Spirits that lighten, days that lengthen… Summer is a celebration! And like any self-respecting celebration, the celebrations begin with a before party worthy of the name... Before traipsing under this gigantic disco ball that is the sun and exposing your skin to its luminous rays, a little preparation is necessary. . Nothing too restrictive, I promise. Just a few steps to follow to gently get into the mood of sunny days ... and so that this long-awaited season remains a period of happiness and celebration!
Why prepare your skin for the sun?
First advantage: properly preparing your skin for the sun will allow you to display a more natural, more even and luminous tan during the summer. Second benefit: this will also allow you to delay the appearance of signs of aging and preserve the health of your skin. In fact, every time you release the pressure, sitting quietly on your deckchair, the sun's rays take advantage of it to challenge your skin cells. Troublemakers who are divided into two large groups: UVA and UVB.
- UVA represents 95% of solar radiation that reaches the skin. They have the ability to penetrate deep into the dermis and cause premature aging of the skin: hello wrinkles, spots, dryness and withered skin before its time! UVA rays are so aggressive that they can even cause skin cancer.
- UVB makes up the remaining 5% of solar radiation that reaches the skin. They do not penetrate deeply but are not harmless since they cause the famous sunburn.
To ward off these threats, the skin has its own defense mechanism. When the sun burns, it triggers the production of melanin , this pigment responsible for tanning which also and above all plays an essential photoprotective role. Keratinocytes (the cells that cover the skin) are also important shields. They produce a thick protective layer that aims to prevent UV rays from passing through. Problem: if these skin bodyguards are poorly prepared and poorly supported, the skin inevitably ends up suffering... Hence the importance of implementing a well-established pre-vacation strategy !
The good effects of the sun on your skin and your immune system
Fortunately, the picture is not all bleak. The sun also has many benefits for the body, starting with its ability to instantly put you in a good mood . A natural source of vitamin D , sunlight stimulates the production of feel-good hormones . It also boosts the immune system : the guarantee of recharged energy!
To ensure that summer remains marked by good vibes , here are some reflexes to adopt before the holidays...
Our advice for preparing your skin for tanning before summer
Exfoliate and hydrate your skin for a beautiful tan
Exfoliation is an essential step to prepare the skin for the sun and have a beautiful, uniform and long-lasting tan. This beauty gesture allows you to sweep away dead cells on the surface of the epidermis which prevent cell renewal, hinder the proper absorption of treatments and dull the epidermis. Once or twice a week depending on your skin type, use a fine-grained scrub in the shower and make circular movements over your entire body as gently as possible. For the face, a weekly exfoliation is enough, or even every two weeks if your skin is sensitive. On this clean canvas, apply a moisturizer every day. Regular exfoliation + daily hydration = the winning combo for healthy skin and a luminous tan !
Adopt a colorful diet
A healthy tan can also be prepared from the inside out. To help your skin consolidate its defense mechanisms against UV rays, it is best to adopt a diet rich in antioxidants . These nutrients trap free radicals that cause oxidative stress responsible for cellular aging. It's time to stock up on beta-carotene, lycophene, lutein... Or, to put it more simply, it's time to head towards all the beautifully colored fruits and vegetables: tomato, mango , carrot, strawberry, apricot, pepper, melon, sweet potato… There is no better food for beautiful, healthy-looking skin all summer long!
Choose the right food supplements
For optimal preparation, food supplements are your best allies. Our Good Sun tanning gummies are vegan, without artificial colors and made in France. Their unique formula with a good peach flavor is based on a complex of plant phytopigments based on copper, vitamin E and selenium. A health and beauty boost that prepares the skin for the sun, but also accelerates and prolongs tanning once the season begins. Its self-tanning action also allows you to expose yourself more safely during your first beach outings. Indeed, when the skin is already tanned, the desire to spend hours under the sun is necessarily less important. Exposures are therefore less brutal, less long, and therefore less dangerous.
We recommend that you start your treatment approximately 3 weeks before your departure on vacation, then continue taking it during and even after your getaway to the sun to prolong your tan as much as possible and repair the damage caused by UV rays.
Protect your skin!
All these good habits must, of course, be supplemented by the application of sunscreen as soon as the temperatures start to rise. The skin may have its own defense system as we explained to you above, but it can only withstand a certain amount of UV rays. When the exposure is too long or too strong in the middle of summer, it needs reinforcement! Whatever texture you choose (cream, milk, oil, water, mist, etc.), choose SPF 50 and renew the application at least every 2 hours during exposure, avoiding the hottest hours of the day. day (between 12 and 4 p.m.). You will thus obtain a nice tan without burning your skin !