Skin tanning is the natural way that turns your skin color dark due to high exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. Tanning does not depend on skin color, whether white or dark. People may tan their skin if they go on a picnic and get exposed to sunlight during sunbathing. In this post, you will learn about the types of skin and how you can prevent it.

What is skin tanning? 

Tanned skin is the condition of darkened skin from the sunlight, such as UV (ultraviolet) rays. It develops due to the development of high melanin amounts within your skin. Melanin is the natural pigment, which is produced by cells known as melanocytes. Melanin is of two types produced by melanocytes that include:

• Pheomelanin (red)
• Eumelanin (dark brown)

When you get exposed to harmful radiation from sunlight, your body discharges the melanin under the surface of your skin. The function of melanin is to prevent your body from absorbing ultraviolet radiation. High amounts of UV radiation can lead to sunburn besides DNA (direct or indirect) to the skin. It will produce and release high melanin into skin cells to protect your skin. In this way, your skin color becomes darker due to the development of melanin.

Tanning often appears on the visible part of your body, including the face, neck, hands, feet, neck, legs, and arms.

Causes of Skin tan

The tanning activates with sunlight or ultraviolet radiation. This radiation is often categorized into UVA or UVB.

• UVA. These radiations are often considered one of the leading causes of skin tan. The UVA rays enter your skin, which results in cell damage. UVA urges melanocytes to release melanin that reacts with oxygen to develop dark brown skin.
• UVB. These radiations generally damage the top layers of the skin. UVB does not activate melanocytes compared to UVA. But, it damages your DNA, which increases the development of melanin.

Types of Skin tanning

Many types of skin tan are present that depend on your skin color.

How to diagnose skin tan?

You may visit a professional dermatologist to examine the extremity of the skin tan. Your doctor will do a physical checkup of your skin to find the cause of tanning. You can consult an online provider if you have a risk of skin tan.

Every age group’s skin may have a chance to become tan. People who have a high risk include children below five years and adults above 50 years. If people have a weakened immune system and chronic diseases are more responsive to ultraviolet exposure.

Skin tanning treatment

If you are experiencing severe skin tan, the immune system will suffer and result in skin damage. In this section, you will discover the treatment for skin tanning, which are listed below:

• Chemical peels. 

This treatment is useful to eliminate dead skin layers that include high melanin amounts. Generally, chemical peels utilize glycolic acid, lactic acid or carbolic acid, or trichloroacetic acid. The chemical peels are classified into:

1. Superficial peel
2. Medium peel
3. Deep peel

• Laser toning.

This method uses laser technology to decrease the melanin (pigment) and decrease skin tan. Laser stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is the mono coherent highly intense light source. During the laser process, the light is converted into heat energy to look for melanin. Laser toning does not show any harmful effect on the neighboring tissue and cell of your skin. The laser goes to the inside skin layers for melanin removal, which is present in higher quantities.

• Microdermabrasion.

It is the method that removes the dead skin cells which have a large amount of deposited melanin pigment. Microdermabrasion allows new cells to grow rapidly compared to normal. It consists of two procedures:

• Diamond-tip microdermabrasion
• Crystal microdermabrasion
• Tan removal creams.

There are many tan removal creams present that lighten the darkened skin. The cream will enter the inside layer of your skin to stop the chemical activities that lead to the development of melanin. You can consult a dermatologist for the recommendation of a good tan removal cream.

• Brightening Activities

Brightening activities are the chemical substances that help to focus on skin lightening. This is done by decreasing the melanin amount. Following are the common lightening activities that include:

• Vitamin C
• Niacinamide
• Kojic acid
• Glycolic acid
• Linoleic acid
• Glutathione
• Bleaching

Prevention from sun tanning

Following are the prevention steps that you should take when you go outside your home, workplace, or any recreational location:

• Wear a dress that needs to be covered throughout your body whenever you come out on the day.
• Use sunscreen before going anywhere outside during the day.
• Use hats, and sunglasses to cover your face from the sunlight.
• Take the recommended amount of water (at least 10-12 glasses) during the summers. This will help you to protect your skin from dehydration. Besides, you can add healthy fiber-rich foods such as green vegetables and fruits to your diet.
• Avoid intake of alcohol as it will dehydrate your skin.
• Do exercise at least 30 minutes a day, which increases the stamina of your immune system that results in high-quality skin.
• Do not go outside when the sun is at its peak. Usually, the time is between 10 am to 3 pm.
• Do use protection creams after every 20 minutes when you spend most of your time in the swimming pool.
• Use a moisturizer on your skin daily, which will maintain skin hydration.
• You should remove your sweat from the towel when you have it.
• Make a habit of face washing two times a day.

Conclusion:

Skin tanning may develop a high chance of exposure to solar radiation, which may result in skin cancer. The recommended way to remove the tan is to prevent your skin from dangerous ultraviolet rays. You can consider the above treatments for tan removal from your skin. In addition to treatment, you can follow the prevention steps for sun rays. You can get an online doctor consultation to know the cause of your skin tan.