How can you prolong your tan?
Written on May 10, 2025, by Pauline de Santarome
When returning from vacation, there's nothing better than having a tan and fitting into all your clothes perfectly. Unfortunately,tans often fade as quickly as they appear, even after hours in the sun.
However, there are natural tricks to preserve it for longer. Santarome reveals its tips for maintaining your caramel-colored skin.
Plants to use for natural tanning
Maintaining your tan naturally can sometimes be a difficult task. Several plants help to prolong your tan significantly. These plants include:
Aloe vera gently moisturizes and exfoliates the skin thanks to its high concentration of water and minerals. Found in many moisturizers, it is also used in products that prolong tanning.
Shea butter: the properties of shea butter, and in particular shea butter, help to moisturize the skin and combat sunburn. Containing vitamin F, shea butter softens the skin.
Lavender: Lavender's composition helps to enhance and prolong your tan after sunbathing. It is also used to soothe sunburn.
Jojoba: like shea butter, this plant regenerates your skin for deep hydration with a soft finish.
Each of these plants contains active ingredients that can help prolong your tan for a few extra weeks, particularly in the form of essential oils. Other plants such as chamomile and green tea can help maintain your tan, even after you return home.
Foods for a natural and lasting tan
Food can also help enhance your tan once you return home. Foods containing beta-carotene intensify and stimulate melanin in the skin. Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, which not only restores energy but also affects skin color. These foods include:
Mango
Apricot
Melon
Tomato
Carrot
Watermelon
Citrus fruits : grapefruit
Other foods such as eggs, spinach, and sweet potatoes stimulate melanin in the skin thanks to their beta-carotene content, whichprolongs your tan. Aromatic herbs such as parsley also contain beta-carotene.
To this, you can add the consumption of foods rich in vitamin D found in fish, eggs, liver, and dairy products.
Our tips for a natural and long-lasting tan
Exfoliate/scrub your skin
Contrary to popular belief, exfoliating your skin does not make your tan disappear. On the contrary, it actually intensifies it. Exfoliation removes impurities and dead skin cells. Itrestores your tan's radiance and prolongs it for a few more weeks. It is recommended that you exfoliate before going on vacation. You can repeat this step during your vacation and do it again when you return.
The ideal times to expose yourself to the sun
Tanning is the result of a protective mechanism of the epidermis after exposure to the sun. Melanin, the pigment responsible for skin color, is activated when UV rays come into contact with the skin.
In order to maintain a golden tan for several weeks, it is advisable to tan gradually. Exposing yourself to the sun for hours on the first day of your vacation, without protection, can cause severe sunburn and damage your skin. It is better to expose yourself to the sun outside of peak hours, preferably between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., then after 4 p.m. Apply sunscreen regularly, starting with a high SPF sunscreen for the first few days, then a lower SPF for the rest of your stay. Of course, several layers are necessary, especially after swimming.
Skin hydration
Hydrating your skin is essential if you want to maintain your caramel tan. The sea, sand, and sun are factors that dry out the skin and lead to peeling, so you need to moisturize with an after-sun moisturizer after every swim. When you return home, continue this ritual to keep your skin intensely nourished.
Sublime Soleil Capsules
Santarome's Sublime Soleil capsules will intensify and prolong the life of your tan. For tanned, radiant skin, discover all of Santarome's sun-protective dietary supplements.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lou Anna
I can't live without it anymore
I didn't think I had a tan.
So quickly! I recommend it 100%.
Natural oils
Essential and natural oils are known to help maintain your tan. They contain a concentration of several active ingredients, each of which has the ability to prolong your tan. There are many different types available:
Buriti oil: rich in antioxidants, this oil has been shown to have beneficial effects on tanning by protecting the skin.
Argan oil
Lavender oil
Sesame oil
Jojoba oil
Tea tree oil
Black cumin oil
The risks of excessive sun exposure
Numerous scientific studies have shown that overexposure to the sun and its UV rays can have consequences not only for the skin but also for our health.
Being tanned is often a sign of good health, but this trend is not without side effects. While the sun, a source of vitamin D, is important for our bodies, it is important not to overdo it: sunscreen and limiting your time in the sun will help protect your skin.Over time, overexposure can lead to premature aging of your skin or the appearance of brown spots, and in the worst cases, skin cancer.
Wrinkles and premature aging of the skin
Ultraviolet rays penetrate and pierce the epidermis. Excess melanin causes collagen destruction, making the skin less thick and elastic and causing tissue tears. Premature skin aging leads to dryness of the epidermis, resulting in wrinkles and age spots.
Avoid sun exposure outside of peak hours and apply sunscreen regularly to prevent this problem. Gradual tanning is therefore the best option.
Brown spots
Also known as lentigo, these brown spots are caused byexcessive exposure to the sun, which causes the body to produce excess melanin, resulting in these brown spots. They generally appear on fair skin and on areas directly exposed to the sun: neck, face, shoulders, etc.
While these tasks are not alarming in principle, they can become a daily hassle and are difficult to remove. However, there are solutions such as laser treatment, peeling, or microneedling.
