How To Build A Base Tan

The risks of skin cancer due to overexposure to the sun have come to the forefront of Americans' minds over the last several years, but it is also necessary for us to remember that the sun is important and beneficial for our bodies as well, as it provides us with vitamin D. One way to protect yourself from harmful UV rays that will increase your risk to skin cancer is to make sure you consistently apply sunscreen, but it can be difficult to always remember to put on sunscreen. Another method for protecting yourself from getting skin cancer (from harmful UV rays) is by building a base tan, as this will keep your skin safer when you are in the sun, and there are a few easy tips to follow to ensure you are building up this base tan.

In order to build the base tan that will keep you safe in the sun (and in order to keep from putting yourself at heightened risk of skin cancer), you need to make sure you avoid getting burned - which requires you to take a slow, steady approach in your quest to build a base tan. As you are getting started building this base tan, only go into the sun in short bursts (no more than 20 to 30 minutes of exposure at a time - less if you have fair skin), and during this time, still apply sunscreen!

As you start to see your base tan building, you can slowly scale back the SPF of the sunscreen you are applying, and you can increase the amount of time you are spending in the sun; you will be able to witness your tan growing darker and darker, and the darker your tan becomes, the safer you will be going out in the sun!

When you are going to be spending a significant amount of time in the sun, you should still wear sunscreen - no matter how thick your base tan is - but you can use a lower SPF if you already have a good base tan in place, and in this way, the tan will continue to darken!