HOW TO PREPARE OUR SKIN TO THE TAN

We are almost ready to go to the river or lake for a picnic and, why not, to start getting our beloved tan!

What do we need to know before exposing our skin to the sun?

If you read our article about antioxidants, we explain how important they are for our health. Well, they are important for our skin as well.

Staying in the sun for a long time, exposes our skin to the risk of getting dry, red, and burned.

So, what shall we do to protect it?

Sunscreen, of course! Always!

But there is a way to prepare our skin already in advance. How? Eating the right food all year long, but especially one or two months before sunbathing.

In our article about the Mediterranean diet, we already discussed the importance of eating a wide variety of foods, to help our body to receive the necessary nutrients for its health.

Now let's see what we specifically need for our skin to be tanned and protected at the same time.

It is extremely important to get a good quantity of antioxidants, like for example vitamin E and vitamin C.

Vitamin E is the most important since it contains ß-carotene, the most efficient factor to fight the free radicals, responsible (or guilty!) of our skin ageing.

Where do we take these great vitamins from?

From food, first of all! Fruits and vegetables are rich in these vitamins, especially orange and red fruits, like apricots and peaches; or vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, olives. Pure extra virgin olive oil is also a great source of them.

These foods are really a natural help to “fill” our body with antioxidants. Our body will transform ß-carotene into vitamin A so, not only we receive melanin, but vitamin A stimulates cell renewal.

In this way we get a triple effect on our body, ether internal and external: antioxidants and vitamins are very important for our health in general, ß-carotene stimulate melanin, which is responsible for protecting our skin and giving to it that golden colour we all love, and vitamin A works on cell renewal.

All this allow us to prepare our body to stay in the sun enough safely to get tan. Of course, it is extremely important to use high filtered sunscreen, to protect the skin from ultraviolet rays.

Staying in the sun is very important for our bones and mood as well. Vitamin D, given from the sun, is fundamental for our bones and teeth structures and for improving our mood.

The Sun is helping us to be happier, more relaxed and it is also a big natural help to dry acne and pimples, typical of young people.

Before finishing this article, I want to recommend some important things:

– Avoid staying at the sun between 12 am and 3-4 pm, depending on the country of course when the sun is particularly strong. This because the risk of getting our skin burned is very high during this time. The best hours for sunbathing are in the morning and in the late afternoon till sunset.

– Drink a lot of water

– Eat fruits, vegetables, salads with pure extra virgin olive oil (rich in antioxidants)

– Always use sunscreen

– Take a bath or a shower from time to time, to refresh yourself and washing away the toxins from sweat

– Stay in the shadow from time to time, allow your skin to “release” from the exposure

Now you are ready to start preparing your skin for the sun!

Happy sunbathing!

In our next article, we will talk about extra virgin olive oil for health and beauty.

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