Summer: how get a golden and uniform tan in 5 steps.
Summer is coming and, from various surveys on the tastes of Italians, the sea remains the preferred destination. The reason is not limited to the blue water and the desire to swim: most people can't wait to be lulled by the waves and "colored" by the sun!
A tan is therefore the goal of many but, although healthy, you must pay close attention to how you get it in order not to run into health problems.
Let's see together the good habits to follow on the beach and how best to prepare yourself to get a healthy, golden tan.
The risks of tanning
It may seem incredible to you, but a tan is a defense response of our body from the negative effects of the sun!
Yes, about 5% of the sun's rays are reflected and dispersed, but the remaining 95% is absorbed at several levels by our skin which, to minimize the damage caused by UV rays, releases melanin, the substance responsible of the tan.
So: more melanin, more colour! Hence our beautiful tan.
But. Skin aging?
The sun speeds it up considerably: the collagen and elastin molecules, which guarantee softness and fullness to our skin, change and become damaged.
The skin will tend to show furrows inevitably highlighting wrinkles, due to the dryness of the dermis.
The sun and its benefits.
The sun can do a lot of good for you, it's all a matter of exposure times and duration.
The sun undoubtedly brings various benefits to our body, starting with the production of vitamin D, which is difficult to integrate except with exposure to the sun's rays, extraordinarily important for our immune defenses and general well-being.
It is also essential for those suffering from bone problems such as osteoporosis or other pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.
The UV rays that penetrate the skin transform a molecule (7-dehydrocholesterol) into vitamin D3 which helps the calcium in our body to bind to the bones, strengthening them.
But if the sun is good for you, how can you take it without risk while ensuring a golden tan?
Just follow 5 simple rules:
1- Never expose yourself to the sun between 11:00 and 16:00: in this time slot the sun is harmful because it is too strong, making any attempt to protect yourself with sunscreen or continuous immersion in water useless. Always prefer early morning or late afternoon.
2- Choosing the right sunscreen: especially at the beginning of our holiday, with skin still pale from the winter, we need to use creams with protection 40 or 50, gradually decreasing as the days go by, when our tan will start appearing.
3- In addition to a good cream, it is important to tan gradually. The first 2-3 days it is advisable not to stay in the sun for more than an hour, taking refuge under an umbrella if necessary: spending hours in the sun right away, going towards good and good sunburns, is very harmful. Let's give our skin time to color.
4- Use substances such as vitamin C and collagen stimulants after exposure. They are used to repair sun damage and help the skin restore its balance without excessively reddening. If you are consistent and can take care of your skin after the sun, you will be rewarded! Instead of getting damaged and reddened, the skin will take on a golden and healthy glow.
5- Eat lots of carrots and use an oil to nourish your skin after exposure! (or put a cream with carrot oil). Carrots and oils such as broccoli, grape and pomegranate oil have a miraculous action on the skin if applied in the evening after the sun. They nourish skin dried out by the sun's rays, give a homogeneous color, stimulate the production of collagen to avoid the appearance of wrinkles and in addition they make your skin take on a golden color.
These good habits apply to everyone regardless of their phototype (i.e. for very light-colored and therefore more sensitive subjects, and for brown-skinned or very dark-skinned people) and regardless of the degree of tan already achieved by one's body.
Your ally for a healthy and homogeneous tan
The good habits we have talked about are very important and we must never forget to follow them so as not to burn ourselves.
Nourishing and natural serums, however, can be a valid ally for our skin by carrying out a preventive and protective action on the skin.
In the form of light serums, they are able to accelerate various internal processes in our body and, if used consistently, they will help our skin tan more evenly and easily, protecting its state of health.
In fact, the uniformity of the tan is not natural for everyone. There are people who are unable to tan evenly on all parts of the body. With the right serums, it is possible to prepare the skin and make it more able to color.
Which serums should be used to speed up the tan and give a homogeneous and golden complexion?
Seras based on carotenoids should be preferred, such as beta-carotene and lycopene, which are naturally contained above all in red, yellow and orange vegetables (eg. tomatoes, carrots and peppers).
In fact, these substances stimulate the natural pigmentation of the skin, predispose it to sun exposure and improve the natural protective processes against UV rays.
The consequence will be a more compact, golden and harmonious tan, also reducing the risk of burning on the first day of exposure to the sun.
Vitamins C and A are also very important: together with carotenoids, in fact, they fight free radicals, responsible for wrinkles, various blemishes and premature aging.
Another effective component is hyaluronic acid, a molecule that guarantees hydration and elasticity to the skin, stimulating the production of collagen.
It is easy to conclude that a complete serum of all these ingredients would allow the skin to be optimally prepared for the summer season.
So off to a healthy tan and a well-deserved relaxation by the sea!