Yes, wet skin does tan faster due to the reflective qualities water has in sunlight. This also means that wet skin burns faster so you need to use a waterproof sunblock and re-apply frequently. If you are swimming anywhere but in a pool, you should consider getting brands of waterproof sunblock that are safe for marine life so you don’t pollute the natural waters where you are swimming.
If you are looking for the fastest way to tan in natural sunlight, try tanning between 10am and 4pm when the sun is at its strongest. Though it is important to know how long you can be in the sun without burning. Different skin types burn more quickly than others and each of us is unique so the exposure times will vary. A general rule is to know what skin type you have. This will help you determine how long you can stay in the sun.
The different skin types are broken down into:
- Ivory skin with light eyes, said to always burn
- Fair skin with blue eyes, said to burn easily and tough to tan
- Light to medium skin, which can burn occasionally but tans well
- Olive to light brown skin, which rarely ever burns and tans very well
- Darker brown skin, which almost never burns but always tans
- Darkest brown or black skin, which some say never burns, but we know this is not true. All skin, no matter what type is susceptible to a sunburn, it’s just harder to detect a sunburn on darker skin.
A good way to tan without risking a sunburn is to use a light SPF to tan gradually. This seems like you will tan slower but actually you can get along faster with this method. For example; if you get a sunburn, you need a lot of time to allow the skin to heal and you need to really avoid sun exposure during the healing and long after. (Not to mention all the detrimental effects sun damage has on the skin). However, if you are getting a little color each day while wearing sunblock, there is no downtime and you can tan continuously.