Summer doesn’t wait for anyone, and you might find yourself down to one week to perfect your tan. As much as you want to lay in the sun for a week to achieve a dark tan, you need to be aware of sun safety. Excessive exposure to the sun can cause lasting damage to your skin, which really isn’t worth the tan you will achieve.
However, there are other ways to get a great tan. Which is the best way to get a tan in a week? There are a few ways to get a gorgeous tan in a week, such as tanning in the sun, in a tanning bed, getting a spray tan, or using a gradual tanner at home. The secrets to getting a tan in one week that these methods have in common are to exfoliate before tanning, moisturize after tanning, and to monitor your time spent tanning.
With all of these options, precautions should be taken to protect your skin from any damage. Here is exactly how to get a tan in a week, while still making sure your skin is nourished and protected.
Tanning In The Sun
Tanning in the sun is not advised, as it can cause lasting damage to your skin, but if your heart is set on tanning the natural way, there are ways to protect your skin to ensure after a week of tanning, your skin is glowing, and not sunburned.
Here are some tips on how to tan in a week, but safely:
- Always use sunscreen – This might seem counterproductive when you are looking to tan in the sun, but using an SPF of 30 is essential to protect your skin, and you will still be able to tan through this. Apply the sunscreen within 20 minutes of being in the sun, and reapply every two hours.
- Change positions – You need to change positions every 20 minutes to avoid burning in certain areas, and other areas not tanning at all.
- Use natural oils – In addition to using sunscreen, look to apply natural oil such as avocado oil or coconut oil to help hydrate your skin and give your tan a radiant glow.
- Choose your tanning time – To try and protect your skin further when tanning, you should choose to tan in the morning or after 3 pm. The sun is at its strongest between 12 pm and 3 pm, so you should avoid tanning between this time.
- Exfoliate before – It is a good idea to exfoliate your skin before tanning. Skin which hasn’t been exfoliated will more than likely flake off, leaving you with an uneven tan.
- Don’t tan every day – While trying to tan in a week might limit you, you should never tan every day. You need to give your skin a chance to rest and recover between tanning sessions, so tan one day, rest two days, and then tan again. You should only tan for 3 days out of a full week.
Using these tips and advice, you should be able to achieve a golden tan in a week, while still protecting your skin and keeping it nourished and hydrated.
Self-Tanning
Self-tanning is the best way to protect your skin from damage, while still achieving a gorgeous tan in a week. It is recommended to rather use a gradual tanner to achieve a tan in a week, so you can control your tone, and let your skin remain hydrated throughout. This is my absolute favorite gradual self-tanner.
Here is how to apply gradual tanner in order to get a beautiful tan in a week:
- Prepare your skin – You need to exfoliate and shave or wax your legs before putting on the gradual tanner. This removes excess dead skin cells and shaving or waxing before stops you from shaving or waxing when your tan has developed, to stop the tan being stripped away.
- Take it slow – Only apply a small amount of gradual tanner at a time, massaging it in circular motions. Only use a small amount on drier areas such as knees and elbows, to stop them from developing too dark.
- Wash your hands – Always remember to wash your hands after applying the lotion if you aren’t using a tanning mitt. This stops your hands from turning orange.
- Apply daily – Continue to apply the gradual self-tanner daily to develop your tan within a week. You can stop applying it every day when your desired tone is achieved, and then apply the gradual tanner every couple of days to maintain it.
- Moisturize – Moisturize your skin every day to keep your skin soft and radiant.
A gradual self-tanner is an amazing way to achieve a gorgeous tan in a week, without having to step foot into the sun. You can keep your skin protected and control the level of tan you want to achieve. All from home!
Tanning Bed
A tanning bed can still do damage to your skin, so you will need to ensure you still offer some protection to your skin when using a tanning bed.
You can achieve a tan within a week when using a tanning bed, but you do need to be careful.
- Prepare your skin – Shower, shave and exfoliate the day before your tanning session.
- Moisturize – Use a non-oil based moisturizer to give your skin some hydration after your shower. It will need this to recover from the tanning bed.
- Check your meds – Some medications come with side-effects that increase skin sensitivity to UV rays. This could cause your skin to burn instead of tan.
- Wear the right things – Remove all makeup, jewelry, essential oils and perfumes before using a tanning bed. Apply a lip balm with a strong SPF to protect your skin. Wear as little as possible to give yourself a more complete tan, whatever you are comfortable with.
- Use a tanning lotion – You should always use a tanning lotion when using a tanning bed. These help you achieve a radiant tan, with the tanning lotion containing moisturizing ingredients to keep your skin hydrated and protected.
- Protect your eyes – You should not enter a tanning bed without protective goggles to keep your eyes safe from damage.
- Do not tan every day – You should give your skin two days to recover between tanning sessions, and you should tan at most 3 times in a week. This is more than enough to give you a deep tan within 7 days.
A tanning bed can do damage to your skin just as much as tanning outside, so be sure to give your skin the protection it needs and you will land up with a deep tan in one week.
Spray Tanning
Other than having to travel to the salon, a spray tan is possibly the easiest way to get a great tan in next to no time. The salon technician will be doing the spray tan for you, saving you quite a bit of effort.
However, as easy as this is, there are a few things to remember:
- Prep your skin – Once again, you will need to prepare your skin before a spray tan. Exfoliate, shower and shave to get your skin ready.
- Choose what you wear – Avoid wearing perfumes, oil lotions or makeup. This could create a barrier to the spray tan. Avoid wearing tight clothing and shoes which could rub the spray tan off. Wear loose-fitting clothing after the tan. It is a good idea to wear nail polish to avoid the spray tan staining your nails.
- Use proper protection – Use barrier cream to protect areas of drier skin. This protects these areas from absorbing too much product and turning a darker color than the rest of your skin.
- Avoid shower or bathing too soon – Do not take a bath or shower, or even swim, for at least 4 hours after your tan. This will strip the product from your skin.
- Moisturize – Keep moisturizing your skin in the days following your spray tan, to keep your skin radiant and hydrated.
A spray tan can give you a gorgeous tone in just one go, but you can visit the spray tan salon multiple times a week to build up a darker shade. It is safe to do so, and you just have to make sure you keep your skin hydrated to allow your tan to really glow.
Related Questions
How much can you tan in a week?
It is recommended that you let your skin rest for around 36-48 hours between tanning. This means you can tan between 2-3 times a week to protect your skin, but still build a tan. Once you have reached your desired shade, you can then tan once or twice a week to maintain it.
How long should you stay in the sun to build a tan?
To build a base tan, you should spend 10-15 minutes in the sun a day. After a few days, you can increase this to 20 minutes to build a darker tone. However, you must still wear an SPF 30 sunscreen to avoid damage being done to your skin.
Will my red sunburn turn brown?
Those who have fair or sensitive skin find that their skin turns red and sunburned after tanning. In most cases, the skin will not turn brown after this, instead, it will peel, and the tan will be peeled along with it.
Tanning In One Week: Conclusion
There are a few ways to develop a tan in a week, some involve exposure to UV rays, while others can be done safely with self-tanning products. Whichever option you choose, tan responsibly, use protection when exposed to UV rays, and keep your skin moisturized to allow it to really glow.
Feel free to check out this article about getting the darkest possible tan in one day!
