It’s that time again: The time of miniskirts, shorts and bikinis is here. To give a good picture in these airy outfits, one thing is of most interest to them: the perfect summer tan. To get a bit closer to this dream is deep into the bag of tricks. We take a close look at the most common sunbathing myths: What does carrot food, suntan oil and Co. really do? And which are even hazardous to health?
“Well, were you on vacation, you’re so brown?” – in the summer months a common small talk theme. And who does not like to hear it? A sun-kissed complexion still seems to be a desirable goal in our society. We all know that we do not do us any favor with an intensive sunbathing of our skin. So all the more worrying are some “tricks” that can supposedly accelerate the tanning process. Here you get an overview of the most common myths about sunbathing – what is fact and what is fake?
Protection of the skin by tanning in the solarium
Dr. med. Christoph Liebich advises in an interview with the online magazine “Bild.de” urgently from this principle. The skin is not spared, but rather threaten early skin aging and skin cancer is favored.
Beta carotene as a natural sunscreen
Eating carrots means sunscreen? This claim should be treated with caution! According to the expert beta carotene may indeed prevent sunburn, but is not a substitute for sunscreen. Pure carrot consumption is difficult to cover the required dose. Instead, he recommends beta-carotene in drug form. Smoker beware: You should rather abstain from taking beta-carotene, as lung cancer is favored.
Faster tan by oiling with coconut oil and Co.
Dr. Liebich strongly advised against this principle: coconut oil or olive oil would provide dry skin with moisture, but in a sunbath they can be very harmful! On the one hand the sunburn danger increases and on the other hand sunscreen in combination with coconut oil and Co. is sometimes ineffective.
No sunburn – all good?
According to the online magazine “gesund.at”, this statement is not correct . The skin is already damaged long before a sunburn is seen. One can not stress it often enough: creaming is definitely a must! In addition to premature aging and dryness, skin cancer threatens.
Waterproof sunscreen does not need to be re-applied after bathing
Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to this convenience. Who bathes and sweats a lot, should renew the sunscreen about every three hours.
The rule of thumb is: With SPF 20 you can stay in the sun 20 times as long
As a rule, you can stick to this rough guideline – but time should not be exhausted! Because the sun protection factor only enhances the skin’s own protection and this is usually lower than you think. Anyone who does not need sunscreen for 10 minutes is protected with SPF 20 for 200 minutes. And only if one renews the sun protection again and again.