Once you have reached your desired tan, the next goal is to maintain the colour that you have managed to get. This can be a challenge in itself as some people lose tan as easily as they catch one.

There is nothing worse than putting all the work in to get the perfect tan and then watching your body fade back to its previous colour. Here is how long you should expect your tan to last and some tips on how to make it last as long as you can.

How Long Will It Last

You can expect to have around 7-10 days of tan before your natural skin cycle begins to break down your new colour.

Obviously this won’t happen all at once and you will have a bit of time afterward to enjoy your new glow.

It’ll take about two weeks to feel as though you have returned back to your normal skin colour, but this will only happen if your exposure to the sun has completely stopped. If not, it could take even longer.

It is also important to remember that not all skin types react the same to tanning. Some people simply stay tanned longer than others because of their skin’s natural qualities.

Whereas others don’t pick up a tan at all. Keep that in mind when you start your tanning process and when you are trying to maintain any colour you gain.

Tips On Prolonging Your Tan

If you are not happy with how long your tan lasts, then there are a few measures you can take to make sure that you keep your tan longer. Here are a few handy tips that will help your tan last.

Exfoliate

A simple trick that will help you keep your tan for as long as possible is exfoliating. One of the reasons that your tan can fade quickly is due to your skin completing its natural cycle and ridding itself of the dead skin.

It is recommended that you do a deep exfoliation before you begin your tanning process and while you are tanning. Not only will this help you get a nice rich tan, but it will mean your skin is as fresh as it can be and will not lose its colour as quickly as it would if you didn’t exfoliate.

However, it is important to not exfoliate too much as it can dry out your skin. It is also recommended to use a natural exfoliant, as using a chemical-based exfoliant could age your skin.

Eat Food Containing Beta Carotenes

Beta Carotene can be found in fruit and vegetables with orange and red tones. It would be recommended that you started eating food like this before you begin tanning as it can be quite a subtle hue that requires time to build up.

This will give your skin a nice subtle tan which will match well with your suntan and will make it appear as though your tan is lasting longer.

Moisturise

You can never moisturise too much. Moisturising will prevent your skin from any peeling that may rid your skin of its new tan. Keeping your skin moisturised will also stop any drying which may lead to an increase of dead skin cells which will fade your tan slowly.

Not only will moisturising prevent your tan from fading, but it will make the tan that you do have appear richer and more saturated.

Top Up Your Tan

A great way to maintain your tan is to take measures that will keep it looking strong. An easy way to do this is by visiting your local sunbeds.

Because you already have a tan, you will not need to stay in the bed for too long as you don’t want to make yourself far darker, the focus should be maintaining your naturally achieved tan.

Visiting the sunbeds when you already have a tan will also be safer for your skin. As your body already has a natural layer of melanin, you are more protected from the UV radiation.

This may beg the question of what is the point of trying to achieve a natural suntan in the first place when sunbeds are an option, but simply topping up your tan will appear more natural than automatically using the beds.

One thing to remember though that these are not very safe even if you have a natural base tan.

Opt For Cold Showers

Something that is not commonly known is that having steamy showers can be detrimental to your tan.

Hot showers can really dehydrate your skin, this encourages your skin to complete natural cycles faster, which means you will lose layers of your tan quicker than if you had colder showers.

Colder showers are just better for yourself in general as it promotes moisture in your skin, making your skin appear plumper. Cold showering also keeps your skin looking younger and your tan looking consistent and smooth.

Final Thoughts

It’s really easy to prolong how long your tan lasts through following these simple steps. Even if not all of this advice is viable in your daily routine, just implementing a couple could drastically extend how long you maintain your tan.

Tanning tablets are also known to prolong and boost a natural tan. They can also be used without any sun at all. If you like to learn more about the best tan tablets visit the link here.