Building A Base Tan To Protect From The Sun

Get $5 on your Balance +$5 on your Advertiser Balance

Americans have started to do a good job of understanding the risks of skin cancer that result from too much exposure to the sun, but one thing that is also important to remember is the fact that the sun is beneficial for our bodies as well, as it provides us with vitamin D, which will boost the immune system, promote health, and contribute to elevated moods; one way to protect yourself from harmful UV rays that will increase your risk to skin cancer is to make sure you consistently apply sunscreen, but this requires you to constantly be aware of whether or not you have on sunscreen.

The other approach for protecting yourself from the sun's harmful UV rays is to build up a base tan that will keep your skin safer when you are in the sun, and there are a few easy ways to make sure you are doing exactly that.

First off, make sure you are avoiding sunburns if you want to build that base tan that will keep you safe in the sun (and of course, in this way, you will also keep yourself from heightened risk of skin cancer) - and this means that you should take a slow, steady approach to building a base tan; start by going into the sun only a little bit at a time (no more than 20 to 30 minutes of exposure at a time - less if you have fair skin), and during this time, make sure you are still applying sunscreen.

You will be ready to cut back the SPF on your sunscreen as you begin to build a bit of a tan, and you will be ready to increase the amount of time you are spending in the sun; by doing this, you will be able to witness your tan growing darker and darker, and the darker your tan becomes, the safer you will be when you are out in the sun.

Whenever you are going to be spending a long day out in the sun, you will still want to apply sunscreen - even if you have a thick base tan - but you can use a lower SPF if you already have a good base tan in place, and in this way, the tan will continue to darken, while you will continue to get that vitamin D you need and keep your skin safe all at the same time.