Getting the desired tanned skin doesn’t happen overnight. However, chances are you have a busy schedule ahead of you and worry that you won’t be able to get a full tan before your next beach trip.
Here are ways you get tan quickly and effectively.
Sun Tanning
Let’s start with the most common way of getting tanner skin: sun tanning. Although this is the simplest and least expensive method, this also poses threats to your skin due to what we call UV exposure.
UV rays from the sun are their worst between 10 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. It would be preferable to go sun tanning by avoiding those peak hours.
Here are some ways you can minimize the time spent under the sun while getting good results.
Sunscreen
Always put on sunscreen whenever you go on a tan. This is what will protect your skin from those harmful UV rays.
An SPF level of 30 to 50 should be enough to keep your skin protected.
But don’t fret. This won’t prevent you from getting a tan. Apply around 10 minutes before going out for a tan.
Switch Positions
This is more for keeping your tan consistent as well as avoiding skin burns in certain parts of the skin.
Be Aware Of The Melanin Cut-Off Point
Melanin production is what causes your skin to tan. However, it has a cut-off point. This means that at a certain point, the production will cease, and the sun exposure will just cause skin damage.
The usual cut-off point happens at around 2 to 3 hours. You shouldn’t spend that much time under the sun when tanning anyway. Sun tanning should be around 30 minutes at most.
Self-Tanners
That’s right, you actually don’t need to go outside or book a session in your tanning booth to get a tan.
This is especially great for those who are too busy to go outside after peak hours or don’t have the time to book tanning sessions. The best part about this is that you get to do this in the comfort of your own home.
Self-tanners cater to different skin types, which means you can choose which one will react to your skin without any complications.
Sun tanning and indoor tanning can dry your skin, which calls for you to hydrate either through moisturizing or drinking water. The good thing about self-tanners is that some products also come with moisturizing capabilities.
There are also self-tanners that you can use during a shower, which can help make things more convenient for you. If you truly are pressed for time but don’t want to compromise good tanned results, self-tanners are a good way to tan while saving up on time.
Eating Food With Beta-Carotene
Now we’ll get into what can help speed up tanning.
You might be in shock but eating certain foods can help with the tanning process. The good thing about this pigment is that the human body converts it into vitamin A.
Beta-carotene is a red-orange pigment found in fruits and vegetables. The most well-known example of a food with beta-carotene are carrots.
Not only does this benefit eye, skin, and organ health (to name a few), but it also boosts the production of melanin in your body. Incorporating food rich in beta-carotene will help increase the speed in which your body will produce melanin, making the tanning process faster.
This way, you don’t need to spend too much time under the sun or worry about not getting your desired tan. Plus, most of these foods are healthy for you.
Eat Foods Rich In Lycopene
Beta-carotene isn’t the only thing that will help you tan faster. You can also eat foods that contain lycopene to help speed up the tanning process.
What lycopene does is that it helps protect your skin from getting burned. So it acts as a secondary form of protection from UV rays. That doesn’t mean that you should skip out on sunscreen. It just helps.
Some foods that contain lycopene also contain beta-carotene, so you’ll be getting two in one if you eat those kinds of food.
As for what they are, these include tomatoes, guava, grapefruit, watermelon, and asparagus, to name a few.
Exfoliating
Exfoliation is the first step that you should do regardless of what method of tanning you choose to do.
Exfoliating your skin means removing dead skin cells so that only new and fresh skin cells take in the tanning effects. Not only is this vital but it is also a good way to save up on time while getting good tanning results.
You won’t have to worry about white spots popping up since all the dead skin cells have been removed. This makes it much quicker for you to achieve the results without having to keep going outside or booking a session.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are other foods that have beta-carotene?
Aside from carrots, other vegetables that have beta-carotene include spinach, peas, lettuce, and squash.
As for fruits, tomatoes, grapefruit, mangoes, and some oranges are rich in beta-carotene.
An indicator is to check the color of the fruit or vegetable. Red, yellow, and green vegetables typically have beta-carotene.
Is using self-tanners faster than sun tanning/indoor tanning?
Results depend on the skin type and other factors.
What self-tanning does offer is more flexibility in when to tan as compared to sun tanning. And compared to indoor tanning, there is more time dedicated to prep time since you don’t need to leave the house and go to a tanning salon.
How to avoid orange-looking tan
Orange-looking skin can happen when applying self-tanners. To avoid this, pick a self-tanner that reacts with your skin properly and gets the intended result.
A good way to gauge is to do a patch test. Apply a self-tanner on a small part of your skin and see the results. That way you can identify what works and what doesn’t without having to put it all over your skin.
Conclusion
Tanning is a process that requires some thought and time put into it so the results can look good without compromising your health. Hopefully, these tips can help you go around the long process while keeping your skin healthy and looking good.