Categories: Beauty

How to Get Great Self Tanning Results

Spring has arrived. Many of the states throughout the country have experienced temperatures more reminiscent of May than March. Sunny California is not particular sunny during the months of January, February and March; in fact those are the wettest months of the year. This year however, the arrival of spring has brought warmer weather and all this warm weather can mean only one thing. It’s bathing suit season.

Sun worshipers are already laying out their towels and beach bunnies have begun to infiltrate the coastlines. In order to show off that great new swim suit, a girl’s got to have a decent tan, right? Right! The only problem with that theory is the risk of skin cancer. Since no one wants to look pale and ghostly in their beach wear I’m offering you a ton of tips on the alternative, safe way to glow golden and bronzed without all those sun rays.

Self tanning has been around for a long, long time. Self tanning is the process of applying cream, lotion, or spray to the skin so that the results are a semi-permanent change in the color of the skin, thus the tan. Normally a self tan, or sunless tan other wise known as the fake bake or fake tan, lasts between 2 to 10 days depending on the type of product and method used. During the 1920’s Dihydroxyacetone, a chemical found in self tanning products, was found to turn the skin brown but the first sunless suntan cream wasn’t developed until the sixties by Coppertone. By the time the eighties rolled around people were slathering the lotions and creams on their bodies only to find that they had turned orange rather than brown.

I remember my first experience with a sunless tanning lotion. Self tanners were easy to spot in those days thanks to that awful Halloween pumpkin orange glow we emitted. Just recently several laws have been passed to limit the use of UV tanning beds and so once again Americans have fallen back on the old favorite, suntan creams. Times have changed and technology has advanced so that we no longer have the orange dilemma. There are more sunless tanning brands out there than you can shake a stick at and the techniques are as varied as the products themselves. There are lotions, creams, sprays; pills, air brushing and accelerators just to mention a few. Whether you are spraying or smearing there are a few things you should know. Here are some great tips to getting the best canned tan on the beach.

1. Take a shower first. You can’t expect to get a good even tan if your skin is coated in dead cells, dust and grime, all of which we accumulate on a daily basis.

2. Prior to applying any sunless tanning product to your skin, refrain from shaving. The more sensitive your skin, the worst your results will be if you shave. Remember you are applying a chemical to your skin.

3. Exfoliate your skin while you shower. You don’t want to scrub away your skin but you will need to pay special attention to the elbows, knees, ankles, feet and neck areas. Steer clear of nylon or loofah scrubbers though as they are sure to cause streaking.

4. Deodorant and antiperspirants cause self tanning products to streak. The best thing to do is make sure you have the air conditioner running so that the room stays cool or rinse off in a cool shower before applying.

5. Wear gloves during the application. There really is no other way to avoid having orange palms. If you chose not to wear gloves makes sure you wash your hands every few minutes and scrub vigorously with a nail brush to help rid of the stain.

6. There are a couple of neat tricks offered at sunless.com. One is to use a sponge paintbrush to apply the product. These are nifty little items usually found in any craft store or the paint department of Wal-mart. Simply spray the solution onto the sponge and rub on your body to eliminate streaks and other application mistakes. The other tip is to use a baby wipe. Rinse a couple out in the sink and hang to dry. When they are completely dry spray with self tanning lotion or foam and wipe your body with it. Continue to spray the wipe as needed when it begins to dry out again.

7. Never apply any sunless tanning product the same day as an planned event or evening out. You never know what kind of disasters may arise from your self tanning adventure and you don’t want to be caught in public with unnatural skin color.

8. The best time to try self tanning is during the late winter when you can cover any mistakes with lots of clothing. Be sure to try different brands to find the one that suits you best and when you do your test session avoid covering the facial area until you know exactly what the outcome will look like.

9. Unless you’re a contortionist applying the tanners to your back is quite difficult. One easy method is to purchase a foam paint roller with a long handle on it. Do not try to substitute the foam for another material as foam is the only kind that works with this method. Apply the product to the roller and roll up and down your back. If you’re too leery of attempting that simply employ the help of a friend or spouse.

10. The only way to maintain your tan is to reapply the tanning solution every other day and moisturize on a daily basis. Your skin may dry out after repeated tannings so be sure to let the tan wear off completely after the third or fourth application.

If after all that, once you’ve scrubbed and moisturized you find that your tan has turned out very bad and you just want to get rid of it you still have way of getting it off. It does take work and could possibly make your skin sore, but there is a way.

The most natural way to remove it is to just let time pass. It will eventually fade and disappear somewhere around 10 days later. During these times I think its best if you try to stay at home and avoid human contact because yes, people will notice. It’s your choice though, if you’d rather just wait it out you can but don’t expect it to go unnoticed.

The other way to remove the sunless tanner is pretty simple. When it comes to the face and neck areas baking soda does the trick. First get your face wet and then massage baking soda into the skin in small circles. Sometimes makeup remover will even remove a bad fake tan from your face. For the rest of your body dip a wash cloth in hydrogen peroxide and scrub away the tan. Do a test patch first to determine whether or not your skin will be irritated by it. You can also coat your body in baby oil and then take a shower using baking soda once again to scrub and exfoliate the tan away.

If after you gave all that a try and you find yourself stuck in the putrid shade of orange, look up it could be worst, you could be purple. If the tan refuses to come off then you might as well just accept it because there’s nothing in the world except for time that’s going to get rid of it. Self tanning products like Coppertone, Banana Boat, Clinique and others are merely a stain. They do not dye your flesh or provide you with permanent results. There’s always a risk involved and you never know what the results will be until you give it a try. Don’t judge the product by what you see on someone else’s skin, everyone’s self tanning adventure is different.