How to tan your legs? 5 valuable tips for Spring

You can read this article in 2 minutes. You will learn:

• Why the skin on your legs is more difficult to tan
• Five practical tips for effective legs tanning

Why do legs take longer to tan?

To get a tan, you need to meet several conditions:

• Condition No. 1 - skin must be well moisturised
• Condition No. 2 - there must be an adequate amount of pigment in the skin
• Condition No. 3 - skin must be exfoliated to remove dead skin cells

In the case of legs, these conditions are difficult to fulfil because:

• Problem 1 - the skin on the legs has fewer sebaceous glands which are what provides moisture
• Problem 2 - there are fewer melanocytes in the legs. These are what stimulate melanin production
• Problem 3 - dead skin cells form a barrier to UV radiation and lotions

How to tan legs effectively?

Solving these problems will give you the tan you want. Whether you expose your legs to the sun or choose a tanning bed, there are 5 rules to follow for an effective tan:

1. don't wear tight trousers on tanned legs.

The material clinging to your skin rubs off your tan.

2. Avoid epilation, reduce the rate of hair regrowth instead.

Shaving foam/gel softens the skin and makes it easier to remove the epidermis of tanned skin, while waxing causes it to flake off. The solution is to use leg tanning lotions, provided they contain ingredients that inhibit hair growth, like Cappuccino Legs. This will reduce the need for frequent epilation.

3. Give your skin a natural pigment.

Difficult-to-tan areas (e.g. leg skin, palms) are those where the skin has fewer melanocytes than other areas of the body that get more sun exposure.

What are melanocytes? They are cells that produce pigment, which is released during a tanning bed session, entering the epidermis. It accumulates there giving the skin the colour we call a tan.

Application of lotions containing ingredients helps to significantly increase the "efficiency" of melanocytes. The resulting tan is natural because it is produced naturally.

4. Make sure your skin is properly hydrated and conditioned.

Maintain the hydro-lipid balance in the skin on your legs. Hydrate inside and out and make sure your skin is properly nourished. To do so, choose lotions that moisturise strongly and regenerate the natural lipid mantle. There are specialized lotions dedicated to leg tanning available in tanning salons.

5. Use professional cosmetics.

Drugstores and pharmacies offer many care and anti-ageing cosmetics, which contain specially selected ingredients responsible for a specific effect. The same is true in the case of sunbathing, where there is no place for ordinary creams, whose effectiveness can be judged only by the marketing message, which rarely coincides with the truth. Ingredients are important!

A good lotion that allows legs to tan effectively should contain:

• substances that inhibit hair growth
• ingredients that "enhance the efficiency" of the natural tanning process (acting on melanocytes)
• formulas with DHA, but designed in a modern way, using so-called DHA boosters
• moisturising complexes
• formulas to improve microcirculation

Interesting facts for the curious.

Despite appearances, early spring is an ideal time for tanning. The turn of March and April is statistically 4 times more sunny hours than in January and February, and we should remember that it is not the temperature but the exposure to radiation that is responsible for the formation of a tan.

The radiation index in early spring from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be about 40% lower than in June and July, so sunbathing in March and April is considered safer for the skin.

However, if the sun is covered by clouds, or we simply can't go for a walk, it's worth considering a visit to a solarium (the lamp in a solarium emits radiation identical to the sun), but with the obligatory use of a good cream for tanning legs.

In the offer of Maximus Solaria, you will find cosmetics for solarium of the best world brands, among others: 7suns Cosmetics, ProTan, Australian Gold. View our catalogue of tanning lotions here.