Sort your skin for sunbathing April's wonderful bank holiday heatwave is now over, and it's left us with a taste for the summer to come. Tan lines, sunshine and a great boost of Vitamin D are all so close, we can almost see them. However this year let's nail down that to-die-for tan early on so that we're glowing all summer long. As a nation, we all basked in those four late April days of tropical heat, but were we actually making the most of the sun? By following this checklist, you can get your skin prepped and ready for a supreme sunkiss.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Australian Gold UK (@australian_gold_uk) on Aug 12, 2018 at 2:57am PDT   Before 1. Exfoliate - Like with self tanning, before embarking on your journey to your summer glow, dry skin has got to go. Exfoliating unclogs pores, filters toxins and may combat cellulite. Exfoliating also removes dead skin cells, which prevents uneven skin tone and helps to make your skin a balanced tanning canvas.  2. Cleanse - Another great way of prepping your skin is to follow exfoliating with cleansing. This eliminates residual dust and dirt and also freshens the skin.  3. Hydrate - Water is your skin's ultimate saviour. Humidity, hard water, air conditioning, your diet and the sun can all lead to dry skin. By keeping hydrated, you flush your body and eliminate toxins from your skin. This also leads to plumper, healthier, glowing skin.  4. Moisturise - Moisturising helps to strengthen your lipid barrier. What's more, dry skin reflects light, this prevents your skin from absorbing light to its full potential to develop your tan. So by deeply moisturising your skin, you are able to absorb UVA and UVB faster for a deeper, more developed and longer-lasting tan.  Tip - Ensure that your Moisturiser / Tan Extender doesn't contain alcohol, although this is often added to improve spreadability, it can be drying on the skin. Our Moisturisers and Tan Extenders don't contain this but instead rely on natural oils and butters for a smooth application. We recommend our Hemp Nation collection View this post on Instagram A post shared by Australian Gold UK (@australian_gold_uk) on Feb 15, 2018 at 6:00am PST Just before 1. Understand your skin before sunbathing - As with tanning using a sunbed, it's important to know how your skin behaves with regards to UV exposure. This will affect how long you should spend in the sun as well as the sun protection factor you should be using. The lower your skin type number (the fairer your skin), the higher the SPF should be and the less time you should spend out in the sun without breaks. Find out your skin type here. 2. Hydrate - Carry on drinking water to keep skin healthy and hydrated. 3. Apply Sun screen 20 - 30 minutes before sun exposure - This will give your skin time to absorb the sun protection fully and ensure that your skin is shielded immediately when you step out into the sun.  Tip - At the beginning of the summer, it is always advised to apply a higher SPF to keep skin protected from UV exposure. And don't forget to apply to the face, especially parts which point out such as the nose and tips of the ears. Click here to see our full range of SPFs View this post on Instagram A post shared by Australian Gold UK (@australian_gold_uk) on Apr 3, 2019 at 4:06am PDT   During 1. Apply your tanning Intensifier followed by another layer of Sun screen - Heat is one of the activators of ingredients in tanning lotions. Therefore when sunbathing, by adding a tanning lotion, you increase your tanning results both in speed and depth. However because your exposure is not controlled like when using a sunbed, your skin will need protection from prolonged UV exposure. Layering sun cream over your Intensifier keeps skin shielded from UV for longer periods of time, allowing you to sunbathe for longer and build your tan. Tip - It is possible to layer any of our Accelerators with your sun cream to improve sunbathing results. For example, Hot! has the same great CocoaDreams fragrance as our sun protection, meaning it is a favourite for both indoor and outdoor tanning. 2. Seek shade - Spending time in the shade will give your skin a break from UV exposure. This will lessen the likelihood of overexposing skin to sunlight. However shade cannot be considered to protect skin fully from UV exposure, therefore we also advise you still ensure you apply suncream. 3. Reapply Sun screen every 2 hours - Reapplying sun protection keeps your skin protected from UV exposure for longer periods of time. It is advised to reapply as a minimum every 2 hours, however this should be applied more frequently if you swim, sweat or towel dry as this will remove sun cream. Tip - Our collection of sun creams are water resistant for up to 80 minutes, therefore it is recommended to reapply your sun protection more frequently when swimming and to also allow time for your sun screen to absorb into the skin fully before entering the water again.  4. Drink water - As with 'Before' when prepping the skin, it's important to always keep hydrated. Click here to see our full range of Tanning Lotions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Australian Gold UK (@australian_gold_uk) on Jun 29, 2018 at 9:48am PDT   After 1. Moisturise - Our Tan Extenders do exactly what they say: Extend tans. These are crammed full of great quality skincare ingredients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. These all work to rejuvenate, condition and nourish skin. By moisturising skin, your tan will be prolonged as your skin cells will take more time to dry and shed.   Tip - Where our Hemp Nation collection is designed with indoor tanning primarily in mind, our Moisture Locks have been formulated to nourish skin after spending a day outside in the sun. These Tan Extenders have the same classic CocoaDreams Fragrance as our SPFs, letting that gorgeous summer holiday fragrance remain on your skin for even longer.  2. Rest skin - It has been discovered recently that in order to build th healthiest tan, resting every other day will give your skin ample time to rejuvenate. This ensures your skin remains in good condition and promises for a longer-lasting, deeper tan. The tanning process also takes 48 hours to fully develop, therefore by giving your skin time to develop the tan before more UV exposure, you can track your tan development fully and are less likely to cause any skin damage from too much UV exposure.    https://www.newscientist.com/article/2183502-skin-tans-the-most-when-spending-every-other-day-out-of-the-sun/