The one thing on a girl's mind when the idea of summer comes along is not only finding a bikini of perfection but getting a TAN of perfection! On today's blog post, I'm going to be breaking down how tanning actually works, what to do when you go a bit overboard and get a sunburn and tips on tanning a bit safer!
How Tanning Works:
In our skin, we have the cell process of melanogenesis. This process includes Melanocyte cells that produce Melanin which help protect the body from any radiation damage by soaking in the UV radiations from the sun, causing your skin to darken. Meloncytes create 2 different types of melanin- pheomelanin (red) as well as eumelanin (darker brown).
Tanning is different for each skin tone.People with very light skin (like some, natural blondes and natural red heads) produce more pheomelanin which causes them to sunburn more than they sun tan. People of darker skin
tones produce more eumelanin which causes the nice brown hue that they get from tanning or their natural brown skin tone.
Examples:
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| Scarlett Johansson (Beige or Yellow Undertone) |
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| ANTM Cycle 13 winner- Nicole Fox (Porcelain or Pink Undertone) |
If you are on the fair side, you have porcelain or pink undertones and your more than likely to sunburn than tan.
If you have beige or yellow undertones, its a bit easier for you to tan but it's just as easy to sunburn.
If you are of darker skin tone, you very rarely sun burn.If you are of an olive tone, it's very easy for you to tan and you rarely sunburn.
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| Liya Kebede (Darker Skin Tone) |
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| Victoria Justice (Olive Skin Tone) |
How To Treat A Sunburn:
Fell asleep on the beach or forgot to put on your sunblock? Don't worry it's happened to everyone before. From your red, irritated skin to the pain you feel whenever someone touches your sunburned areas, no one likes the nasty aftermath of being in the sun too long.Luckily, it doesn't take too long to heal from a sunburn.
While your sunburn is healing, it's important to keep yourself out of as much sun as possible. When you go out, put on a good amount of sunblock to protect yourself of further skin damage. A lot of people suggest that Aloe helps soothe the pain. Drinking a lot of water will keep you hydrated. For some, sunburning can lead to dehydration as well.
Tips On Tanning a Little Safer:
One thing you could do to tan safer is to apply a sun block of lower spf before you go out. This way, you get the protection that you need to avoid a sunburn and still get a nice tan. This is really important if you are going in water.
I would advice you to stay out of the sun when it is at it's highest peak and when the UV radiations are at their strongest. Those times could be around 12 to maybe 3 in the afternoon. It really depends on where you are.
Though it might be tempting due to over advertisement, tanning beds I would say is a major DON'T! Artificial sunlight is not the way to go because you have a higher chance of getting skin cancer. If you want an alternative to tanning beds or a faster tan, spray tanning is always nice. Just make sure you get the right color, otherwise, you could end up looking like an orange. Also,there are several sun tanning lotions out there to try.Just to name a couple- the Kardashian's Glamour Tan tanning lotion or the Neutrogena Micromist Tanning Sunless Spray and there are many others to choose from.
Thank you for checking out this blog post! I hope you enjoyed and I hope I helped you! Stay tuned in for more blog posts.
Love,
