Does tanning help acne scars?

Does tanning help acne scars?  Acne scars are a real problem for those of us currently suffering from acne or as former sufferers.  You may have wondered if tanning can help acne scars.

Acne scars

The scars that remain after an acne blemish disappears can have a lasting impact on our self-esteem / confidence and can really diminish our quality of life.  We need to learn how to diminish the acne and the scarring to ensure we can feel good about ourselves.  We’ll also answer the question, “Does tanning help acne scars?”

Our appearances matter to ourselves and those around us and I don’t mean in a superficial way.  When our self-esteem is intact, we feel better and can navigate the world in a positive, healthy way.  So, does tanning help acne scars?  Let’s find out.

Does tanning help acne scars?

So, if you have ever suffered from acne and have scarring to prove it, you’ve likely wondered if you can tan to cover it up.  Or, does tanning help acne scars fade?  In my opinion, it’s an unfortunate no.  Here’s the thing…when you tan outside or in a tanning bed, you are drying out your skin.  I’ve talked about this in a recent post, so you may want to read it here.  Drying out your skin can cause your skin to produce MORE oil, which will contribute to more acne.  This isn’t what we want.

Plus, tanning can increase your chances of getting skin cancer.  You don’t want to ‘solve’ one problem by contributing to another even bigger problem.

What about a self tanner?

Does self tanner cover acne?   You have to be careful here.  For one, you need to check the ingredients.  A lot of ingredients can clog pores and contribute to your existing problem.  Also, if there is any fragrance in the product, that is an immediate dismissal for me and I can’t use the product.  Fragrance is irritating to the skin and if you are sensitive to it, don’t use it.

You don’t want to cause more acne blemishes and thus, more scarring that you have to deal with later.  So, is self tanner bad for acne?  It depends – check the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t have anything that will clog pores or contribute to acne.  If it doesn’t, then you’re good to go.

Bronzers:

What is a good bronzer for acne prone skin?

Look for bronzers that don’t have ingredients that can clog pores or that include the ingredient bismuth oxychloride.  Bronzers with fragrance are also a no-no.

One alternative to a bronzer is tinted sunscreen.  Personally, I like it very much and it is my “go-to” sunscreen since it has everything I need / want in a sunscreen and it has the tint which gives the skin a nice glow.

Acne cream and self tanners…

Can you put acne cream over self tanner?  My recommendation is to put the acne cream UNDER the self tanner.  You want to make sure that the acne cream is on the blemish, not over the tanner.  This will help reduce your breakouts and help keep your skin clear.

Will tanning get rid of acne scars?

This is an unfortunate “no” again.  We get scars when there is an injury to the skin (in this case, the “injury” is an acne blemish).  Scars can fade over time and it depends how deep the scarring is.  For minimal scars, it can be helpful to exfoliate skin so that the dead skin cells are removed, thus helping to eliminate the look of skin scarring.

You could consider spray tanning.  If you want to learn more about how this works and the best way to ensure a longer lasting spray tan, read this article:  6 Tips for a Deep, Dark Spray Tan.

So, I hope this helped to answer your questions about ‘does tanning help hide acne scars’

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