The holidays are over and are you afraid of losing the tan gained with so much sacrifice and hours spent under the scorching sun? Follow these simple tips and your skin will stay golden and smooth for longer.
In fact, according to the natural cycle of the skin, it takes 28/30 days for the keratinocytes of the basal layer to emerge on the surface, replacing the cells of the stratum corneum, now dead. During these days we can follow the rules that allow us to keep the tan longer, avoiding the phenomenon of opacification which tends to make the skin color gray.
This phenomenon is due to the excessive dryness of the skin that occurs for various reasons including the sudden stop applying creams. During the holidays we smeared sunscreen several times a day and after sun in the evening, we took lukewarm showers to avoid promoting erythema. All this helped to deeply moisturize the skin which suddenly becomes drier.
Our goal, therefore, is to keep the skin hydrated for as long as possible to slow down the superficial cell turnover.
Here are some useful tips to make your tan last longer:
1. Healthy eating: as always, 50% of the effectiveness is due to the “gasoline” we put in the “engine” and therefore what we eat. To avoid dryness of the skin, cracking and unsightly peeling, at the table do not miss absolutely yellow-orange fruits and vegetables, antioxidant red fruits, dried fruit and olive oil, rich in vitamins B and E. All these foods, in addition to be good for the body, they help the skin to remain beautiful and well hydrated. Of course, we must not forget to drink lots of water (at least one and a half liters a day), to guarantee the body deep hydration. You can choose between water, tea, infusions or centrifuged.
2. A good habit to prolong the tan for as long as possible is to avoid long relaxing baths with hot water for at least a couple of weeks. Prolonged contact with high-temperature water tends to dry out the skin and promote desquamation. Instead, it is better to prefer cool or lukewarm showers rather quickly that help the skin to remain much more compact and elastic. Once you have finished the shower, choose soft towels and gently pat the skin rather than rubbing it in order to avoid stressing it too much, irritating it and thus facilitating the loss of color.
3. When you return from vacation, use shower-baths that do not attack the hydro-lipid film. You can choose between soap-free cleansing bases or oil-rich cleansers and moisturizers. After a couple of weeks, you can take a bath in lukewarm water in which you will have poured black tea that revives the skin’s complexion.
4. Do not abuse the air conditioning, which tends to dry out the skin. To avoid losing color in a short time, when you return to the office, at home and in the car, try not to overdo it with the conditioner.
5. After the shower, don’t forget to moisturize your skin with natural moisturizers based on shea butter, mimosa wax and rice wax. For the face, use moisturizing creams based on hyaluronic acid morning and evening. In case of particularly dry skin that tends to peel, use an oil after bath. In this case, olive oil and avocado oil are precious for deeply moisturizing the skin and keeping it soft, which can be mixed together in equal parts and spread on the skin until completely absorbed. Avocado oil can also be mixed with soy and nut oil.
6. Very often we avoid exfoliating the skin for a long time for fear that it will whiten, however, this is a commonplace that must be debunked. In fact, melanin is formed in depth, so it cannot be removed by a superficial scrub. A delicate scrub, on the other hand, has the merit of removing dead cells and impurities, thus contrasting the dullness and opacity of the complexion.
7. Replace the usual eau de toilette with a scented body cream, a scented water or an aromatic oil to massage on the wrists, behind the ears, in the hollow between the breasts. Alcohol-based products, such as personal fragrances, risk drying out the skin and accelerating its flaking;
8. To maintain the tan it is also important to take advantage of the last remnants of summer to maintain a beautiful golden complexion. Take advantage of the lunch break at the weekend to take a walk trying to spend as much time as possible in the open air so that the sun’s rays can continue to stimulate the melanin.
In reality these simple rules will not only allow you to maintain an intense and luminous tan for longer but will prepare the skin for the rigors of winter weather where often poor hydration during the autumn season will affect the face and hands, generating excessive sensitivity that could lead to couperose for the face and swollen and painful hands from the cold.Twenty minutes a day will be enough to maintain the color obtained by the sea.
