Because there is nothing worse than a sunburn from the first exposure, there are numerous tips to prep your skin for the sun. In addition, beyond allowing adequate protection from UV rays, it ensures you an even and golden tan that lasts longer…
Why prepare your skin for the sun?
If working on your tan with oils, monoi, or others is no longer relevant in recent years, it is still important to prepare your skin before exposing yourself to the sun.
This will prevent your skin from being attacked by the sun’s rays, of course, but it will also allow you to obtain a more even and lasting tan.
Indeed, good preparation of your skin allows you to stimulate your tan. Tanned skin is the result of your skin overproducing melanin. Know that there are tips, often natural, to boost this production even before exposing yourself to the sun.
Get ready to have a golden, uniform, and lasting tan, while exposing yourself less and better to UV rays, responsible among other things for the premature aging of the skin.
We rethink our diet
Preparing and caring for your body goes as much from the inside as the outside and beautiful skin constantly results from a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet.
Concerning the preparation of the skin for the sun, certain foods are particularly loaded with vitamins and elements that protect the skin, boost the tan or even promote the regeneration of the epidermis. Essentials when you want to prepare your skin for the coming summer!
Beta-carotene
The star food prepares the skin for the sun. Beta-carotene is transformed into retinol (vitamin A) during digestion, thanks to the lining of the intestine.
It brings a healthy glow effect by promoting the synthesis of melanin, responsible for the coloring of your skin.
To refuel beta-carotene, eat the following foods:
- The carrot
- The tomato
- The melon
- Chervil
- dried apricots
- parsley
- The mango
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Sweet potato
- kale
- The red pepper
Vitamin A
You have just read it, vitamin A helps in the synthesis of melanin. But it is also very protective and therefore prepares your skin for tanning while providing additional protection.
Strong antioxidant, it slows down the development of free radicals, responsible for skin aging.
To replenish vitamin A, eat the following foods:
- Cheese
- whole eggs
- Cod liver oil
- Liver
- parsley
- The green vegetables
Essential fatty acids
Omega 3 and 6 are essential fatty acids that promote skin regeneration. They moisturize, nourish, and bring suppleness to your skin and also help repair and protect it. Something to protect your skin before exposure to the sun!
To fill up on essential fatty acids, eat the following foods:
- The salmon
- Tuna
- Sardines
- Grape seed oil
- The cereals
- Dry vegetables
- Linseed oil
We go to food supplements
If you are unable to follow a specific diet to prepare your skin for the sun, you can always opt for special tanning food supplements. Loaded with beta-carotene, vitamin C, A, or E, these supplements are taken in the form of a cure, in capsules, or in ampoules.
Remember to do your treatment several weeks before exposing yourself if you want to prepare and protect your skin from the sun.
We Hydrate!
Nourished and well-hydrated skin is better able to protect itself from the harmful effects of UV rays. It is therefore essential to properly hydrate your skin to prepare it for sun exposure.
Drink at least 2 liters of water or green tea a day and apply a moisturizing cream, lotion or balm every day for the weeks preceding exposure. Yes, every day.
The easiest way is to apply it when you get out of the shower!
We adapt our cosmetics
Your cosmetics can switch to summertime! Choose products that are particularly high in antioxidants, vitamin C, or beta-carotene to best prepare your skin. It is also important to invest in a day cream with SPF 30 or 50.
Exposure to the sun has the unfortunate tendency of aging your skin and dehydrating it, so you have to compensate with suitable skincare products. You can also opt for a pure or diluted carrot macerate to use as a body cream guide.
This natural tanning booster will prepare your skin by increasing its production of melanin and you will even see your skin tint naturally and gradually. Mix your carrot macerate with apricot kernel oil and a few drops of sweet orange essential oil for a natural self-tanner that will gently moisturize, protect and color your skin.
This mixture also has the advantage of prolonging your tan if you use it after the sun. Using a natural self-tanner has the advantage of producing an optical effect, the more your complexion is tanned, the less you will want to expose yourself…
We make scrubs
Exfoliated skin is cleansed skin that guarantees an even and lasting tan. Indeed, eliminating dead skin after a winter spent under several layers of sweaters allows you to start on a good basis with your tan.
Exfoliation allows the tan to settle on perfectly cleansed skin and will prevent you from peeling. You can opt for the use of a horsehair glove all over the body and gentle exfoliation on the more sensitive areas such as the face and décolleté.
Buy your gentle scrub in an organic store or make it yourself by mixing coffee grounds and vegetable oil (coconut, jojoba, etc.) for an ecological and anti-cellulite action!
We use an ancestral plant
Urucum is a red plant used among others by the Indians of Amazonia. This antioxidant seed contains a hundred times more beta-carotene than carrots and therefore accelerates tanning by boosting the production of melanin in your skin.
Naturally rich in zinc, copper and selenium, it also helps fight skin aging and promotes collagen production. You can find it in organic stores in powder form.
Mix 10 g of Urucum powder in 100 ml of apricot kernel oil, which will also help you prepare your skin for the sun in a natural way. Apply this mixture all over the body every day for 15 days before exposure.
Photo: Pexels/ Andrea Piacquadio
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