What is a base tan?

Thanks for the question. A Base Tan is protection from overexposure. This is created by either natural sunlight or a sunbed. UVB rays from sunlight or sunbed hit the melanocytes which are in the first layer (epidermis) of your skin at the bottom. The melanocytes start making melanin, which surrounds your DNA to protect from overexposure. Then UVA and oxygen turn the melanin brown. At the same time, the outer dead skin layer starts to thicken. The reason we call this a base tan when using a sunbed is it’s the starting point of your tan. If you go to a tropical place your tan can get darker because of the higher UV coming from the sun and time spent outside.

Remember when building a tan you need to do it slowly and  increase the amount of exposure slowly. Don’t think you’ll get a tan in a few sessions: This takes time. Normally it take 3 to 4 sessions to start seeing results. Remember the Golden Rule of Tanning: Never burn. If you are a Skin Type 1 person, which means you “always burn and never tan” you should not use a sunbed and minimize any exposure outside.

For more information or knowing your skin type, please visit TanResponsibly.ca