Prolong the life of your tan

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after sun, aftersun, ageing, damage, Dermalogica Ultra Rich Body Cream, gradual, harmful, hydrate, moisturise, natural, prolong, protect, replenish, skin, SPF, SPF15, SPF30, SPF50, sun, tan, tanner, tanning, UVA, UVB

Here a Pure Beauty, tanning is a bit of a hot topic for us; while we love to travel and spend time in warmer climates, we’re all too aware of the damage that the sun can do to our skins and how much of an effect that has on the ageing process. However, tans which are achieved naturally and gradually (i.e. not through deliberately baking ourselves in the sun for hours) can give us a healthy glow that we want to hold onto, so we thought we’d share some tips and tricks for prolonging your tan, with the use of some handy Decleor and Dermalogica products.

Use the right sunscreen

So many people still think that if you use sunscreen you won’t tan, which is nonsense. Using the right broad-spectrum sunscreen with a high SPF will protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays and prevent your skin from burning. Using a minimum of SPF30 is essential (unless you’re naturally dark skin, when an SPF15 should suffice) as is reapplying every 2 hours, to ensure your skin absorbs only the good parts of the suns rays.

Find Shade

The skin has a natural cut-off point for how much melanin it will produce, which means that sitting in the sun all day long isn’t going to increase the depth of your tan if you’re just not that dark skinned to begin with. Give your skin regular breaks by sitting in the shade to avoid damage from UVA and UVB rays and use an aftersun to replenish the moisture lost and prolong your tan.

Eat carrots!

Okay, this one may sound a little ridiculous but beta-carotene is found in carrots and can hugely improve the skin’s ability to tan. It’s best taken as a supplement, rather than becoming a Bugs Bunny impersonator, but taking a beta-carotene supplement daily can improve your skins natural defences against the sun and will give you longer before the skin starts to burn, as well as increasing melanin production, the thing which gives us a colour.

MOISTURISE!

Sorry to get all shouty, but we cannot emphasise this one enough: MOIST-U-RISE! Keeping the skin well hydrated is the single most important step towards maintaining your tan. Skin which is dehydrated will immediately start to look dull and more pale, so we recommend stepping up your moisturising routine and adding something rich like Dermalogica Ultra Rich Body Cream to give you maximum moisture potential.

Fake it

If all else fails, fake it! There’s no point risking your health to top up your tan when there are so many amazing gradual tanners on the market which allow you to build a natural looking colour without ANY of the risks associated with tanning.

How To Deal With Sunburn

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after sun, burn, cancer, damage, holiday, inflammation, skin, SPF, summer, sun, sun burn, sun damage

Okay, so we’re aware that there’s scarcely been any sunburn-worthy weather here in the UK, despite it being well into June, but nevertheless it’s always good to know how to deal with sunburn if and when it happens. Avoiding sunburn altogether with a high-SPF is obviously the best thing to do, as just 5 cases of sunburn in a lifetime increases the risk of skin cancer by up to 80%, but if it does occur, we’ve got some tips on how to soothe and repair your skin.

Get out of the sun

It may seem like a no-brainer that getting out of the sun when you have sunburn is the first thing to do, but it’s amazing how many people will continue on their slavish quest for a tan by remaining in the sun, even when they’re burnt. In fact, remaining in the sun is not going to improve your chances of getting a tan and will just continue to do damage, both on a surface and a cellular level and your skin can only start to repair itself when you get into the shade.

Take an anti-inflammatory

Providing you aren’t asthmatic or allergic to ibuprofen, taking an anti-inflammatory can really help to reduce the discomfort of sunburn, and reducing the inflammation with obviously also help your skin to transition to the healing period.

Drink plenty of water

When your skin is burnt, it immediately starts to draw moisture to the site of the burn to try to cool and soothe the skin, so that the healing process can begin. This means that your body will need additional moisture to keep up with the demand, so staying hydrated with plenty of water is a must. It’s also wise to try to avoid alcohol at this time as it will dehydrate you and stunt the healing process greatly.

Moisturise

Using a dedicated after sun product, such as Decleor High Repair After Sun Balm for the Face and Decleor Soothing After Sun Milk for the Body will help greatly with the healing process as they contain several ingredients which will help to replenish the skins natural protection. Both products will also help your skin to develop a deep, even and lasting tan once your sunburn has healed.

Refrigerate Your Products!

This may seem like an odd suggestion but keeping your after sun and moisturiser in the fridge will not only feel great but it will help the healing in the long run. Part of healing a burn is helping the skin to return to its normal temperature as burns can continue to be hot for sometime after the initial exposure, so applying a cold balm to the skin will be hugely beneficial.