its coco. so now that its summertime i figured we should do a thing on skin with the summer. now while a lot of you probably want to be bronze gods after a day, its better to tan smart that way you look good today and when later on in life... with us feeling like bronze is better (look at all these adds and photos i found on pinterest if you don't believe me) i thought a post on how to protect your skin, get a tan, keep a tan, and help your skin after a burn would be good.
-sunscreen. preferably with zinc or parasol. both really protect against the evil sun (UV rays)... for your face, get a one thats about 20spf or higher for daily use in the summer. my tinted moisturizer is spf 20, so its in my daily makeup routine. when i know i'll be out in the sun i use my bath and body works trueblue spf 29 broad spectrum sun screen with parasol. its even recommended by the skin cancer foundation. (check to see if your sunscreen is on their list of recommended sunscreens here.) for my shoulders and neck/chest i use solbar zinc sunscreen spf 38. its important to protect your neck/chest because the skin there is SUPER delicate. so a good sunscreen protects against sunspots and aging... for the rest of my body i use australian gold spf 15 spray sunscreen with instant bronzer. it gives light coverage for legs, arms, and torso that don't burn as easily so that you can get a tan and the bronzer helps jump start a golden look for the parts of your body that haven't seen sun in a VERY long time :)
-well i stick to the classics. i use baby oil on my legs because not only does the oil attract sun and cook my legs (literally) but it also helps make them look great for my swimsuit! i also use australian gold tanning oil with no spf at all on my arms, lightly on my face, and on my legs. (i like to really get my legs golden) its important to hit up your legs with tanning oil because other than your face, its where your skin changes the most often. it gets exfoliated when you shave so you get new skin cells each time, so by really getting them tan you won't lose your tan!
also remember not to overdose on the sun. get it in small doses. for me since i burn easily, i start off the my summer tan by only tanning in the mornings hours and in increments of 20 minutes. and flipping. also remember to drink water when you tan. spraying water on your skin while you layout can help build a tan as well.
tip: a fun way to get a tan?? a water park. by getting in a pool the water reflects the sun so you get a tan in half the time. wave pools and lazy rivers are especially fun since you can gossip with friends while you lay there. remember to reapply sunscreen lots as to not burn to death (a wave pool is how i got my 2nd/3rd degree sunburns) and also remember to stay hydrated when you are out in the sun and tanning.
keep the tan??
i use my australian gold moisture lock tan extender or any other lotion to keep my skin super moisturized. water and lotion are key to keeping a tan beautiful!
so if you over tan and go lobster??
when i burn, which is often because i'm a irish girl with the skin of a ginger i use australian gold aloe freeze gel. i've become quite an expert at getting over a tan because i burn so often and get such awful burns (i've gotten second and almost third degree burns). plus my brother is a lifeguard so between the two of us i have learned how to recover from an awful burn... heres some tips so you can stop feeling the burn...1. hydrate. water yourself so your skin is hydrated too!
2. get some lotion on that burn. heck get LOTS of lotion on that burn. remember to use one infused with vitamin e, aloe or a combo of both. also try to get unscented because extra crap in lotion can really aggravate a burn. i use australian gold moisture lock tan extender (if you haven't noticed i'm a australian gold junkie because the stuff all smells awesome and does the job right)
3. i use tons of aloe. not only do i have use my australian gold aloe freeze gel, but i also own an aloe plant so i can get the natural healing properties without the added junk. i highly recommend in investing in an aloe plant. they're really difficult to kill and true aloe works wonders on skin. (but stinks/tastes horrible so wash your hands before eating chicken nuggets or anything)
4. now i haven't tried this lots but last summer i got this epic burn all over my shoulders and arms. and i used tea to remedy it. sounds weird right? well what you do is boil water like you are making tea. get a package of tea (i just used individual lipton packets) and put them in the boiled water, but just for a couple of seconds, just so all the tea leaves inside the pack are moist. then take the packet and rub it on your burn. if it kind of dries put it in the hot water again... after you have covered all your burns with the tea liquid, open up the packet and rub the leaves on the burns directly (i recommend doing this in a shower or bathtub cause its messy!) this turned my awful burns into a tan in a couple days.
5. another thing i did during this time of awful burns was use about one - two cups of vinegar in a warm bath. soak in that for 20 or 30 minutes. it really helps soothe the burns (but you smell a little nasty)
6. the last thing i tried is to put a cold milk compress on burns. this works best right after you get the burn because it helps release some of the heat. you probably want to shower after though because again milk doesn't smell to great after a while.
7. don't go crazy picking at peeling skin or poking blisters from the sun. that just leaves more damage and causes more harm. keep lotion on any peeling skin (again-no fragrance lotion!!) to help keep the new sensitive skin from getting super damaged)
8. if you want to get intense moisture and soft skin use vitamin e capsules. just pop them open and put the vitamin e on your skin. vitamin e helps reduce the appearance of lines and blemishes as well as scars and also helps lock in moisture. it can be super great on sunburns.
remember when tanning to avoid tanning during 11- 3pm because the sun will be hitting you hardest then and its harder to not burn.
another health note... as many as 36% of all americans are vitamin d deficent (a vitamin you get from the sun) so if you avoid the sun a lot ask your doctor about on your next visit... it really helps your skin and the rest of your body (you can read all of its benefits here)
i encourage everyone to read this article about tanning... its right here
hopefully you found this post informative, useful, and slightly entertaining...
got any good fun in the sun stories?? put them in the comments. we love to read them :)
talk to you guys soon! have a great day and get golden!
coco
disclaimer: i feel the need to say this just in case, but there is no such thing as a healthy tan. all tans are a result of damage to skin.(read this article i linked above already if you don't believe me) and if you have questions consult an actual dermatologist. this post is not a substitute for a medical professional. the sun can have damaging effects like sun poisoning and cause exhaustion. if you have symptoms of something more serious than a normal sunburn call up a doctor. doctors should be consulted on serious burns. basically this is just us talking about how we get tan and recover when we burn, consult a doctor if you need one because we aren't medical professionals, just girls who get burnt a lot :)
great post! Summer tans are the best
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