Holiday is a time for rest, recuperation, new experiences, and new explorations. A joyous time to enjoy great weather, relaxing days on the beach, or walking through old towns full of culture and history, and with it comes the post-holiday glow that we so avidly wish to achieve.

It’s a badge of honour to come back with a beautiful golden tan that makes others jealous, or just to give you newfound confidence. If you’re like me and have spent the last two weeks before your holiday taking supplements, eating bags of carrots like a rabbit, and googling the most effective tan accelerators, then you’ve achieved the tan you wanted through hard work and dedication while staying burn-free and peel-free.

The real issue, however, is how to prolong it. A tan, in our regular body’s processes, lasts anywhere between 5 to 7 days. To prolong it, an ideal way would be to hop out on lunch breaks to absorb as much sun as possible in the local park, but with the July we have had so far and unreliable weather warnings about 40-degree heat, it’s not really a viable option. So, how do we keep that golden glow even when we return to the rain and cloud of the UK?

Within a few days, the tan we have spent time trying to achieve slowly starts to fade. Alongside the post-holiday blues, it’s a recipe for planning your next annual leave, but this time for much longer.

Is there a way to stay golden for longer?

Follow the Embassy of Beauty’s guide to prolonging your tan and maintaining your golden glow.

Light Exfoliation

A common myth around exfoliating tanned skin is that it will fade your tan. At first glance, it can seem that way, but the truth is the thickened layer of dead cells, dust, and pollution needs to be removed to prevent dullness. It also allows creams and serums to better penetrate, which helps the tan stay longer while keeping skin healthy and glowing.

This is why we recommend light exfoliation, as opposed to heavyweight scrubs which can damage the skin barrier and remove your tan faster.

A perfect tan should include exfoliation to achieve your optimal colour, both before and after sun exposure. You wouldn’t paint a wall in your home blue without changing the current red to a white base beforehand. The removal of dead cells allows newer active cells to support melanin production, which can still occur even after exposure to UVA and UVB.

We recommend Ayuna’s Essence. It uses gentle exfoliating ingredients such as Gluconolactone, a larger molecule in the hydroxy acid family that exfoliates in a gentler way. Due to its larger size, it absorbs more slowly and does not penetrate as deeply into the epidermis, meaning it exfoliates the upper layers while revealing a beautiful glow.

It also leaves behind a layer of Oleo-Essence made with Olive Squalene and 100% Organic Olea Europaea Oil to nourish and replenish the skin, prevent inflammation, and restore the skin’s lipid barrier.

When the weather is nice and the sun comes out, get outside for a little bit. Top up your tan with a little extra sunshine and follow our skin-protection guide, and your tan should last longer than our summer in the UK.

Hopefully there will be nicer weather to come, just as there will be nicer holidays to come, where you return with a gorgeous, radiant, golden glow that would make even surfers in California jealous. Retaining it can be easy. Just maybe eat fewer carrots. Don’t be like me, a bag a day is too much.