Everybody wants a gorgeous glowing tan. Tan skin is beautiful; most women say they feel healthier, skinnier and more confident with a tan (I know I do ;) but with all of the scientific evidence showing that sun exposure can lead to melanoma a.k.a. skin cancer, is there a healthy way to have tan skin? And if so, does it depend upon chemical based sunless tanners and “tanning pills”? Well, when I researched this topic I found two, blaringly opinionated polar opposite positions. One being that Sun Exposure is dangerous and any sun exposure without sunscreen can lead to the potentially life threatening melanoma. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there is the belief that some sun (10 – 15 min.) exposure WITHOUT sunscreen is necessary for our health due to the efficient absorption of vitamin D. Research shows that as many as 3 out of 4 Americans are vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency is shown to cause depression, chronic fatigue, osteoporosis and new research is showing that vitamin D deficiency is even an indicator of cancer. So what’s a girl to do?!
Keeping both opinions in mind here are the guidelines that I’ve found to be the safest way to achieving a healthy summer tan:
1. Avoid heavy sun exposure between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm.
2. Stay hydrated. If you’re planning on being in the sun between 10 and 4 drink at least 1 large bottle of water.
3. Wear an organic sunscreen free of chemicals, parabens and sulfates.
4. Eat lots of foods high in essential fatty acids i.e. coconut oil, salmon, avocado.
5. After sun exposure apply an all organic cream like, Medicine Mama’s Sweet Bee Magic to help prevent peeling and even your tan.
6. Stay exfoliated by dry brushing with Medicine Mama’s Body Brush Kit. Dry brushing is the best way to exfoliate the skin, slough of dead skin cells as well as stimulate cell regrowth for a better even tan.
7. If you do get sunburned try using a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar applied with a cotton ball over your sunburned area, the apple cider vinegar will normalize the PH of the sunburned skin and stop the burning process. After applying the apple cider vinegar immediately apply Sweet Bee Magic All-In-One Healing Skin Cream to help relieve your sunburn, start healing your skin and dramatically reduce peeling.