What’s that one essential step before stepping on the beach in your bikini or swimming trunks for the first time in almost a year? Besides the pre-vacation workout and the endless shopping and packing? It’s that one thing that will really enhance your body in a bathing suit. The elusive, perfectly bronzed suntan. With so many people getting ready for spring break trips, and even prom coming up, people tend to get in the tanning beds the most during this season for a “base tan”. Please don’t!
The base tan is something all people from the Midwest are very familiar with. We don’t shed the winter layers for at least 6 months, not including the time spent in Spring and Fall jackets. Society tends to associate suntanned skin with a healthful lifestyle. No matter what shade of tan you achieve, exposing your skin to the sun without protection equals skin cell damage!
Just one blistering burn can drastically increase your chance of getting skin cancer, especially to someone under the age of 20 because of their sensitive skin. The risk of skin cancer can be doubled with just five severe burns! Skin cancer awareness is much more than it used to be, but still it’s so important to be aware of these facts. Beside the threat of skin cancer, skin cell damage from the sun causes premature aging like wrinkles, discoloration, age spots, loss of skin elasticity, dry skin and more.
On to the solution… sunless tanning! The most effective sunless tanners contain DHA (dihydroxyacetone) as the active ingredient. DHA is actually a colorless sugar that responds to amino acids on the skin and the reaction is a change in pigments called melanoidins. Although all of these changes sound potentially harsh to the skin, it’s actually a non-toxic change that occurs just on the skin surface. Airbrushing is definitely the way to go if you’re willing to splurge and stand in your underwear while someone sprays you. Another awesome product is St. Tropez sunless tanner, which you can buy at beauty supply stores like Ulta, and can be done at home after the shower. The best part of St. Tropez is that it doesn’t have that sunless tanner smell! Jergen’s Natural Glow is another favorite of mine, and can be bought at the grocery store for less than $5. Just make sure with the lotion that you 1) exfoliate in the shower, 2) mix the Natural Glow with regular lotion, and 3) wash your hands and nails really well after applying! Thicker areas of skin absorb more of the lotion, so that’s why palms, nails, ankles, and feet stain more easily. I’m a very, very pale redhead, so I’m somewhat of a sunless tanning connoisseur.
So spring break beach-goers, please skip the tanning beds and go for a sunless tanner! And don’t forget to pack extra sunscreen! There are a couple of physical sunscreens (the most protective kind) that you can buy at the drug store, as well as some great options at your dermatologist’s office. It’s also extremely important to know the ABCDEs so that you can check any suspicious moles on your body.
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