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No Tan Lines – No Parabens

suntanIt’s that time of year when, despite what we know, despite our understanding that a tan is not a natural sign of glowing health, but rather a first sign of incipient skin aging, despite the recognition that jetting off to hotter climes for a quick ‘brown over’ destroys the planet, we want to be golden!

There is help at hand for the environmentally-conscious and skin-aware section of society that still can’t quite break free from the belief that a tan is a fashion accessory and a human right. Aviva has launched self tanning products that are both organic and parabens free and – unsurprisingly – they are called Aviva Organics. You can learn more at Aviva.

A tan at any price?

Really worth looking at are the Sun-Free Skin Glow Face Crème – which is unscented and oil free and contains a superb range of organic botanicals, antioxidants and skin-nourishing elements. Of course the most important thing is what kind of colour you get from the product and this does provide a gentle, natural, sun-kissed shade that seems entirely appropriate even against the harshest winter weather.

Priceless tanning tips

To apply a self or sunless tanning product, it’s best to exfoliate first, and to ensure that you’ve put on something that you don’t mind getting a bit stained around the neck (or nothing at all is better). If you’re applying self-tanning product yourself, it’s a good idea to make sure your home is warm enough – if you get goosebumps, you can have a less than perfect application which means that you get a faintly spotty or mottled effect and any part of your body that is regularly shaved needs to be perfectly hair free. Don’t shave or depilate just before applying a self-tanning product though, as that can cause irritation. Give it four hours between hair removal and tan application. And don’t forget that winter make up needs to be adjusted to work with summer coloured skin or you just look … peculiar!

Tanning behaviour courtesy of Mike Schinkel at Flickr under a creative commons licence

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