Why A Good Lotion is Essential: Part 1 of 2

If you've ever been to a tanning salon, you are familiar with the layout in every lobby: a colorful selection of bottles of creamy moisturizers, all different shapes and sizes and all advertising darker colors, softer skin, anti-aging, etc. You have more than likely also notice that many of them come with a hefty price tag.

I consider myself something of a skin-care expert (thats right, we don't ALL hide from the sun!) and a lot of clients ask me about various regimens and products. The 2 questions I hear the most regarding tanning lotions are: "Do I really need to use one?" and "Do they really need to charge that much for them?!"

The simple answers, respectively, are: "yes" and "yes"

The slightly more in-depth answers, respectively, are: "You should be using a moisturizer for EVERYTHING." and "Let me just link you to my blog."

Moisturizing, IN GENERAL, is essential and everyone should do it at least one time a day but preferably more. Your body is mostly comprised of water so its a "no-brainer" that you need to stay hydrated not only by drinking water but also by absorbing moisture. This is especially important when in the sun. Those doctors that you hear tell you sun exposure will prematurely age the skin? Well, they are half right. 

I'm going to break it down in a very simple 2-sentence explanation that sums the whole deal up:

What they don't always tell you is that regular intense moisturizing will solve this problem. Your skin needs moisture for cell renewal and turnover. Without it, cellular regeneration slows and skin begins to dry out, causing it to appear older. Yep, its that simple. So is using a moisturizer. Its just such an easy (but unfortunately too often disregarded) way to maintain healthy skin.

So, that leads us to the next point.When tanning, you shouldn't use any moisturizer you feel like. The $1 generic version of Vaseline lotion is not going to do you any good and in fact CAN CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE to a tanning bed. Any moisturizer with mineral oil reacts with the bed lamps and leaves many a salon owner quite unhappy with you. This is why "outdoor" lotions are prohibited in tanning beds. It is NOT a competition issue.

Indoor tanning lotions are made specifically to maximize your ability to tan while still letting you get just the "moderate" amount of exposure that you need. In other words, using a good lotion can make you look like you tan a LOT more than you really do. I am walking proof of that and a good deal of that is thanks to Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a formula that darkens skin tone. Combining a small amount of this compound with a moderated amount of UV light exposure can result in a very impressive tan that makes many people assume I am either originally from or just returning from a tropical beach area (psst....I'm not.....and I haven't)!

Of COURSE there is much more to that bottle you see in the lobby. Reputable companies such as Designer Skin, Australian Gold, Swedish Beauty, SupreTan, and Norvell got to be the industry leaders by formulating lotions that contain the best quality moisturizers. 

Sure, you can go to Wal-Mart and get their $6 bottle of tanning lotion and tell yourself that the ingredients are similar to the expensive versions and the label looks "kinda" like an Ed Hardy label so it must be just as good! However, you might want to also enroll in Marketing 101 while you're at it because you're probably getting scammed left and right. Sure, the ingredient list may seem similar but that tells you NOTHING about the quality of the ingredients or the amounts they contain. Current FDA regulations only dictate that a company list ingredients in order from most to least. So, while the $60 Designer Skin lotion contains Grade A Shea Butter (another thing the FDA doesnt require companies to label on products) which is considered by the American Shea Butter Institute (www.sheabutterinstitue.com) to be the best for cosmetic products, that $6 gem you got yourself at Wal-Mart contains Grade D Shea Butter almost ENTIRELY devoid of nutrients (by the way, Grade F is a category considered "unfit for human use".) 

Since we're talking about misinformation, I should also caution anyone who goes online and sees an $80 bottle of lotion for only $19 that YES, it is too good a deal to be true! Indoor tanning lotions are only certified to be sold at tanning salons to ensure quality control. If you see a high-end lotion with a cheap price tag, you probably ARE better off buying the generic Vaseline because that is probably what's in the bottle anyway. Worst case scenario, the seller has switched out the contents with something that leaves you with a lovely rash for weeks. Online sites are constantly being closed down for this very reason and if you pull up a search for indoor tanning lotions on Google, you'll notice that a lot of the store sites look very similar and carry the same brands. This is so the scam artists involved can afford to let one site get busted and shut down but still have a little time to rip you off before the other ones are shut down as well. For more information, take a gander at the "Product Diversion" section of Designer Skin's website.

Just like many things in life, you get what you pay for and its no different with tanning lotions. I'll never forget the first time I tried a truly good lotion. The difference is worth every penny....and bear in mind that it is a tanning loton so you don't use it quickly and therefore, don't buy it that often.


Come back tomorrow for Part 2: find the tanning lotion that is best suited to your preferences by reading my in-depth reviews on some of my favorite lotions, including  Designer Skin Revival, Designer Skin Liberate, Ed Hardy Ghost Skull, Australian Golds Going GA GA, Mood Indigo and Sinfully Black!

The Importance of the "Base Tan"

With summer approaching, you may have heard of people talking about getting a "base tan". So, just what is this "base tan" anyway? A base tan, simply put, is the gradual process by which the skin naturally develops color (by moderated indoor or outdoor UV exposure) from melanin production. 
The reason a base tan is so important is because it helps prevent sun damage (i.e sun burning of the skin) from a sudden onslaught of UV exposure. In other words, if you head to the beach without any previous sun exposure and spend the entire day in the sun, even with sunscreen, there is a significant chance you will be burnt to a crisp by the end of the day. 


For those of you that are part of the 40+ crowd, you may remember that, as recently as the 80's, the traditional "rite of passage" to every summer was to burn yourself and then tan from there out. We now know that that particular practice is responsible for a great deal of the current number of skin cancer cases.
A tan is your body's natural protection against sunburn. Your body is built to tan as a natural body function....otherwise we wouldn't be able to do it!


