Whether you've acquired a tan from a holiday in the sun or through spending long hours outdoors, as soon as you're no longer constantly exposed to the sun's rays, your tan will start to fade.

Every 30 days or so, the entire outer layers of our skin is renewed, spelling bad news for anyone who wants to hang on to their tan.

However, there are several ways of prolonging your tan which are explained in this guide.


We all tan at different rates and achieve varying degrees of skin colour. The tan we get is all down to our skin type. Some us will turn mahogany brown after a few hours in the sun while others may spend weeks where they barely change colour at all. Whatever tan you have, you'll want to keep  A tan is a lasting reminder of our holidays and time spent in the sun.

To help maintain your glowing skin colour, always remember to prepare your skin beforehand by thoroughly exfoliating. Once you’re in the sun, don’t be tempted to overdo it and concentrate on building up your sun exposure slowly, never tanning for more than two hours in one day. And above all, don’t forget the importance of keeping yourself and your skin well hydrated at all times.

By following these steps, there’s no reason why your tan shouldn’t last a good few months after your holiday is finished.

Step 1: 
Prepare your skin: 

Before you even begin working on your tan, make sure you thoroughly exfoliate your skin all over. This helps remove dead skin cells to achieve a nice even tan.

Step 2: 
Build up your tan: 

When you are tanning, aim for the little and often approach. Rather than spending as long as possible in the sun each day, try to build up your tan over time so you aren’t just tanning the top layer of skin. As a general guide, the faster you achieve your tan, the quicker it’ll fade.

Step 3: 
Shower with care: 

While you are building up your tan, take care not to scrub too hard at your skin while showering or washing. After sun exposure, your skin needs to be treated with care so just wash off any lotions using a gentle cloth or just your hands.

Step 4: 
Hydrate your skin: 

The skin is the largest organ of our body and spending time in the sun coupled with sweating can really dry out your skin. Dry skin is more liable to peel or flake meaning your tan will disappear faster. So the key here is to moisturise often, especially after tanning. As well as moisturising, you can further hydrate yourself by drinking lots of water during the day, even more when you've been in the sun.

What You Will Need 

• Moisturiser 
• After sun cream

Tips and Warnings 

• Exfoliate your skin before tanning 
• Build your tan over time and it will last longer; 

After a few weeks you could swap your regular moisturiser to one containing a tanning ingredient. There are some fantastic products available for prolonging your tan that are easy to apply and will help keep your skin looking sun kissed for the entire winter.