Four Great Tips to Make Your Tan Last into Fall

Summer days are fading fast, as the nights become cooler and the days shorter. Luckily, that lovely tan you’ve worked on all summer doesn’t have to fade as fast as the sun!

Here are four proven tips for keeping that healthy glow long after swapping your swimsuit for leggings and boots:

1. Exfoliate – Before tanning, remove dead skin cells that reduce skin’s ability to absorb color. Use a gentle body wash scrub and a loofah for a tingly head-to-toe circulation boost. (If using a spray tanner, use oil-free scrubs to minimize streaking.)

Exfoliation enhances tanning by improving blood flow to help remove toxins and other impurities blocking new skin cell production.

2. Moisturize – In addition to drinking several glasses of water a day to keep those electrolytes in balance and prevent heat exhaustion, you’ll want to apply a good pre-tanning moisturizer (as well as sunscreen) before starting to tan.

Once tanning has begun, be sure to follow up with an all-over moisturizer to help protect skin from premature wrinkling. Remember that tanning is essentially burning the skin, so take it easy in the sun for the first few times out. The last thing you want is to burn, which is not only painful but may cause long-term damage and premature wrinkles.

Keep moisturizing at least twice daily to retain that lovely bronze glow and ensure that skin stays protected and healthy.

3. Sunless tanners – When these first were introduced years ago they often resulted in orange-y splotches and stripes that rivaled a tiger’s, if unevenly applied. Today’s sunless tanners are better formulated to give a healthy, natural-looking glow without leaving you stuck looking like a tiger.

Some of these products help to first build up and later, to maintain a natural, even color while also protecting your skin. When applying a spray tan product, wait several hours before showering to avoid washing it off before it has a chance to soak into the skin.

As fall gets well underway, it’s time to trade sunless tanners for bronzers.

4. Bronzers provide color on cheeks, forehead and nose for a sun-kissed glow, especially when combined with a bit of blush. Just don’t overdo it – remember that it looks more natural (at least for those of you in northern climates) for skin tone to lighten during the colder months. Everyday makeup should be more subtle, while continuing to replenish moisture lost from dry indoor air as well as Jack Frost’s bite.