How to keep your tan for longer: after sun, tan extenders and tips

Your summer tan starts to fade as soon as autumn arrives, and a sunbed tan pales as soon as you space out your sessions. Why does a tan fade? How long does it last? And above all, how do you keep your tan for as long as possible: what should you do day to day, which after sun should you use, which tan extender? Here are our tips for making a tan last, whether you’re just back from holiday or between two tanning sessions.

How long does a tan last, and why does it fade?

A tan is the skin’s defence against UV rays: melanocytes, at the base of the epidermis, produce melanin and pass it on to neighbouring cells, which darken. But those cells don’t stay put. Your skin renews itself all the time: new cells move up towards the surface, where dead cells are eventually shed. Without fresh exposure, the tanned cells are gradually replaced by lighter ones and the tan fades, usually within a few weeks. How long it lasts depends on your skin, how deep your tan is and how you look after it: that’s where you can make a difference.

Two things make it fade faster:

• dry skin: sun, salt, chlorine and hot water damage the hydrolipidic film that protects the surface of the skin. Dry skin peels faster, and the colour goes with the dead cells;
• sunburn: burnt skin peels in patches and takes your tan with it.

Moisturise every day to make your tan last

This is the golden rule, and the secret of a lasting tan: moisturise your skin every day, even when you’re not tanning. Supple, well-hydrated skin peels more slowly and holds its colour for longer.

• Apply your moisturiser after a shower, on clean, dry skin, to your body and face.
• Reapply every day, paying extra attention to the areas that dry out quickly: legs, elbows, knees.
• After every time in the sun or on a sunbed, switch to an after-sun or after-tan moisturiser.

After sun or tan extender: which should you choose?

An ordinary moisturiser hydrates. An after sun adds ingredients that soothe the skin after UV exposure, and often ingredients that maintain your tan, so it really looks after tanned skin.

The right choice depends mainly on your skin type, because the texture makes all the difference:

• Oily skin: a very light lotion. So Moist by Soleo is the lightest of our after-tan moisturisers, ideal for oily skin. Aloe vera, shea butter, safflower oil and vitamins B3 and B6 hydrate tanned skin and keep it glowing. Bronzer-free, it can be used every day, up to twice a day.
• Oily to normal skin: a slightly richer texture. Aftertan by Supertan, a little thicker, leaves skin hydrated without any sticky feel. And it does more than moisturise: thanks to caffeine, it’s also an anti-ageing and slimming treatment. Shea, cocoa, hemp, green tea and B vitamins nourish the skin and give your tan an even, intense colour. Available in a 150ml tube, a 500ml pump bottle or a 15ml sachet.
• Very dry or damaged skin: an almost butter-like formula. Forever After by Australian Gold, one of our best sellers, is very thick, almost a butter. Shea butter, urea and hemp seed oil deeply hydrate for 24 hours, CoQ10 fights the signs of ageing and its tan-extending nutrients help your colour last. Gourmand vanilla scent.

A tan extender is an after-tan moisturiser formulated to maintain your colour between sessions or after a holiday. So Moist and Aftertan are both tan extenders, and we stock others too:

• Coast Tan Extender, step 3 from California Tan;
• Daily by Shine On, a bronzer-free daily moisturiser that extends and enhances your tan;
• the Hemp Nation range from Australian Gold, such as Hemp Nation Original: a lotion with hemp, shea and jojoba that works as a body lotion, an after-tan moisturiser and a tan extender all in one, available in lots of scents.

The job of an after sun is to hydrate your skin and maintain its colour. In the sun, always use it alongside sun protection.

Does showering wash off your tan?

It’s a very common belief, but water doesn’t wash your tan away: melanin sits inside the cells of the epidermis, and no shower can rinse it out. What comes off in the shower are the dead cells on the surface, the ones that tanned first: that’s simply your skin renewing itself.

The real enemy is soap. Ordinary soap or a harsh shower gel, especially with hot water, strips away the hydrolipidic film, the thin layer of water and lipids that protects the surface of the skin. Your skin dries out, peels faster, and your tan goes with it. A shower gel designed for tanned skin cleanses gently and hydrates: your skin stays supple and keeps its colour.

That’s the whole point of the All In One Shower Gel from That’so: gentle enough for the most sensitive skin, moisturising and softening for a silky feel, it contains Melanup+, an ingredient that helps preserve your tan. To get everything in one go, our La routine de bronzage idéale bundle (the ideal tanning routine) brings together a scrub, this shower gel and Aftertan after-tan moisturiser at a reduced price.

So after a tanning session, you can shower without worrying. Just one precaution: after a tanning accelerator or a self tan containing DHA, wait a few hours before you shower, so the colour has time to develop. And if your accelerator contains an instant bronzer, some of its surface colour will come off in the first shower: that’s normal, your underlying tan stays put.

