Safe no-sun tanning. How to get tanned in solarium without doing any harm to your skin?

Indeed, solar radiation is truly harmful therefore reaching for sunscreens should be considered as a must during the summer. Is solarium a better solution to obtain long-lasting tan? Find out how solarium affects skin and how to get tanned to harm skin in the least possible degree.

The current beauty canons state that the most attractive skin is delicately sun-kissed, smooth and lightened up, with no imperfections. By exposing skin to appropriate beauty routines, we can provide it with softness and health, yet not tan.

What’s tan?

We do want to have it, but we know little about it. In plain English, tan is a brownish skin shade which most people consider as a sign of attractiveness. We strive for obtaining sun-kissed skin without being aware of the fact that suntan is… a defence system of our organism! What does it mean?

Our skin is equipped with hundred thousands of melanocytes, which are the cells responsible for producing melanin – a pigment. It’s due to the increased amount of melanin that our skin becomes more brown. What’s interesting, this outcome is a kind of a side effect because the main function of melanin is absorption of harmful radiation which is delivered to us by, for example, the sun. And that’s the reason why our skin gets brown.

Natural ways of making your skin tanned

Naturally pale skin can be made a little bit darker, certainly. All that you have to so is stimulate melanocytes to work. How to do this? The easiest way is to expose yourself to the sun, however, this solution has its drawbacks. UV radiation, which is produced by the sun, can do harm to us – it accelerates skin ageing processes, dehydrates, causes redness and even favours cancer. For that reason, it’s essential to protect skin using appropriate filters (in the summer SPF has to be higher) which are able to block UVA and UVB radiation that reaches our skin. Sadly, it’s harder to get tanned, at the same time.

If you don’t like or when you are afraid of exposing the body to the sun, you can take advantage of other methods of getting tanned. It’s worth giving a go to various options, having in mind that each of them has pros and cons. The most popular methods of gifting skin with brownish shade are:

• visiting a solarium,
• use of spray tan,
• application of self-tanning cosmetics,
• use of self-tanning wipes,
• consumption of products containing beta-carotene,
• application of body bronzer.

Bronzing & self-tanning cosmetics are a short-span solution which frequently doesn’t produce natural effects. We can regularly use body balms that have additional self-tanning properties, once in a while apply a self-tanning cream or reach either for self-tanning wipes or a bronzer, especially right before an important event. Fake suntan obtained in this way isn’t durable enough because it doesn’t accelerate melanin production, yet it darkens only the superficial surface of epidermis.

Consumption of products containing beta-carotene is a way of producing long-lasting tan but obtaining it very, very hard. The most popular vegetable that significantly accelerates getting tan is carrot. It’s due to the huge concentration of beta-carotene thanks to which skin wins this golden shade and is, at the same time, protected against the sun. Unfortunately, this process is slow and sudden introduction of huge amounts of beta-carotene into organism may can cause harm.

Spray tan is an option that is often chosen by women who have an important life event approaching. It enables to obtain tan in a nick of time and camouflage skin imperfections that blemish the entire body. This kind of suntan is even but fake and can stain clothes because it works similarly to self-tanning cosmetics – superficially.

Solarium – an alternative to the sun?

There are many myths concerning solarium therefore it’s hard to state clearly whether this option is good. The supporters of solarium think that it’s a safer solution than exposing body to the sun, it delivers natural-looking and even effects. Moreover, thanks to a few sessions on solarium all discolorations and imperfections vanish from skin. On the other hand, the opponents of this solution warn against the fact that solarium is harmful to our skin because it produces UVA radiation as well.

Indeed, the aim of solarium bed creators was to design a device that would deliver significantly huge amount of UVA radiation to skin so as to obtain a durable tan without exposing body to the sun. Sadly, back then, we didn’t know that much about UVA radiation and he way it affects our skin. The common belief then was that tan is the outcome of exposing body to UVA radiation. The blame for all sunburns and harm done to the skin was taken by UVB radiation.

Today we know that all kinds of UV radiations are harmful therefore getting tanned due to solarium isn’t such a good idea any longer. However, if you decide to take advantage of solarium, do it rarely and remember to protect skin appropriately.

Here are the most important solarium bed use rules:

1. Use only tested and regularly serviced solarium beds.
2. Before laying your body in the solarium bed, cover your face and body with a sunscreen.
3. Always wear special eye-protecting glasses.
4. When the session is over, coat your skin with a special body product so as to prevent dehydration.
5. If you are under 16, you shouldn’t use solarium beds at all.
6. Before laying your bed in the solar bed, remove make-up and take the jewellery off.
7. Follow the safety rules concerning time that can be devoted to using solarium beds.
8. Resign form visiting solarium if you suffer from skin ailments, if you have rash or take antibiotics.