How to Stay Cool While Tanning: Tips & Tricks

Puerto Rico is one of the best places in the Caribbean to go for a holiday. Clear skies, perfect weather and sun. But an amazing holiday at the beach can become a nightmare for the body if sunburnt. There are many tips, tricks and products to avoid that.

How to Stay Cool While Tanning

Going to the beach is fantastic. Getting a nice tan, playing in the water or on the sand. But while people do that, the sun hits someone from above. In order to prevent overheating or being sunburnt, professionals recommend using protection and products such as:

Wear Hats and Sunglasses

Using coverings such as hats and sunglasses are an excellent option to protect your head from the sun. Long exposure to the sun can severely affect the eyes and soft head places such as the ears. Never use sunglasses without a hat since the tan will leave not so aesthetically pleasing marks!

The normal recommendations are getting sunglasses with 95-100% block of UV rays. These are the best ones to protect your eyes. Polarized glasses are also useful since they avoid the sun glare of sand or water.

Use Sunscreen

Every doctor will tell their patient to use sunscreen when visiting the beach. Not everyone is aware that skin care is extremely vital. Not taking the necessary measures can end up in skin illnesses such as cancer.

Protecting the skin from UV rays is also a great way to cool down the skin. There are many types of sunscreen, adapted to each skin and SPF (sun protection factors). Other protectors like body and lip balms can help to cover sensible parts of the body from the sun.

Drink Water

Water not only is healthy, but also an awesome way to stay hydrated and cool. Fruit infused water, such as cucumber, lemon or strawberry ones can also give a nice touch.

Other frozen drink options from the region, like margaritas, daiquiris or milkshakes can help not only to cool down the skin, but also the insides.

Get in the Water

It may sound obvious, but one of the better ways to cool down is getting in the water. Remember to apply sunscreen always since getting sunburnt is still a possibility. Spending a few minutes there will be very refreshing and also fun.

If there’s no water nearby, a spray bottle also works as a charm. A bottle filled with water and ice to keep it frozen helps to cool down. Spraying the body when it gets too hot is a good substitute for getting into the water.

Use Cooling Towels

If there’s no spray bottle near you, cooling towels are an efficient way to stay fresh. It provides heat relief, and it is actually very simple to use. Soaking it in water is the only step before using it.

The big difference between cooling towels and normal towels is the fabric which is made with. This one is thicker, allowing it to hold more water.

Use Ice

A simple, cheap, and effective way to stay cold is placing ice on the body. Bringing a jar with ice to the beach serves as a quick cooldown. For those who think that ice cubes will not last long, bringing a portable cooler along with drinks is a good option.

Use a Timer

A clock or the phone’s timer can work perfectly to tell how many minutes have passed getting a tan. Making sure to use it to roll over and get an equal tan is important. This will prevent sunburning certain parts of the body. Also, remember not to fall asleep.

Best Hours to Go to the Beach

There are some hours and moments where going to the beach has to be avoided. It depends on each person’s liking, but specialists recommend avoiding it from 10am to 4pm. This is the worst moment to go because the sun is high.

The best moments to visit the beach are the early morning and afternoon. Enjoying the sunrise provides wonderful scenery, and the sun isn’t dangerous. The places are oftenly empty due to the hour, so there will be plenty of space.

Afternoon is the most crowded moment, but sun isn’t as risky as noon. This is a good moment to enjoy activities, such as swimming or playing sand games.

Extreme Tanning Symptoms

While it makes people look better or gives a refreshing look, tanning has actually no health benefit. There are some noticeable symptoms that everyone needs to address. Noticing any of these issues means the body is overheating and suffering from extreme tanning:

• Dehydration: being exposed to the sun for a long period and not drinking enough water will lead to the body getting dehydrated.
• Heatstroke: heatstrokes can be fatal. They can affect organs like the heart or kidney in its most risky form.
• Weakened Defenses: excessive exposure to the sun causes the immune system to be weakened. This makes people more prone to different types of illnesses.

Detecting and Treating Sun Damaged Skin

For those that were exposed too much time to the sun UV rays without knowing the problems it can carry, there are some things to address. Human skin undergoes certain changes in order to protect the body from the sun.

Photoaging

Constant exposure to UV rays can prematurely age the skin. The damages it provokes are known as photoaging. These can cause wrinkles, irregular skin pigmentation and freckle spots called lentigines. These spots are yellowish and have a leathery and rough skin texture.

Actinic Keratoses

Actinic Keratoses are the given name to precancerous growths that appear from long exposure to sunlight. Their color varies from pink to red and sometimes from black to brown. They have a rough and scaly texture.

Skin Cancer

Not applying sunscreen or taking the necessary measures to keep safe from the sun can develop skin cancer. The higher the exposure is to the sun, the higher likely the risk of having problems. Squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma are the common ones.

This cancer is frequent during childhood and adolescence, as well as for those who are permanently exposed to the sun. This applies to athletes, farmers, sailors, ranchers and sunbathing enthusiasts.

Treating the Problem

The best way to minimize sun damage is a good prevention. Protective clothing and sunscreen are the most useful and effective ways. When the damage is done, it is very difficult to reverse it.

Moisturizing creams can temporarily deal with wrinkles, and makeup can hide skin color marks and imperfections. However, deep damage needs a more significant and expensive treatment to reduce the issue.

Chemical peels, alpha-hydroxy acids, laser skin resurfacing and tretinoin creams are the most known treatments to improve cosmetic appearance.

When it comes to more developed issues than cosmetic ones such as Actinic Keratoses or skin cancer, it is a complex situation and going to a doctor for further details is vital.

Oftenly, treatment for skin cancers is surgery. The scar size left after the intervention varies depending on how early the problem was addressed. More invasive ones may require larger amounts of skin to be removed. This means some skin parts will be replaced or transferred from an adjacent area.

Conclusion

It would be a sin to go to the Caribbean and not visit any of its beaches. Since it is the most appealing attraction of the region, beaches are oftenly crowded with people. This increases the chances of people getting sunburnt due to a high exposure to the sun.

Now that you know how to stay cool while tanning, in order to prevent skin damage, there are different methods such as sunscreen and protective clothing. Keeping the body cool with towels or ice are other effective options to avoid overheating.

If any of those measures are not taken, certain skin problems may develop, and in some cases, they are not reversible.