Does Exfoliating remove tan?
You know how sun tan can put off your entire beauty regime, especially when you’re looking to attend a big event or want to look your best. So to protect from sun tan, we’re always very cautious when it comes to sun exposure.
Suntans occur when UV rays from the sun change the pigment in the skin to produce a darker colour. You can’t remove a tan straightforwardly and cannot heal it overnight. To fade a tan quickly, you can use different methods available in the market.
Without external help, a suntan usually starts to fade within a few weeks. Tan lines, on the other hand, become less prominent until they are not noticeable. This fading happens because the body sheds dead skin cells and replaces them with new ones.
You also have heard of the term exfoliation before, and some have even practised it on your skin. But there are lots of things that people don’t know about Exfoliation.
To properly understand “does exfoliation remove tan”, you have to understand what exfoliation means and what it does to our skin.
What is exfoliation?
Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the top layer of the skin with the help of a grainy substance, exfoliating tool, or chemicals.
Do you know that our skin constantly replenishes its cells to replace the older ones? Due to this, it can heal wounds, and other tissue damage or skin issues. As a result of this cell turnover, the old cells are pushed to the surface of the skin and left on the surface, but after some time, they’re replaced too and then removed.
The dead cells layer on the skin can make the surface seem uneven and dull.
However, exfoliation means that you speed up the process of the dead skin cells being removed from the top layer of your skin. It has so many benefits that it can heal so many skin concerns faster.
As we discussed, there are two types of exfoliation, chemical and physical. A chemical exfoliator gently removes the cells by loosening their bonds using different chemicals such as AHAs and BHA, so they can eventually be shed from the skin. These chemicals exfoliate skin much faster than naturally. Whereas, a physical exfoliator removes the cells by loosening these bonds by scrubbing them.
Always remember to exfoliate the skin according to your skin type and in the right way. If you don’t do it correctly, it can irritate or damage the skin or even bring on breakouts.
Does exfoliating remove suntan?
In today’s time, exfoliation is an element of everyone's skincare routine because of its several benefits to the skin. Now you know what exfoliating does and how it works. But you will be wondering “Does exfoliating remove tan also?” To understand it deeply you’ll need to understand how tanning occurs and how the body heals it.
You know how sun tan can put off your entire beauty regime, especially when you’re looking to attend a big event or want to look your best. Because whenever any body part such as the face, arms, hands, legs, feet, back, and neck is exposed to sunlight its shade gets darker than the other body parts which are not exposed to sunlight.
Our skin kicks into protection mode whenever the skin cells are exposed to UV rays from the sun. Due to this, melanin from melanocytes is transferred to keratinocytes, the surface skin cells. Then our skin protection mechanism gets activated and melanin pigment blocks sun rays from further cell damage. Like an umbrella, melanin is piled on top of the cell’s nucleus. Therefore, you see tanning over the part of the body which is exposed to the sunlight.
In Tanning, melanin production increases in the skin and leads to a darkening effect. God has given our skin a natural defence process which gets activated when it is exposed to sunlight.
People with lighter skin tones typically cannot create an adequate amount of melanin pigment or the amount which gets created isn’t as efficient in protecting from sun rays. Therefore people with lighter skin tones get skin burns when exposed to sun rays. Prolonged sun exposure to skin with normal skin tone can also lead to skin damage like sunburns. It can also reduce skin elasticity and can lead to premature ageing.
As you know, the sun’s rays contain two types of ultraviolet radiation: Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB). When any of our body parts are exposed to skin rays both UVA and UVB rays penetrate the lower layer of the epidermis and trigger cells called Melanocytes to produce more melanin. Both UVA and UVB, are responsible for tanning.
This melanin is responsible for giving your skin its pigment, and that’s how you achieve the sought-after bronzed glow, but be aware that it’s also a sign of damage. As said before, after some time the skin cells are replenished at their usual rate, and the tan will eventually fade after a few weeks.
Yes, exfoliation removes tan because exfoliation is a process in which skin cells on the skin get shredded from the skin faster than naturally. The natural rate of cell turnover is responsible for the fading of suntan naturally. So when you exfoliate the skin it will speed up the process of fading and can remove your suntan much faster than it would leave you on its own. The tan will last in the skin until all of the layers of skin cells pigmented by melanin have also been replaced.
Conclusion:
In today’s time adding an exfoliator to your skincare routine is most crucial because our skin gets dull and dirty from many external factors such as sun rays, dirt pollution etc.
As mentioned above, exfoliation is a process in which skin cells on the skin get shredded from the skin faster than naturally. Due to these reasons, it has several benefits such as it helps to unclog the pores, and even skin tones, stimulating collagen synthesis and also preventing acne. Exfoliation also helps to remove tan because the skin cells which get damaged from UV rays get replenished at a faster rate.
Always remember to add a chemical-free exfoliator to your skincare routine because it doesn’t have any side effects and provides all-over nourishment to your skin. Exfoliate the skin according to your skin type and in the right way. If you don’t do it correctly, it can irritate or damage the skin or even bring on breakouts.
