Even some tanning salon owners believe its best to shower after tanning, but can it really impact your glow?
Most avid tanners have a set routine.
They use a certain type of bed, a specific type of lotion and a detailed skin care routine to keep their color looking its best.
For many, this routine entails waiting to shower after they tan.
While some will wait a few hours, others take the showering after tanning belief pretty far, and will wait 24 hours or more before they decide to shower.
This is a strategy that many people, from avid tanners to tanning salon owners, abide by, but there is actually little truth to this post-tanning ritual.
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Why Do People Wait on Their Post-Tan Shower?
Before diving into the specifics of the shower after tanning debate, it is important to address where this belief comes from.
Most believe avoid showering after tanning because they believe that the full tanning process takes 24-48 hours to complete.
This is true, the process can take up to two days, and it is something that most tanners know and experience first hand.
While it does take this long for the effects UV lights to deliver full color, a shower does not have the ability to wash away the tan or the effects of these lights.
When you lay down in front of UV rays, the lights activate cells known as melanocytes. These cells then start the melanin production process that changes the pigment in the skin.
Soap and water will not reverse the effects of this process.
What About Lotions and Bronzers?
Many people are concerned about their tanning lotions, particularly their bronzers following a tanning session.
It is true that a shower will wash away bronzers and their scent.
For a majority of bronzers, this doesn’t matter as they are only active as long as the tanning session.
If you have a bronzer that claims to work all day or for hours after a session, then it may benefit your results to wait a few hours after tanning to wash off.
Make sure to ask the tanning consultant about any long-term bronzers in your lotion first.
The Best Way to Actually Keep Your Color After Tanning
The best way to keep your color after tanning, isn’t to avoid the shower.
It is instead to keep the skin hydrated. It is true that showering can dry out the skin, and dry skin doesn’t hold color as well.
However, a simple and more effective solution to avoiding showering is to simply hydrate with a thick, moisturizing lotion daily, particularly after a session.
The Best Time To Shower
Even with evidence to the contrary, many tanners still have certain beliefs about the correlation between their shower and their tanning session.
The good news for those who want to shower at the “right” time, is that there is actually a best time to shower around your tannin session.
This is right before you tan. Many have found that a pre-tan shower can actually help enhance their. The heat from a shower can expand the pores, opening them up to take in more oxygen, which is essential to melanin production. Also a shower, especially an exfoliating one, will clear the skin from dirt and dead skin cells. These things can actually act as blockers and prevent the UV lights from penetrating the skin.
There are many things that a person can do in order to get the most out of their tanning experience. This includes using high quality beds, lotions with bronzers and moisturizers and keeping their body and their skin hydrated. However, avoiding showering after tanning doesn’t have to be on this list. A nice warm shower after a session will not impact color results or ruin the look of a tan. In fact, if you have been lying in the sun to get a great tan, you will probably definitely want to take at least a quick shower to freshen up if you have been sweating.
A Few Extra Tips on How to Maintain Your Great Tan
Having the right strategy in place to get a gorgeous tan is great, but you also need to know how to maintain that tan for as long as possible. So here are a few tips that you can implement. They’re easy to follow, and they can help you keep that glow for a nice, long time. After all, you worked hard for your tan, so why would you want anything to ruin it?
- Remember, you don’t want to dry out your skin. When it comes to showers, hot showers might be ultra relaxing, but they can dehydrate your skin. And when that happens, your skin is more likely to peel more quickly, resulting in a faded tan before you know it. So, when you have a tan, keep in mind that hot showers can cause it to fade more quickly. If you can stick with cool showers instead, you increase the odds of keeping that glow for longer, as those showers won’t dry out your skin and cause it to peel sooner.
- Another easy step that you can take in the shower is: apply a shower oil. This moisturizing product can help you keep your skin hydrated after you’ve gotten a tan, and that can also help you keep your tan for longer. You can find a variety of shower oils on the market, and they are designed to deliver a high dose of moisture and hydration to your skin. So, while you have a tan, add a shower oil to your routine to keep your skin smooth and healthy.
- You know that you need to keep your skin moisturized from the outside, but what about keeping it moisturized from the inside? That’s important too! And you can accomplish this goal by drinking plenty of water every day. If you tend to drink a lot of sugary beverages, like juices and sodas, switch to pure water, as it’s better for your body and your skin. The hydration that you will provide to your body by drinking more water can help you maintain your tan for longer because it will work from the inside out to extend the life of your skin cells, including the tanned ones. By following this simple strategy, you should notice that your skin becomes smoother and plumper, and with all that extra moisture, your tan will continue to look beautiful.
Are you a believer in waiting to shower after tanning, or have you already dispelled this myth on your own? If you’re the type of person who wants to keep their tan for as long as possible, taking the right kind of shower and using the right moisturizing products can help you maintain your tan, so you certainly don’t have to worry about skipping any showers. Instead, you can freshen up after your tan without having to fear that you’re causing your tan to fade.
