How to get a sun tanned look this summer
Post contains affiliate linksI am a huge advocate for SPF, come rain or shine we should be applying it everyday. Using sunbeds, sitting in the sun without protection (even with protection for too long is not ideal) are probably a dermatologist’s worst nightmare, mine too.
But we all love that summer glow, heck I love it all year round, I’m not really a fan of looking super pale, you know when someone asks you if you’re feeling unwell on a Monday morning - you get it. So how can we get a sun tan the healthy way?
We get a sun tan because sun protection isn’t 100% effective
It is important to remember that sunscreen as a whole acts as a filter, it cannot prevent 100% exposure to the sun, which is why we tan to some extent even with sunscreen. I just want to let you guys know that there is no safe way of getting a sun tan. In actual fact getting a tan is a response to damage in our skin cells once it has been exposed to too much radiation.
If you are jetting off on holiday to a hot country the sun is unavoidable, so when you are on holiday the healthiest and safest way to tan is to layer on that SPF and protect your precious skin. I hear a lot of people say ‘oh I won’t tan if I wear SPF 30 or 50’ - who gave you this information people?!
Wearing a low SPF increases the speed of UVB and UVA damage and wearing a high SPF prolongs the time it takes. For example, wearing SPF 50 means your skin could take 50 times longer to burn than it would if you didn’t protect your skin. Which is why even though I wear SPF 50 and no less, I still return home with a tan and even better - no burns! I reapply frequently and liberally - I cannot stress how important this is especially if swimming and just general sweat from being in the sun.
How to get a healthy sun tanned look
Below are some of my recommendations on getting a healthy and safe sun tan and speaking of skin safety, I want to share some of my personal advice. Please do not use sunbeds, I cannot even think of one good reason for anyone to be using them.
They release UVA and UVB rays at such a close proximity to the skin and often the rays are stronger than the midday sun - dangerous stuff. Using sunbeds can increase your chances of getting skin cancer and quite simply no glow is worth shortening your lifespan. This blog right here gives you alternatives to get that bronzed look without serious harm and yes it requires a bit of effort but are the consequences of sunbeds really worth it? No they aren’t!
One of my favourite areas of my body to have sun tanned is my face. Yet it is the area I am most protective of (flashback to when I was a teenager on holiday in Greece, I didn’t care, I did not use SPF, half my face went patchy and didn’t return to normal for months - huge mistake!
My lovely Greek mama never lets me forget that). So how do I get that glow on my face? Well apart from sunbathing a bit on holiday whilst using my SPF, there are a few nifty products that can give me that tan without 1. damaging my skin and 2. they can be ordered from the comfort of my bed and delivered straight to my door.
Drunk Elephant is one of my favourite skincare brands, I have been a fan of the brand for many years. I tried their D-Bronzi anti pollution sunshine drops and it has recently received huge hype. I wasn’t completely sold on it initially but I realised I was using too much product, only a small amount is needed. I would say one pump is more than enough to add to your moisturizer and just a tip, it's a bit too concentrated to be used on its own.
What is great about this product is that you can apply it to any other part of your body where you want that tan bronzed look and it will look like you’ve just come back from the south of France - 2 in 1! One thing I do really like is, as like all of their other products, it doesn’t contain what they call the ‘suspicious 6’ - no silicones, drying alcohols, chemical screens, SLS, essential oils and fragrances and we love to see this for our skin!
DRUNK ELEPHANT
D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops D-BRONZI SUNSHINE DROPS 30ML
Another similar product which I personally love the results of are Tan-Luxe’s illuminating drops, which can also be added to your moisturizer. There are different shades you can purchase depending on how tanned you want to look, I use medium/dark because I have an olive skin tone. I mix this in with my cream, as the lack of Vitamin D in London town right about now is making me sad. It honestly gives me that sunkissed glow and without damaging my skin! It gives a natural sun tanned look which is what we want, we want to be asked where did we go on holiday? When really you were home watching The Last of Us (fantastic show by the way).
TAN-LUXE
The Face Self-Tan Drops Medium/Dark 30ml
Here in the UK everyone has most likely heard of Molly-Mae, she created her fake tan product ‘Filter by Molly-Mae’ and I will admit that for a tanning mousse it is easy to apply, it doesn’t have that fake tan smell, it doesn’t streak and it’s lightweight. It does, like a lot of other body tanning products, require your skin to be exfoliated and to use a mitt for even application and it comes in different shades.
Filter by Molly-Mae
Medium Mousse 200ml
It takes between 4-6 hours for the sun tan to develop, it doesn’t stain bed sheets so you can even go to bed and wash off in the morning! One thing I really like about it - it dries fast!
That Australian glow is lovely isn’t it? Thanks to Bondi Sands we can look like we have just come back from Byron Bay. This Self Tanning Dark Foam mousse applies evenly and smoothly - I think this is down to the aloe vera, it’s easy to apply with a mitt and doesn’t leave any streaks. It’s so quick to dry that you can wash it off after one hour (or leave it on for up to 6 hours for a darker tan). This product also comes in different shades so you can choose how bronzed you may want to look. I have used this plenty of times and haven’t been disappointed!
Bondi Sands
Self Tanning Foam Dark 200ml
Get bronzed, stay healthy
A lot of people love the glow that sun tanned skin can give us, myself included but I won’t damage my skin in order to achieve it. There are plenty of products that can help us to stay bronzed throughout the year and none of them will cause serious harm - now that’s the healthy way.
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