If you long for a perfect tan but you don't want to turn yourself into shoe leather, bottled sun is the way to go. Today's formulas are light-years ahead of those bizarre orange concoctions of decades past. A great sunless tan can be indistinguishable from the real thing; the key is a good product and a skillful application. Here are some general tips:
Choose your shade. You want something that will compliment your natural skin tone. If you have blinding white skin, start with a product labeled light. You may be able to work your way up to a medium over time. With today's natural looking products it's kind of hard to go wrong, but if you apply deepest darkest glow to porcelain skin, you can still turn yourself into orange.
Products marked deep or dark look best on people who have naturally dark complexions and tan very easily.
Spray or Lotion? Once you've narrowed down a shade and brand, you need to decide if you want to spray it on or apply a cream. The creams are in my opinion are longer lasting. That can be good or bad depending on how your first application goes. Sprays seem to be easier to apply evenly and make it easier to hit hard to reach places like the middle of your back. Most sprays and lotions go on clear, but some are ingeniously pre-tinted so you can see if you've applied it evenly.
Exfoliate. This is a critical step. If you skip it, you're almost guaranteed uneven results. Sunless tanners work by coloring the dead surface layers of your skin. So, the faster the dead skin cells flake off the faster you lose your tan. Dry rough areas also tend to absorb more tanner and become too dark. If you don't exfoliate, you'll end up with some really dark areas and some areas where the color is peeling off. The overall effect is splotchy one. To avoid it, you want your skin to be as clean and smooth as possible before you start. An old fashioned soapy washcloth usually works better than creams, scrubs, loofahs or mitts. Pay special attention to rough areas like knees, elbows, ankles, and the tops of your feet. Don't get carried away though, you want to have some skin left when you're done!
Avoid the dreaded bronze palms. I have just two words for you, wear gloves. Someplace on your bottle of tanner it will tell you to wash your hands when you're done. If you wait until you're done to wash your hands you'll never get the stuff off. Your hideous glowing copper hands will scream to the world that you have a fake tan. Spare yourself the trauma and pick up a box of latex gloves at any drugstore. Get the kind without powder. If you insist on attempting this without gloves, you must scrub your hands like crazy with a brush several times during the application. Do a leg, scrub your hands. Do another leg, scrub your hands. Do your torso, scrub your hands.
Legs first. Do one whole leg at a time. Remember that knees and feet tend to be dry areas that can grab too much color. If you're paranoid about blotches apply a little bit of regular lotion to these areas before you start. If you don't want freakish spotted toes, don't apply tanner directly to the tops of your feet. Carefully blend some down from your legs for a more subtle effect. Work your way up. Do your torso, neck and face next. If you're using a spray and you're fairly flexible you can reach the middle of your back without help. If you're using lotion and you're stiff as a board, find an assistant to help you with your back. You may also be able to pull it off using a sponge on a stick. This probably goes without saying, but don't spray yourself in the face. Put some tanner in the palms of your hands, rub your hands together and then apply it to your face. Be sure to blend it into your hairline and into your jaw and neck area. You don't want to get any in your eyes, but you do want to carefully blend around them to avoid a masked raccoon effect. If you have short hair, don't forget your ears.
The secret arm technique. If you look at somebody with a natural tan, the tops of their arms are usually slightly darker than the underside because of the increased sun exposure. Tocopy this effect with you faux tan. Apply the tanner to the top of your arm only and carefully blend it all the way around. Blend it really, really well. Then pull your gloves off, pat your hands dry, and put a little tanner on a cotton ball. Apply a light coat to the backs of both hands first. Then do the backs of your fingers, looking out for the knuckles, which don't need very much color. When there's not much left on the cotton ball and it's almost dry, blend it around and between your fingers, and don't forget your thumb and the underside of your wrist. If you feel like you have too much on your hands or you want to play it extra safe, go ahead and wash them after this application (no brush scrubbing required). You'll still get color there because the stuff is impossible to get rid of with a normal washing.
Some final reminders. Once you've applied your tan, you need to allow it to completely dry. Some spray tans dry in just a few minutes, while lotions may take 30 minutes or more. Either way, you need to wait at least an hour before swimming, sweating, or wearing tight clothing. Any of the above can streak and ruin a new tan. If you want to go darker, you can repeat the process the day after you tan. Go easy on the exfoliation the second time around so that you don't remove your first layer. Once your tan is set, keep yourself well moisturized. The longer it takes the skin to flake off, the longer your tan will last. Most bottled tans begin to fade after a few days. You'll need to reapply once or twice a week to keep your color.
