Getting the Best Tan Possible.

During the summer months, we like to get outside more. It’s a given. The weather is always warmer, and it’s always more comfortable to not have to bundle up so much and to let our skin get some balmy air. Of course, with our skin being our largest organ, we would want anything we’d be showing off more to look our best and healthiest, so getting a tan usually goes without mentioning. But did you know that tan just isn’t a good tan without the best tanning lotion support?

The cheapest and most popular means of getting a tan is, has been, and always will be, a jaunt or time in the sun, but for those who live in more overcast climates, there are any number of indoor tanning salons in most urban areas. With a sustained dose of controlled sunlight, or time in a tanning bed sometimes spread over multiple sessions, we can work into most types of skin a smooth bronze a few shades darker than our natural tone, but this is a precision skill, of sorts, and it is always best to avail ourselves of the best tanning lotions to ensure even tans, moisture, and to prevent hazards to our skin.

What is Tanning Lotion Used For?

Thinking wistfully that you’ll be careful, or that there’s probably not much risk, that you tan faster without, or that you just don’t want to spend the money to bother with a tanning lotion can be a very perilous decision. No matter which manner you use to tan, whether it’s in the sun or in a tanning bed, your skin is very sensitive, and it is susceptible to some pretty nasty hazards, so whenever we go to tan, we owe it to ourselves to keep the best tanning lotion close at hand.

The best tanning lotions are formulated to ward off a laundry list of hazards attributable to long-term exposure to UV rays (both in the sun, and in tanning beds). Lotions are designed to increase collagen synthesis, slowing down the aging process; increase firmness, adding smoothness and tone; prevent wrinkles, thanks to the addition of numerous moisturizing agents (Shea butter and cocoa butter, for example); to counteract inflammation; to prevent oxidation damage to proteins and lipids, improving overall skin condition; increase enzyme synthesis; and to prevent tanning odors, leaving you feeling and smelling fresh.

The opposite is also true when you don’t use the best tanning lotions for your purpose. Contrary to a widely held myth that you will tan faster and better without lotion, lotions in fact protect skin cells from damage by UV light. UV-damaged cells can affect circulation and cause a cellular imbalance, leading to inhibited production and activity of enzymes. What this means is that tanning without a lotion will actually impair production of melanin – the darkening pigment of the skin – making it, in fact, more difficult to get a tan.

Attempting to tan without a lotion, and without using one of the best tanning lotions out there, can lead to a host of other disasters as well. Without a lotion, your skin can become dry and dehydrated, unable to absorb light and making attempts to tan less effective; lipids and skin proteins will oxidize, resulting in cellular and skin damage; elasticity in the skin will be lost; collagen will be lost, speeding up ageing; and skin can become inflamed.

Sunscreen vs. Suntan Lotion.

For those who want to get their bronze using natural methods – that is, the sun – there may be some confusion over the difference between sunscreen and suntan lotion. There was once a lot of overlap between the two, but they have become more distinct in recent years due to the difference in use of both products. Sunscreen is, primarily, for skin protection against the sun, and it is designed to actually inhibit as much of the sun’s rays from affecting the skin as possible. While it does contain vitamins and moisturizers, sunscreen is, in a sense, the opposite of what you would want if you were looking for the best tanning lotion: in preventing harmful sun radiation, it also prevents the potential to tan. Sunscreens will have an SPF of higher than fifteen, and they boast protection from both UVA and UVB rays.

The primary purpose of suntan lotion is to allow for and to accelerate tanning. Compared to sunscreens, the best tanning lotions will have a markedly lower SPF (only between 4 and 8, in many cases, and some contain none at all), and do not provide the same amount of sun protection, particularly where kids are concerned. In addition, some suntan lotions contain a tanning accelerator, where sunscreens do not.

Indoor or Outdoor?

There are also some important differences between types of lotion you use to tan indoor and outdoor. Although the basic method is the same, really, the only thing indoor and sun tanning has in common is the use of UV rays to apply a tan. But there are many differences to keep in mind, and many of these are key to choosing the best tanning lotion for the application.

Indoor tanning involves a controlled exposure of UVA rays in a contained environment for a limited time. Outdoor tanning involves exposure to both UVA and UVB rays which can vary due to humidity, cloud cover, and temperature. Outdoor tanning is also not time-controlled, leaving the person getting the tan to keep a watchful eye over the time they spend in the sun. As a result, outdoor tanning lotions usually contain a nominal SPF whereas the best indoor tanning lotions do not.

Because indoor tanning involves short, intense bursts of tan sessions, the best indoor tanning lotions are designed for this purpose, resulting in a deeper and quicker tan. Outdoor tanning lotions account for the unpredictability of suntan intensity by adding SPF, and by containing different skin protection elements (e.g. vitamins, oils) from indoor tanning lotions.

Finally, indoor and outdoor tanning lotions should always be restricted to their respective purposes, and they should not be used interchangeably. In addition to the serious skin damage you may incur by using the wrong lotion, outdoor lotions can damage the acrylic hood of a tanning bed. The hood is designed to expand with light, and runoff from even the best outdoor tanning lotions may seep in and eventually cause the acrylic hood to become brittle and compromised.

What Makes the Best Tanning Lotion?

Having more than one option to get a nice, healthy tan expands our potential to get nice tans in any locale, and now there are skin protection options to suit. When choosing your best tanning lotion, always make sure you know about your own skin health, about the method you wish to use, and about the proper skin protection elements you will need, and which ones you may not need. It is always best to ask the experts at your tanning salon, or at Best Price Tanning who specialize in tanning lotions.