The easiest and safest way to achieve a base tan is to visit a Smart Tan Certified Tanning Salon where the employees are specifically trained to help you gradually achieve a healthy base tan based on your skin type and your summer plans. 


When you are planning on spending a day at the beach, a base tan is still not an excuse to avoid sunscreen. Extended periods of outdoor UV exposure still require a sunscreen. The benefit of getting a base tan first is that you can use a lower SPF (between 8 and 15) which will protect your skin while still allowing you to get a tan and you can avoid the higher level SPF's (15 and up) as new studies are popping up left and right that show the amount of chemicals in higher level SPF's are possibly more dangerous than UV light exposure.


So, to sum up, before you head out to the beach or even your patio deck this summer to soak in some rays, visit a Smart Tan Certified Tanning Salon and talk with the employees about what they can do to help you achieve a healthy an safe base tan. Then, get your summer started!

Now they want to start Vitamin D deficiencies as early as possible......

So certain lawmakers are attempting to stop teenagers under 18 from using tanning salons. I guess they haven't looked into the fact that vitamin D deficiency is even affecting children/teenagers now. While still fairly rare in developed countries, Rickets in children is on the rise and its something we pretty much thought was a thing of the past...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickets

Sunlight can PREVENT cancer! Who knew?!!

Last week, I talked about the fact that our bodies need vitamin D and that sunlight is the best way to get it. Now, I want to take that one step further and talk about the fact that sunlight exposure can actually help prevent some forms of cancer. That's right: PREVENT.

All we hear about today is how the sun is evil and causes skin cancer. The cosmetics industry tells us to slather on that sunscreen so no sunlight can get to our skin. The truth is that skin caner occurs from OVEREXPOSURE (i.e. burning of the skin), not from regular moderated exposure. When the skin burns, that is what causes cellular damage and that cellular damage may lead to skin cancer. Here's another truth: Conclusive studies have shown that sunlight has been proven to reduce the risk of the following types of cancers: colon, breast, prosate, and ovarian. These are some of the most common and deadly forms of cancer and one of the easiest ways to prevent it is to get some sun!

In 2006, a landmark paper was published by Dr. Cedric F. Garland and Dr. Frank C. Garland. This paper reviewed 63 seperate observational studies that examined the role of vitamin D in protecting against the aforementioned types of cancer. Here is a breakdown of the findings:

• Colon cancer: 20 of 30 studies (67%) conducted found a statistically significant benefit of vitamin D exposure against the risk of  colon cancer and cancer mortality.
• Breast cancer: 9 of 13 studies (70%) conducted reported a positive association with vitamin D exposure and reduced cancer risk.
• Prostate cancer: 13 out of 26 studies (50%) found a statistically significant association of sunlight exposure and reduced cancer risk.
• Ovarian cancer: 5 of 7 studies (71%) found higher mortality rates associated with areas of lower sunlight levels.

This study, along with the already known benefits of vitamin D make another compelling case in favor of sunlight exposure. Furthermore, after this study was published, both the American Cancer Society and the Canadian Cancer Society both admitted that people need to increase their exposure to sunlight. Now there's something you won't hear from the cosmetics industry!

As always, keep your exposure moderated. Talk with a professional tanning salon about the best way to get the right amount of exposure for your skin type and take advantage of one of the most natural ways to increase your health!

What's the deal with Vitamin D, anyway?!

     Vitamin D is necessary for your body to function properly. It supports bone health and your immune system. It has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease.

     Vitamin D comes in 5 different forms but the most important to your body are D2 and D3. Of these two, D3 is more significant because it is the one more efficiently processed by your body. Numerous studies have shown that a Vitamin D3-specific deficiency has been linked to a number of health problems. A few of these are depression, back pain, cancer, complications during pregnancy (including insulin resistance and pre-eclampsia), impaired immunity and macular degeneration. The list goes on and on. Just google “vitamin D3 deficiency” and see what pops up.

     While most people assume that they get it from the food they eat, there are actually only a small range of foods that contain significant amounts of vitamin D and most of these are sources of Vitamin D2. The main food that naturally contains D3 is fatty fish (such as salmon, catfish, mackerel, tuna, etc.). In fact, it is nearly impossible to get the recommended amount of Vitamin D through your diet. So how do we get Vitamin D3? The answer is easy: our bodies synthesize it from UV light exposure to bare skin. It is the only vitamin that can do this which is why it is often referred to as “The Sunshine Vitamin”.

So, if getting Vitamin D3 is as easy as going out in the sun, why has there been such a HUGE increase in Vitamin D deficiency? That answer is even easier: people spend almost their entire day indoors and/or they have become afraid of the sun. The first reason can’t be helped. People have to work and for most that means an indoor job that gives them little chance to get sunlight. The second reason is just a matter of being educated. The cosmetics industry has done an AMAZING job of making people think that they need to buy all products with sunscreen in them without ever mentioning that sunlight exposure is vital to good health.

     Don’t get me wrong on this. Just like most things, too much exposure is not good for you either. Moderation is the key to getting enough Vitamin D without damaging your skin. The safest way to get the amount you need (which is about 15-20 minutes a day, several days a week) is to use a tanning bed in a professional salon with a well-educated staff. By using a tanning bed, you are getting mostly UVA rays whereas natural sunlight contains UVA and UVB rays (UVB rays are more likely to cause burning). With a tanning bed, you get a controlled amount of exposure that won’t go over the time you need for your body to synthesize an adequate amount of Vitamin D3.

     In coming posts, I will talk about the various other reasons that the benefits of those with moderated UV exposure outweighs any risks, even for people with a family history of skin cancer. However, Vitamin D is essential to health and longevity so therefore it will always be the most important reason to get some sun!