Nature has everything you need to get your skin ready for summer and reveal a healthy tan!

At the end of the winter, skin rarely has that perfect golden glow to give you confidence at the start of the summer season! What can you do to restore its radiance while respecting its fragility? Here are some useful tips.

The suntan: a natural, protective reaction

The melanocyte cells are found in the lower layers of the skin. They are also at the base of the hair follicles, as well as in other parts of the body (including the brain, the digestive system, the eyes and the ears). Melanocytes contain tiny organelles called melanosomes. The sun’s ultraviolet rays stimulate a complex chain reaction in which the melanosomes start to produce a pigment called melanin.

There are two main types of melanin: eumelanin is dark-coloured, brown or black, while pheomelanin is a yellowy-red. The melanosomes migrate away from the melanocytes, removing their melanin, and penetrate the keratinocytes, another type of cell that constitutes 90% of the cells of the epidermis. As the upper layer of the epidermis regenerates, these pigmented keratinocytes move towards the skin’s surface, turning the skin darker. This is the process in people who have plenty of eumelanin at any rate! In contrast, red-heads and blonds primarily produce pheomelanin. While eumelanin effectively captures UV rays and transforms them into heat, thereby protecting the skin, pheomelanin breaks down rapidly and offers only minimal protection. This is what makes fair skin more susceptible to sunburn.

UV rays and their effect on the skin
There are three different types of UV rays: UVA, B and C. The ozone layer blocks UVC rays but allows some of the other two to enter the atmosphere. UVB rays are the primary cause of sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, can cause harmful damage by destroying cellular DNA. Ultraviolet rays can lead to premature skin ageing, as well as some serious forms of cancer, such as melanoma. People with darker skin tend not to burn - and sunburn is a first-degree burn - but are just as likely to get skin cancer as everyone else.

What can you do to restore glowing skin before the arrival of summer?

How can you get your skin ready for the sun? Exfoliation

It is well worth exfoliating your face and body. This is because the visible surface of the skin, known as the stratum corneum, consists of dead cells bound together by lipids. The dead cells are keratinocytes that have migrated from the deeper skin layers and have completed their differentiation cycle. Gentle exfoliation (which won’t damage the skin) will remove some of these dead cells, allowing new keratinocytes, enriched with melanin, to reach the skin’s surface more quickly.

How about going to a tanning salon to get your skin ready for summer?

Avoid doing so wherever possible. While sunbeds might offer an appealing way to arrive at the beach with a tan, these sessions expose you to potentially carcinogenic rays and are therefore not recommended. It is far better to turn to natural ways of maintaining beautiful, healthy skin and boosting melanin synthesis by giving the body all the nutrients it needs.

Opt for vitamins and micronutrients

For sun-ready skin, choose nourishing vitamins and micronutrients, as well as natural pigments. Many of these can be found in our diet and have a beneficial impact on our health. These include lutein, which is a retina-protecting carotenoid found in cabbage, spinach, squash, eggs, etc., and lycopene - another carotenoid and a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes, watermelon, soft fruits, grapefruit, etc.

These nutrients protect the body and are great additions to the diet. However, beta carotene or provitamin A is the most useful of all. In its active form, this precursor to vitamin A is known as retinol. While vitamin A may cause liver toxicity when consumed in its pure form, beta carotene does not pose any such risk. Once inside the body, it is turned into retinol which boosts the production of melanin. It is also a powerful antioxidant which protects the cells. The main sources of beta carotene are carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and green leafy vegetables. Beta carotene is ideal when you want a suntan and offers a great way of getting a peachy complexion from within!

Dietary supplements for a healthy glow

Would you like to supplement your diet with nutrients that will promote a perfect tan? Cocooncenter has a huge range of dietary supplements designed to get your skin sun ready and enhance its beauty without the risk of damage. These complexes contain active ingredients, such as carotenoids, and other substances, such as vitamin E or C, copper or zinc; a whole host of ingredients that protect the skin, nourish it from within and are integral to the synthesis of melanin.

These verified, high-quality products that can be used all over the body will help get your skin sun ready, boosting its natural defences against oxidative damage and revealing a healthy, tanned complexion without hours of exposure. The main source of these active substances is plant extracts. making them completely natural. They are simply more concentrated and easier to use than plant-based dietary sources. To get your skin ready for summer, simply take one capsule or tablet each day for a month to achieve visible results, as well as the invisible results that are just as important for your health. Skin, particularly fair skin, is fragile. Beta carotene is a far better alternative to spending entire days baking in the sun!

Nature holds the secrets to a healthy glow! So, rather than excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays, it is much better to nourish your skin with health-giving dietary supplements designed to prepare the skin for a tan and which gently enhance the skin’s natural pigmentation.

Preparing the skin for a tan: three key takeaways:

• Dietary supplements do not protect the skin against the sun’s harmful effects, such as sunburn, premature ageing or skin cancer. Keep safe in the sun by limiting your exposure and applying sun cream.
• The synthesis of pigments that results in tanned skin is a complicated process which may be promoted by a course of dietary supplements specifically designed for the sun, such as one rich in beta carotene.
• Skin that is well-cleansed, well-hydrated and effectively nourished from within will retain its beauty and radiance for many years to come; far longer than skin that burns every year! So, let’s make the most of the sun but protect our skin too!