I don't know about the rest of you, but one of my favorite things about summer is the ability to tan. Yes, I know it's bad for your skin. Yes. I'm aware I could get skin cancer. But, personally, tanning relaxes me. I listen to the sounds around me, read, and just ignore the rest of the world.
However, there has been many a blistered, burned night in my history because I didn't always tan properly. Seriously.... I turned my back a lovely shade of purple once. Ok, more than once. I figured I could share a few tips with you guys to spare you the horror.
1. Start small
One of the most horrifying stories I heard in college was of a girl trying to get a tan. I went to college in Florida, 45 minutes away from the beach, so as soon as it was warm enough people flocked there. Of course, there more than a few burned faces and cases of sun poisoning.
But this story was truly horrific. The stuff of your tanning nightmares.
So this terribly bright, pasty white Michigan girl wanted a tan. All good and well, who doesn't.
The very first time she goes to the beach. She takes tin foil and lays on the tin foil and slathers herself in oil. And then falls asleep for more than an hour. In the sun.
She was blistered and red beyond recognition. (Florida sun and white sands make for a nice intense burn as it is.)
Don't be that girl. Please.
If you're skin isn't used to tanning, and even if it is, start in small increments. Normally, I'll start out with 10 or 15 minutes on each side. I know that sounds measly starting out, but it's extremely important to get a base layer on the skin.
2. Be aware of the sun
I don't know if anyone else lives in hot area, but I do. So one thing I have be continually is be aware of how hot it is outside. If it's too hot to tan. Don't. Just don't. If you find yourself in this situation, immediately go inside and get cool. It's no good to anyone to die of heat stroke.
This also goes for if you feel your skin getting uncomfortably hot. You've already got a sun burn. It's only going to get worse.
3. Stay Hydrated.
Literally. Just that. As you're laying out, especially if you're by a pool, it's easy to get dehydrated. Especially as you start to get up into the hours mark. Take a water bottle or two and drink a lot as your out there. If you're not by a source of water, or even if you are, you may want to take a spray bottle and spritz yourself every once in a while. Or, if you're by the water get in the pool. Too, be aware that the reflection of the water on your skin could cause you to burn. Again, if you're skin is uncomfortably hot, you're already burned.
4. Exfoliate.
Now, I was reading somewhere, that you shouldn't worry about shaving after you tan, but personally, I won't. When you shave, you're taking a layer of your skin off, so it stands to reason that if you shave after tanning, before tan is deep it will take the layers of skin off and the tan with it. However, to help your tan get deeper, you want to exfoliate and shave before hand. This removes the top layer of skin so that your tan can be deeper.
5. Use an oil.
Over the years, I've been using different oils. I did Ocean Potion for a while because I liked the way it smelled, but it didn't give me the best tan. Now, I use the Banana Boat deep tanning oil. The kind with no spf. I apply it liberally on each side every time I flip.
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