Okay a friend of mines told me that every single time you take a bath your tan washs off. Im not talking about spray tans or tans that come from lotions, im talking about real-lay-in-the-sun types of tans. Is this true??
2007-07-25 11:43:49 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Skin Conditions
In time yes, but they have to wear off. More than one layer of your skin is affected by the sun.
2007-07-25 11:52:42 · answer #1 · answered by Richard S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yup. You lose thousands and thousands of skin cells every day. This is the body's natural way of keeping your skin fresh and soft. Every time wind blows on it, or you scratch or rub it or you take a bath, the top layer of skin or at least part of it, blows, rubs or washes away. The tan is the outermost layer of your skin, so yes, you will lose your tan in the bath.
However, you will not lose the damage the sun did to your skin as you tanned. Skin cancer-wise, it's much better to use the spray tans.
My dad was an umpire in the pre-sunscreen days. He's 72 now, and visits his dermatologist once a month and they cut or laser cancer after cancer off of his face, his back, his arms, etc. And he wore a hat and long sleeves.
Treat your skin kindly. Moisturize when you need to, cover up, wear a hat. Use a moisturizer with SPF15 in it so that all day long you'll be protected.
Take care.
Debbie
Texas MOM
Not a professional medic
2007-07-25 18:54:24 · answer #2 · answered by TX Mom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its kind of true. When you get a tan it only really penetrates the first layer of your skin, which is constantly shedding and flaking so yes, when you wash or somethings, your tan can fade. its not gonna wash righ toff or something. So for a longer tan, exfoliate before you go lay out. not tanning at all would be the best choice but remember to protect ur skin as well with some type or sunscreen.
2007-07-25 18:49:29 · answer #3 · answered by emmywe 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well it matters how much you tan but it shouldnt for the simple fact
When you get a tan, what is actually happening is that the melanocytes are producing melanin pigment in reaction to ultraviolet light in sunlight. Ultraviolet light stimulates melanin production. The pigment has the effect of absorbing the UV radiation in sunlight, so it protects the cells from UV damage. Melanin production takes a fair amount of time -- that is why most people cannot get a tan in one day. You have to expose yourself to UV light for a short period of time to activate the melanocytes. They produce melanin over the course of hours. By repeating this process over 5 to 7 days pigment builds up in your cells to a level that is protective. Melanocytes actually produce two different pigments: eumelanin (brown) and phaeomelanin (yellow and red). Red heads happen to produce more phaeomelanin and less eumelanin, which is why they don't tan very well. In albinos, the chemical pathway that produces melanin cannot proceed because an enzyme called Tyrosinase is missing. Therefore albinos have no melanin in their skin, hair or irises.
so see the tan gets to dfeep in the skin to be washed out but yet it can fade lighter if not tanning regulary
2007-07-25 18:56:55 · answer #4 · answered by kinkihandcuffsxx 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your tan will wear off over time (no matter what kind it is) because you constantly grow new skin cells underneath and shed the old ones on top. But the tan itself does NOT wash away - that's silly. Actually when you have lots of dead skin cells clinging to you they turn a grayish color and make your skin look "scaly." Which means the more you scrub them off the smoother, nicer and DARKER your skin will look.
2007-07-25 18:55:34 · answer #5 · answered by saturdays child 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure for a fact, but i have noticed this? I never knew if it was just because i was getting used to my tan. You think most likely it does especially with shaving, slowly the skin on the surface is leaving and i guess taking the colored layer with it?
2007-07-25 18:47:48 · answer #6 · answered by Ms. Witaker 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are washing off the dead skin that has been tanned. The tan itself cannot be washed off.
2007-07-25 18:47:01 · answer #7 · answered by Lil's Mommy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are not daily topping up your tan it will fade sometimes you can associate washing with the tan fading as the human body sheds skin.
So yes it can be true.
2007-07-25 18:47:30 · answer #8 · answered by The Best 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, because everytime you wash dead skin cells come off leaving new skin underneath that isn't tanned
2007-07-25 18:47:07 · answer #9 · answered by Dazedandconfused 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, it's not true. Tans fade with time, but they do not wash off.
2007-07-25 18:46:04 · answer #10 · answered by TeriR 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