Top 3 Ways to Get a Dark Suntan in Florida – How to Get the Best Tan in Florida

Florida is a popular vacation location for people looking to get the deep, dark vacation tan. The sunny beaches on every coast such as Miami or Tampa Bay combined with the hot summer weather, and blue skies, it is easy to see why Florida is the ideal place to get a quick Spring Break or summer suntan. Below we have listed the top 3 ways you can get a dark suntan in Florida.

List of Ways to Get a Dark Tan in Florida

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is great natural suntan lotion that provides a great tropical scent while tanning. The coconut oil moisturize your skin and helps to increase the dark intensity of your suntan by reflecting the UV rays. Many of the coconut oils do not have high UV protection so you may want to use a SPF 50 lotion before using the coconut oil.

Tanning Beds: Pre-vacation tanning beds are an option for people who want to get a starter tan before vising Florida. Make sure you use a high-quality tanning bed lotion to protect your skin and reduce the risk of tanning bed burns.

Outdoor Florida Activities: Besides laying out in the Florida sun outdoor activities, such as beach walking, surfing, or playing in a Florida swimming pool you can get a nice deep sun tan in Florida. The outdoor activities will help you get an all day tan. As with traditional laying in the sun tan, you should use a good SPF and coconut oil to prevent sunburn. Florida sun is quite intense and you will burn quicker in the sun compared to laying out in the sun in Northern states.

When is the best time to tan? Do I need Sunscreen or Sunblock? Do I need to get a sunburn before I get a tan?

Understanding sun rays and sun tanning lotions will help you get the best tan.

3. A Sunburn Does NOT Turn into a Suntan

There are two main types of UV light that comes from the sun:

UVA – These sun rays are the ‘tanning’ rays. These penetrate deeper into the skin where the ‘tanning’ occurs. Least associated with causing skin cancer.
UVB – These sun rays are the more damaging “burning” rays. These affect the surface of the skin. UVB rays help your body produce Vitamin D but over exposure to these rays can cause skin cancer – Melanoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Melanoma is the deadliest of all skin cancers.

Fact: A sunburn does NOT turn into a sun tan.

2. The SPF Numbers – What do they mean?

There are basically two types of lotions to protect from the suns rays:

Sunscreen – This typically will ‘screen’ the sun rays, blocking out the harmful UVB rays. Prevents burning and ALLOWS sun tanning.
Sunblock – This type of lotion will block both the UVA and UVB rays. This prevents sun burning AND sun tanning.

The Sun Protection Factor (SPF)

The SPF number is used in a simple formula to calculate how much longer you can stay in the sun without getting a sunburn.
If you typically get a sunburn after 10 minutes in the sun and plan on staying in the sun for about 60 minutes you could use SPF 6:

10 minutes x SPF 6 = 60 minutes

Minutes to burn x SPF = Total minutes protection

Everyone has a different time frame as to when they will show signs of a sunburn. An average time before you experience a sunburn is about 30 minutes. The higher the SPF number doesn’t necessarily mean that much better of a protection, it means a longer duration of protection.

Typical Sunscreen Ingredients:

Octocrylene
Oxybenzone
Octisalate

Typical Sunblock Ingredients:

Octocrylene
Oxybenzone
Octisalate
Titanium Dioxide
Zinc Oxide

The ingredients of sunblock and sunscreen products can vary, as well as the % of each ingredient. Both UVA and UVB rays are harmful – But if you MUST tan use a SUNSCREEN to block the UVB rays.

1. The Best Time to Get a Tan in Florida

One important thing to note: You will not notice a sunburn until hours after you have the sunburn so ALWAYS keep track of time in relation to the application of sunscreen.

A sunburn does NOT help a suntan, and getting a sunburn will make it painful to return to the sun the next day.