Best tanning lotion- how to choose?

Here are some useful steps to help you on the best tanning lotion for your particular needs.

It is important to note that not all tanning lotions are the same, with variances in ingredients, formulas, and purposes. 

But first, you need to decide if you need an outdoor or an indoor tanning lotion.

Best Tanning Lotion for Outdoor Tanning

Outdoor lotions are designed to enable us to be outdoors in the direct sunshine, whether it's at the beach, swimming pool, playing sport, fishing, hiking, running, biking, or merely running errands around town.

They need to offer SPF protection against the UVB rays as well as UVA protection, where traditionally indoor tanning lotions do not.

So, its essential when you choose a tanning lotion for outdoors use, make sure that it will allow you to tan, but at the same time protect you from potential damage from both UVA and UVB rays.

What this means is that you will need to manage your time in the sun in accordance with how much sun your skin can take before getting burnt.

A burnt skin will eventually blister and peel and there goes your tan!

So choose a sunscreen that will protect you as well as allow you to tan. If necessary, take it slowly over many days to allow your skin time to tan without getting burnt.

For best choice of sunscreen, make sure the UVA protection is high and not just the UVB (or SPF), otherwise you will control the tanning from the UVB rays, but not the deeper level damage from the UVA rays.

Best Tanning Lotion for Indoors

Lotions for indoor tanning are either for:

• sunbed tanning
• sunless tanning

Both will be designed for no contact with direct sunlight and as such will have no sunscreen ingredients.

This must be taken into consideration if you intend to first tan indoors and then go outdoors.

Tanning bed lotions will likely contain special ingredients that won't damage the tanning bed. If you use an outdoor tanning lotion on a tanning bed, chances are you will ruin the acrylic coating of the tanning bed, which can not only damage it but will make you pretty unpopular at the tanning salon!

Choices of indoor tanning lotions vary from those designed for an optimal tanning bed session, to the sunless tanning lotions that need neither tanning beds nor outdoor sunshine.

For these reasons, it is critical that you read the labels and understand if your lotion is right for indoors or outdoors, or both.

Best Tanning Lotions : More advice

Not only do you need a lotion that is within your price range, but also one that offers the right shade of colour for your skin.

There are gradual tanning lotions that build your tanned shade with each application, while others automatically tan your skin with just one application.

The majority of tanning lotions come in different shades, such as "light to medium" and "medium to dark".

If in doubt, choose a tanning lotion to start with in a shade that is just one colour darker than your natural untanned skin tone. That way you can see how the shade will look on you.

Another helpful step to follow when it comes to choosing is to decide what body area you plan to use it on.

There is quite a significant difference between tanning lotion for the body and tanning lotion for the face.

This is another time when reading the product label is important.

If you're in the market for a facial tanning lotion, make sure it will not clog your pores and will treat your face sensitively rather than too harshly.

Also, take time to shop around, get others opinions who have the experience and do some comparisons.

If you take your time to choose the best tanning lotion for your particular needs, you are not likely to end up with a disastrous tan that takes weeks to undo!