Our natural skin colour is determined by skin pigment and the presence and amount of melanin in an individual is determined by hereditary factors. A simple way of determining a person's skin type is to look at the way their skin reacts to natural sunlight.
As a general rule people's skin types can be divided into four main categories:
| Skin Type 1 |
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People with very fair skin and often with red hair and freckles who cannot tan and burn in sunlight.
TANMAD recommendation:
You should not tan on a sunbed or outdoors. You should use full SPF protection or alternatively a product from our Sunless range. |
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| Skin Type 2 |
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People with fairish skin who do not tan but burn easily in the early stages need to be patient and take controlled limited exposure before achieving a tan. They should start with the minimum recommended sessions times and build up gradually.
TANMAD recommendation:
Even though you may tan easily you should take care with developing a tan. You will never get very dark (sorry!) and should be careful with exposure times. We suggest that you use a tanning accelerator when tanning to increase your melanin production and you may also want to think about using an amplifier too.
You should also use a sunscreen for most outdoor activities. Between tanning - use a moisturising product to really maximise your tanning benefits. |
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| Skin Type 3 |
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People with brownish white skins who tan fairly easily but can burn if overexposed. Even though they tan easily, they should still respect the fact that they can still burn, especially without a base tan.
TANMAD recommendation:
Please understand that you can still burn, especially without a base tan. Moisturising between tanning session will prolong your base tan as well as keeping your skin in great shape. You should consider using both amplifiers and accelerating lotions.
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| Skin Type 4 |
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People with dark skin who tan easily and hardly ever burn - but also need to guard against overexposure.
TANMAD recommendation:
You should tan easily, but don't use the sunbed for more than the maximum recommended time. Lotions are great for you as they will help you break through the tanning plateau and maximise tanning results. |
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