Choose your shade. You want something that will compliment your natural skin tone. If you have blinding white skin, start with a product labeled light. You may be able to work your way up to a medium over time. With today's natural looking products it's kind of hard to go wrong, but if you apply deepest darkest glow to porcelain skin, you can still turn yourself into orange.
Products marked deep or dark look best on people who have naturally dark complexions and tan very easily.
Spray or Lotion? Once you've narrowed down a shade and brand, you need to decide if you want to spray it on or apply a cream. The creams are in my opinion are longer lasting. That can be good or bad depending on how your first application goes. Sprays seem to be easier to apply evenly and make it easier to hit hard to reach places like the middle of your back. Most sprays and lotions go on clear, but some are ingeniously pre-tinted so you can see if you've applied it evenly.
Exfoliate. This is a critical step. If you skip it, you're almost guaranteed uneven results. Sunless tanners work by coloring the dead surface layers of your skin. So, the faster the dead skin cells flake off the faster you lose your tan. Dry rough areas also tend to absorb more tanner and become too dark. If you don't exfoliate, you'll end up with some really dark areas and some areas where the color is peeling off. The overall effect is splotchy one. To avoid it, you want your skin to be as clean and smooth as possible before you start. An old fashioned soapy washcloth usually works better than creams, scrubs, loofahs or mitts. Pay special attention to rough areas like knees, elbows, ankles, and the tops of your feet. Don't get carried away though, you want to have some skin left when you're done!
Avoid the dreaded bronze palms. I have just two words for you, wear gloves. Someplace on your bottle of tanner it will tell you to wash your hands when you're done. If you wait until you're done to wash your hands you'll never get the stuff off. Your hideous glowing copper hands will scream to the world that you have a fake tan. Spare yourself the trauma and pick up a box of latex gloves at any drugstore. Get the kind without powder. If you insist on attempting this without gloves, you must scrub your hands like crazy with a brush several times during the application. Do a leg, scrub your hands. Do another leg, scrub your hands. Do your torso, scrub your hands.
Legs first. Do one whole leg at a time. Remember that knees and feet tend to be dry areas that can grab too much color. If you're paranoid about blotches apply a little bit of regular lotion to these areas before you start. If you don't want freakish spotted toes, don't apply tanner directly to the tops of your feet. Carefully blend some down from your legs for a more subtle effect. Work your way up. Do your torso, neck and face next. If you're using a spray and you're fairly flexible you can reach the middle of your back without help. If you're using lotion and you're stiff as a board, find an assistant to help you with your back. You may also be able to pull it off using a sponge on a stick. This probably goes without saying, but don't spray yourself in the face. Put some tanner in the palms of your hands, rub your hands together and then apply it to your face. Be sure to blend it into your hairline and into your jaw and neck area. You don't want to get any in your eyes, but you do want to carefully blend around them to avoid a masked raccoon effect. If you have short hair, don't forget your ears.
The secret arm technique. If you look at somebody with a natural tan, the tops of their arms are usually slightly darker than the underside because of the increased sun exposure. Tocopy this effect with you faux tan. Apply the tanner to the top of your arm only and carefully blend it all the way around. Blend it really, really well. Then pull your gloves off, pat your hands dry, and put a little tanner on a cotton ball. Apply a light coat to the backs of both hands first. Then do the backs of your fingers, looking out for the knuckles, which don't need very much color. When there's not much left on the cotton ball and it's almost dry, blend it around and between your fingers, and don't forget your thumb and the underside of your wrist. If you feel like you have too much on your hands or you want to play it extra safe, go ahead and wash them after this application (no brush scrubbing required). You'll still get color there because the stuff is impossible to get rid of with a normal washing.
Some final reminders. Once you've applied your tan, you need to allow it to completely dry. Some spray tans dry in just a few minutes, while lotions may take 30 minutes or more. Either way, you need to wait at least an hour before swimming, sweating, or wearing tight clothing. Any of the above can streak and ruin a new tan. If you want to go darker, you can repeat the process the day after you tan. Go easy on the exfoliation the second time around so that you don't remove your first layer. Once your tan is set, keep yourself well moisturized. The longer it takes the skin to flake off, the longer your tan will last. Most bottled tans begin to fade after a few days. You'll need to reapply once or twice a week to keep your color.
