It’s the hallmark of a good holiday for many people, but nailing the perfect tan is no mean feat.
Now, scientists have revealed the secret to getting the perfect holiday tan – and it involves spending less time in the sun.
The researchers from Tel Aviv University, suggest that tanning on alternate days could help you to get a tan, without damaging your skin.
In the study, the team discovered a 48-hour biological clock dubbed the ‘UV-protection timer’, that mediates two skin defence systems – stress response and pigmentation.
Professor Carmit Levy, who led the study, said: “We have identified a mechanism that spreads like a wave through the skin over 48 hours after an initial exposure to ultraviolet rays.
“This process synchronises the natural defence mechanisms in the skin.
“We concluded that exposure to the sun at a frequency of once every two days leads to optimal protection from sun damage."
Our skin is naturally protected from UV damage via two defence systems.
The first recruits the immune system, inflammation and DNA repair to heal any burning or damage caused by UV radiation.
The second creates a physical buffer to safeguard the skin against future exposure, resulting in a tan.
In the study, the researchers exposed human and mouse skin samples to UV doses at different times to measure reparative protein and pigmentation responses in the skin.
The measurements revealed that certain genes appeared in the skin in a neat and synchronised sequence 48 hours following initial exposure to UV radiation.
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Professor Shai Shen-Orr, co-author of the study, said: “The frequency of the wave is 48 hours.
"Imagine you tossed a stone into a pond and saw the ripples spread. Then, before they settled down, you threw in another stone, interrupting the process."
"Similarly, a process of building and breaking takes place in our skin when it is exposed to the sun.
“Most experts recommend going to the gym every other day, not daily. The same is true of protecting our skin from sun damage.
“If you interrupt the protection process by sitting in the sun two days in a row, you damage a mechanism that requires 48 process to complete its cycle."
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