Tips To Make A Tan Last Longer

Regardless of whether you tan naturally in the sun, in a tanning bed, with a spray tan, or with at-home tanning products, there are many steps you can take to help your tan last longer. This reduces the frequency with which you need to tan, which may be better for both your skin and your wallet. Here are a few of the tips you should follow to help your tan last longer:

Prepare Your Skin Prior to Tanning

Before you tan, you will want to prepare your skin. The best way to do this is to take a shower, shave and exfoliate. When you tan, you want your skin to be free of deodorant, oils, lotions, makeup, and residue. This can prevent spray tans and at-home tanning products from adhering and can cause natural or tanning bed tans to be patchy or uneven. Exfoliating prior to tanning helps to remove dead skin cells, which helps your skin to tan better. And shaving can cause your tan to fade slightly, especially with sprays, creams, gels, and wipes, so get this out of the way before you tan. 

Learn How to Properly Shower

You can cause your tan to fade because you did not shower properly. Showering with hot water is not only bad for your skin, but it is bad from your tan as well. Instead, shower in warm water and use a mild soap. Avoid exfoliants or abrasive scrubbing products, like loofahs. 

Moisturize Your Skin

Moisturizing your skin is one of the best ways to extend the life of any type of tan you have. However, when you moisturize your skin, you will want to use a standard lotion that is not oil-based. Oil-based lotions can eat away at the coloring in unnatural tanning products, causing them to fade. The oil can also dry out your skin, which can cause natural tans to fade a bit faster. There are also moisturizing lotions out there that contain small amounts of tanning product in them. This can help you to keep your color longer. However, you have to apply the product evenly to your body, or you may wind up looking streaky with repeated use. 

Avoid Things That Cause a Tan to Fade

The last way that you can help to make a tan last longer is to avoid things that can cause a tan to fade. Sunscreen, chlorine and heavy amounts of sweating can all cause your tan to fade away. If you are looking to extend the life of your tan, especially a spray tan or a tan you gave yourself with at-home products, avoid swimming, being out in the sun to the point you need to put on sunblock or working out so hard you sweat profusely. 

No tan is going to last forever. However, there are steps you can take to help your tan last longer. It is important to keep in mind that different types of tans last longer than others, regardless of what steps or actions you take, so keep your expectations realistic. However, following these tips will help to keep your skin tan and glowing for as long as possible. 

Contact a company like Wash n' Tan Vancouver for more information and assistance. 

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