moisturized skin is more protected, which helps maintain its youthful look and elasticity.
How to Choose Tanning Cosmetics?
You may reasonably ask: Could I use regular moisturizing creams for face and body? You can use them but they never provide the effects of specially designed tanning creams. The thing is that most moisturizing creams contain bleaching agents (fruit acids, for example). You don’t need bleaching effect after visiting tanning salon, do you?
Tanning creams should not be used by allergic individuals and by those with oily skin who go to tanning salons to dry their skin a little bit. Most people often think applying tanning creams means unnaturally looking tan. Well, it all depends on the cream you choose!
Of course, the effect can be brought by bronzer containing creams (they work like self-tanning if exposed to UV-light), if you apply them to the untanned skin. Use only high quality suntan activator creams that boost melanin production for better and more natural-looking suntan. Anyway, ask experienced specialists at tanning salon about creams available and their possible adverse effects.
Source of the image: surfspraytan.com, airbrushtanning365.com, emirates.com, fakebake.com.au.