Lukewarm water, scrubs, sun: our tips to make your tan last

• Shower in lukewarm water rather than very hot: hot water dries out the skin.
• Rinse off after swimming: sea salt and pool chlorine dry out the skin. Moisturise straight afterwards. For swimming and sport, the Australian Gold SPF 50 lotion with bronzers is water resistant for 80 minutes.
• Exfoliate less often: a scrub removes dead skin cells, and part of your tan with them. Avoid exfoliating golden skin too often. Once or twice a week, a gentle scrub such as the Tan Extender Scrub from That’so smooths the skin without irritating it: with arginine, it boosts the depth and staying power of your tan. Use it the day before a self tan too, for a streak-free finish.
• Avoid sunburn: contrary to popular belief, a tan offers only weak protection against UV rays. In the sun, keep using suitable sun protection, such as That’so Pure Sun SPF 20/30/50, which protects your skin while helping your tan, and stay out of the sun during the hottest part of the day.

Can you maintain your tan with tanning sessions?

Yes. Once your tan has built up, a few well-spaced top-up sessions will maintain the colour. The right frequency depends on your skin: follow your salon’s advice. Always stick to the exposure time recommended by your tanning salon to avoid burning.

For these sessions, choose your tanning accelerator using our rule of thumb: bronzer-free for your first sessions and for fair skin; with bronzers for olive or darker skin (Mediterranean or African skin types) and for skin that’s already deeply tanned. Bronzers don’t create colour, they transform it: when your melanin is working hard, a tan can turn dull; a touch of DHA makes it more coppery, more radiant and more natural. A tanning accelerator contains no SPF, and after every session, an after-tan moisturiser takes over.

Self tan: keeping your colour going

Self tan colours the skin without any UV exposure: DHA reacts with amino acids in the outer layer of the skin to form brown pigments. The colour appears within a few hours and lasts a few days, until the skin has renewed that layer. Applied regularly, it takes over from a fading tan.

• Self tan drops, such as Soleo’s Self Tan Drops, mix into your usual moisturiser: you control the intensity, for a gradual tan.
• Reapply as soon as the colour starts to fade, to keep an even glow.

Self tan doesn’t protect you from the sun. Sprays, mousses, lotions and drops are all in our self tan category.

What to eat or drink to keep your tan

A varied diet rich in colourful fruit and vegetables (carrots, apricots, mango, spinach) is one of the good habits of summer. For a targeted course that’s easy to stick to, Your Sun supplements combine beta-carotene and vitamins that are useful for the skin in a shot, a tablet or a gummy, all season long:

• the Your Sun Shot, in two flavours, Your Sun Shot Mangue and Your Sun Shot Exotic: an 80ml fruit juice enriched with beta-carotene and acerola, providing 100% of the reference intake of vitamin D and biotin, and 50% of zinc, selenium and vitamin E; zinc and biotin contribute to the maintenance of normal skin;
• the Your Sun Collagen Shot, enriched with collagen, with a mango and peach flavour: its vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin;
• Your Sun Fizz, 20 orange-flavoured effervescent tablets with L-tyrosine, beta-carotene and copper, which contributes to normal skin pigmentation. Almost as complete as the shots, it has one big advantage: its weight. Twenty tablets in a light tube, nothing liquid to carry: the ideal format for flying;
• Your Sun Gummies, for those who’d rather chew than drink: sugar-free orange-flavoured gummies, two a day, with beta-carotene (vitamin A, which contributes to the maintenance of normal skin) and hyaluronic acid, plus vitamins C, D and E, in a pot of 60 or in sachets of 2 to slip into your bag.

Our advice: a Your Sun Shot, with or without collagen, every two to three days for the two to three weeks before your sunny holiday or your course of tanning sessions; when you set off, a tube of Your Sun Fizz takes over without weighing down your suitcase, and the course carries on until the end of summer. If you’d rather chew than drink, Your Sun Gummies are taken every day, at home or away. Don’t exceed the recommended daily dose; if you’re on medication or pregnant, ask your doctor before starting a course.

Frequently asked questions

How do you keep your tan when you’re peeling?

Don’t pull at dead skin and don’t rub it. Moisturise several times a day with an after-tan moisturiser to soften the skin. And next time, avoid getting burnt: sunburn is what makes you peel.

Can you shower after a tanning session?

Yes, without worrying: water doesn’t remove your tan. Choose lukewarm water and a gentle, moisturising shower gel, and wait a few hours if you’ve used a product containing DHA.

How do you keep your tan after a holiday?

Moisturise every day with an after sun or a tan extender, such as So Moist by Soleo, shower in lukewarm water and exfoliate less often. When the colour starts to fade, keep it going with a gradual self tan or a few top-up sessions.

How do you keep a tan in winter?

By combining all three: moisturising every day, well-spaced top-up sessions and a gradual self tan.

Does after sun help you tan?

It maintains your tan rather than creating it: by keeping your skin supple and hydrated, it helps it hold its colour for longer. To deepen your tan on a sunbed, choose a tanning accelerator.

In short

A tan fades as your skin renews itself, and faster on dry skin or after sunburn. To keep your tan for longer: moisturise every day with an after sun or a tan extender, shower in lukewarm water with a gentle shower gel, exfoliate less often, avoid sunburn, then maintain the colour with occasional sessions or a self tan. All our skincare is in our after-tan care and tan extenders category.