Catch a Tan Without Catching a Burn Using These 6 Tips

Spoiler alert: Contrary to popular belief, and what your nonna might have told you, you don’t have to go SPF-free and covered in olive oil to get a couple of shades tanner in the sun. In fact, if you want to get color without skin damage, it is highly advisable you do everything BUT that. Using a higher SPF like 50 plus only aids in protecting your skin from sunburn since tanning is dependent on time exposure, not low SPF. Truth does the opposite of hurt in this case.

Get every nook and cranny you can think of, and then go back over again. Unless you want random patches of sunburn-shade red, it's best to play it safe and ensure you are evenly applied everywhere.

Consider a light, full-body exfoliation approximately two to three days before you go out into the sun. Exfoliation will ensure you keep your new golden glow much longer without a layer of dead skin. Just make sure you don’t exfoliate the day of, or you will be a lot more likely to burn.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate — oh, and did I mention hydrate? If you want to avoid unnecessary wrinkles and skin damage, drinking water and lots of it throughout the entirety of your day in the sun is a must. Even as a general rule of thumb on hot, sunny days, you should be drinking plenty of water anyways to avoid dehydration or worse, heatstroke.

Lather up the lotion on top of your sunscreen of choice. Similar to making sure your SPF is smoothed out, being generous with moisturizing creates a silky smooth, even base for building color. This also prevents the sun from fully drying out your skin and giving it that crackly, dry skin appearance.

You’ll need just a minimal amount of sun with this natural tanning hack. As you may or may not have seen, there was a longstanding trend on TikTok of creators and skin experts alike eating excessive amounts of carrots for a natural, UV-free glow. And, well, it works crazy well. Because carrots are rich in vitamin A (beta-carotene), they do wonders for your skin, eyes and hair. But back to skin — eating carrots every day will give you a soft, healthy glow, just don’t eat too many or they will make your skin a bit…orange.