Its always great to see the summer with the long evenings and (sometimes) great weather, but were constantly bombarded with information about the suns rays and the damage it can do to your skin.

Whilst its always enjoyable to sunbathe or spend the day in shorts and a tee shirt, there are risks involved. The two most talked about sun risks are skin cancer and premature ageing.

Anyone can get skin cancer and although its more prevalent in people over fifty with fairer skin types, it can also develop in younger people and people with darker skins. In general, the more you expose yourself to UV light, the higher the risk of developing skin cancer.

The suns powerful rays also attack the structure of the skins dermis (below the surface) and by breaking down the elastic tissues of the skin, the skin ages prematurely. This skin becomes looser and wrinkles form.

No matter how tolerant you think your skin is to UV light, you should always limit the effects of sun radiation on your skin by using a sunscreen. If you are very prone to sun burning, you should always use an SPF 25 cream or higher and you should also spend more time in the shade, rather than under the suns rays. More tolerant skins should always begin with a high SPF and reduce the protection gradually if required. At no time should you ever allow your skin to burn.

Fortunately, safer alternatives are at hand since there are plenty of other ways to tan without the sun. The most widely used of these are special sugar based creams called self-tans. These are the most popular safe forms of tanning with both men and women and while you probably havent realised it, you see people all the time using these creams. Theyre widely used, safe and normally look just like a sun tan.

Simple to use, self tans are applied after using a body scrub in the shower. You apply the cream to the areas where you want to tan and within a few hours, the tan is visible and normally lasts for four or five days. You may require a little help putting the tan on areas you cant reach, so many men opt to have it applied either at a grooming centre or at a spray tanning booth. Having your tan applied professionally results in a more even distribution of the solution which means that you are less likely to develop tanning streaks of darker and lighter areas.

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