Sunless self tanners are a genius way to get that fresh-from-the-outdoors tan without having to spend all that time exposing your skin to the sun’s damaging rays. Don’t be afraid of that getting horrible neon-orange look anymore; self-tanners have improved drastically and those scary orange days are long gone. Of course, self-tanners are not fool-proof. If applied with care, they turn out beautifully, but if they are haphazardly slathered on you might find yourself reluctant to leave the house for several days. The following tips will give you the know-how to apply self-tanner the right way every time.
Right on the labels of most self –tanning products you will see instructions to exfoliate before applying the lotion. The manufacturer didn’t put that on the label for no reason. It is imperative that you exfoliate every single inch of your skin thoroughly before you even think of applying self-tanner. Shower immediately before you plan to apply the lotion and while you are in there,exfoliate your body with a rough sugar scrub or a product with large granules. Exfoliating will slough off dead skin cells and smooth out the layer of skin to which the tanner is being applied which will help you from leaving behind streaks and dark spots. It also helps your self-tan last longer .
Get the right shade. If you are starting out with pale skin do not grab the darkest self-tanning shade from the shelf in hopes that you can have an instant mega tan. You will look so fake and so streaky that you’ll never want to leave the house again. Start out with caution. You don’t want your friends and co-workers to think something is wrong with your skin. You want everyone to say, “I don’t know what it is about you, but you look so radiant today!” Choosing the right shade is important but it isn’t an easy task. How can you tell what color the lotion will be on your skin when it dries? You can’t. Because you can’t, it is best to use caution. Try a product that has a low concentration of the “tanning” agent DHA.
Mix equal parts self-tanner and regular body lotion together in a dish and make sure the two products are blended thoroughly so you get an even application. The lotion helps lessen the intensity of the color and also helps prevent streaking by making the application smoother.
Self-tanner sets in quick enough as it is. Don’t make the mistake of trying one of those “quick-drying” products. Self tanner should be worked in slowly, starting off on one small area of skin and moving on to another and another small area of skin until you have covered your whole face or body. If you don’t work slowly and thoroughly you will end up with nasty streaks.
Even the slow drying tanner sets in fast so stop what you are doing every couple of minutes and go wash your hands. If you don’t, your hands will be dark, streaky, spotty and maybe even orange. Use soap and completely scrub the whole hand, including the often missed areas around your fingernails. Orange streaky hands are an unsightly dead giveaway that you have been self-tanning. Or even better, wear gloves and use caution.
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