Summer’s coming….

With Spring just about showing, we are all starting to think about how we can show our legs without blinding the people around us with our pasty white skin. Maybe you’ve got an event coming up, or you’re going on holiday and want to get a head start on your tan? We all want that summer glow the whole year round, and as much as shifting our whole life to a different country sounds appealing, it’s just not practical so, what’s better; spray tans or sunbeds? There are pros and cons to both sides, so it really depends on your individual needs. Here’s a guide on how to get summer-ready.

Sunbeds

Using a tanning bed allows you to have that natural, sun-kissed look all year round, without worrying about spending all of your time in the sun. Tanning beds also let you control the intensity and the amount of light that you are exposing yourself to. If you are new to sunbeds, it’s best to start off with a short amount of time, around 6-8minutes, depending on your skin type. From there, you can build on the duration, as long as your skin has not reacted or burnt. We would recommend to start building up you tan at least a month before an event or holiday, using it once or twice a week, until you reach the desired colour.  Of course, we all know there are health risks involved with exposing ourselves to UV rays, therefore many people opt for spray tanning as a safer alternative.

Spray tans

Spray tans are ideal for those wanting to go from pale and interesting to bronzed beauty in a matter of minutes. Here at Leah Durrant Beauty Re:treat, we use St. Tropez spray tan. St. Tropez has one of, if not ‘the’ best reputation in the tanning industry. It works by stimulating the natural melanin in the skin, so you will always get a colour that is close to your natural tan. It also contains a green pigment that prevents the dreaded ‘tangoed’ look. It is super quick and easy, taking only about 10minutes to apply and you can choose how dark you would like to go. You will stand in our tanning tent whilst a therapist sprays the tan evenly onto your skin. Don’t forget your loose clothing as you will need to leave this colour on for around 8 hrs. Once the colour has developed, just wash off the base colour, leaving perfectly tanned skin underneath. This will likely last about a week, depending on what activities you are doing. Sweating it out in the gym, or swimming in a chlorinated pool can cause the tan to fade quicker. If you’re feeling shy and prefer not to stand in front of one of our therapists in just your underwear, you can also purchase our self-tanning products to use at home. Our favourite is the St. Tropez Tanning Mousse which rubs in nice and evenly with the applicator mitt and gives a lovely colour, although you might want to get someone to help you with your back.

For tips on how to prepare and look after your spray tan, see this post.

I hope this has been useful. Call the Beauty Re:treat to take you one step closer to beautiful, bronzed skin in time for Summer.