Picture this: for a day at the beach, you’ve lathered your skin with sunscreen everywhere. You get home later flushed, tanned, and content with a great day enjoying the sunshine. But upon closer look, one arm’s much darker, your neck and chest are burnt, your shoulders are streaky, and yet your legs don’t look like they’ve seen the sun at all. Why does it seem impossible to keep skin one tone all summer long?
For starters, sunscreen doesn’t last all day—that depends on its SPF. Also, if you miss any areas, you could end up with spots or streaks—especially when you’re trying to reach around your back. Whether or not you have 100% sun protection with frequent sunscreen application or you try to tan a little, it can be hard to get an even skin tone in summer. To help, I put together some tips for applying sunscreen without the blotchy consequences:
1. Be strategic about sunblock—Consider what clothing you’ll wear and where you’ll be in relation to the sun, since each body part won’t be under the same degree of rays the entire day. If you wear tank tops often, give your arms and shoulders special attention.
2. Apply before your makeup—if you’re using a chemical sunscreen, which is lotion that will be absorbed into your skin. If you choose to apply it after, it may not absorb as quickly or well as it does on other parts of your skin, leading to an uneven tan. However, physical sunscreen actually blocks the rays without being absorbed into the skin.
3. Apply liberally, in small portions—especially on your face. Adding dots of sunscreen and rubbing in individually makes for a less streaky tan, as long as you make sure to get all areas. Just dropping a teaspoon on your face and hoping it absorbs the same everywhere is a bit risky!
4. Keep a travel size with you—Wonder why you’re getting burnt when you apply sunscreen? You’re not doing it often enough. Make sure to reapply every 1.5 hours or according to package directions, and cover all the same areas.
5. Have someone else help—As much as we like to think we can lather sunscreen everywhere without missing parts, it’s the main cause of a totally uneven tan… so it’s always good to have a friend who can help if possible. If you can’t get to it, don’t expose it—you’ll end up bright red on one area and protected on another.
Unfortunately, once you have an uneven tan, it’s hard to recover (aside from leaving the un-tanned portion vulnerable to harsh rays in order to even it out). However, if you end up blotchy, try to even it out with a moderate sunless tanner likeJergens Natural Glow for a subtle fix or Tarte Brazilliance Self Tanner if you tanned only in certain areas.
If you have a request for any special sort of tip or beauty idea, you can always send me a message or comment and I'll try to find a tip regarding your topic and dedicate the chapter to you! (:
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Beauty Tips.
Teen FictionAll about beauty. DISCLAIMER: These are not my own personal tips, I find them online and then post them on wattpad for others to see.
