No, sitting by a fireplace won't give you a tan - it's not the heat that tans you, it's the UV (ultraviolet) radiation. If it was just the heat of an open flame, you'd get tanned fingers just from lighting candles!
What's The Best Way To Get A Tan?
The healthiest way is to spend time outdoors - just ten minutes here and there - with as much of your body exposed as you'd like to tan.
Vitamin D - which your skin absorbs when exposed to natural sunlight - is really good for mental health, as well.
Lying in the sun for long periods of time, without any sunscreen, can be dangerous for the following reasons:
- You can get sunburn
- It increases the risks of skin cancer
- It ages the skin and can make you look leathery later on in life
- You can get heatstroke
Be careful, don't overdo it, and you should be fine.
If it's hard for you to catch some rays, you can either use a tanning bed (very bad for the skin), or get a temporary spray-tan.
You can also use fake-tan lotion, but I've always found that to be far more effort than it's worth - no matter how hard I try, I always end up with blotchy patches that make me look as if I haven't washed properly!
