The how to not fear the sunless tanner guide…

Sunless tanning, oh the stories some of us have regarding self tanning. I know myself I have been trying sunless tanner since high school…back in the 90’s. Orange streaks for days! I can honestly say the tanners sure have improved over the years. Thank goodness.

Now I would first like to point out that sunless tanning is not for everyone, its something that I have personally turned into a ritual for myself. I enjoy setting aside time for me and I enjoy doing it. This is not a “everyone should be tan” article. Its more a you don’t have to fear the sunless tanner if you want to try it article. I have tried many a sunless tanner over the years and I have found my favorites and am happily here to share them with you.

The first step in success with sunless tanning is the product and understanding how it works. Personally Fake Bake Original Formula is hands down my favorite. It goes on smooth, has a guide for a more streak free application, and the tan itself is natural looking. The next step in success is understanding you wont be perfect with your application and it wont be that noticeable, gasp what?! Yes let go of the idea it will be perfect. A real tan isn’t perfect, a spray tan isn’t perfect and no your personal application wont’ be perfect and that is ok. The how it works is also important, the ingredients that create the tan interact with the amount of melanin in your skin. The sunless tanner isn’t staining your skin like the tanners used in fitness competitions. Sunless tanners are made to interact with your own personal skin, creating a tan that is natural for you. The same product will create a tan that looks different on you than it does on me. 

Ok, so we are through that part. Now for the how the heck do we tan ourselves part. It is ideally best to start with clean and freshly exfoliated skin. I love exfoliating gloves because they provide a product less exfoliation in a short amount of time and they feel good. Now do I sometimes skip this step, yes, but I have been tanning myself for years so I know how my skin interacts with the tanner. The first go round, always exfoliate.

You then want to set up an area for yourself to tan. Ideally a room by yourself with a full length mirror. Is a full length mirror necessary, no, but it makes things a lot easier. A dark towel on the ground, your sunless tanner and disposable gloves.

Apply oil-less moisturizer on dry areas or areas you don’t want to get tanned such as…bottoms of feet, toenails, elbows, ankles, maybe the knee area. Now you are ready, don those disposable gloves, check the cap to make sure it is on tightly and shake your product bottle. 

I always begin on my foot and work my way up my leg. Use a small amount of product to start and make circular motions to rub it in. Finish one leg then go to the other leg. You will now see why a mirror is helpful to check the progress in the back. The order I do is foot, leg, other foot, other leg, bum, torso, low-back, chest and neck, upper back ( this gets tricky, I will use the backs of my hands to rub the product in), finish with the arms.

Quick tips: bend elbows and knees when you are applying and check the back of your ankles (the left ankle is one I sometimes mess up on and guess what, its not noticeable).

Now for your face and the back of your hands. I’m pretty particular about my skin so I use a separate product for my face. Can you use this, yes feel free and see if you like it. I personally am a huge fan of the Isle of Paradise tanning water. It comes in different shades. I shake it up and spray it on my face, gently rub in a circular motion with my hands and then immediately wash my hands in the sink. Allow your hands to dry and then apply 1 small drop of Fake Bake Original on the back of one hand. Rub the tops of your hands and fingers together. This is key to make your arm and hand color match and to look the most natural.

Spraying the face is not for everyone. Isle of Paradise also has tanning drops. They are brilliant, you just add a few drips to your moisturizer and apply it to your face and done. Again making sure to wash your hands after. 

The guide in Fake Bake Original will intensify in color and you will potentially ponder if you made a mistake…you didn’t it will be ok. The directions recommend putting on at night and sleeping with it. I don’t like to do that, it will get on your sheets adding another step of laundry to the mix. I like to do it during the day and then put on loose fitting clothes as the tan forms.

Ideally you leave it on for 6 hours but I have taken it off at 4 hours and have been satisfied with my results. There is no harm on your first try to wash it off a little earlier for a lighter tan and you might like it better. I will say to avoid wearing shoes if possible…flip flops can rub some of the tan off. Again, is it that big of a deal? No, people walk around with tan lines all the time. 

When you are ready to wash it off, jump in the shower and wash the guide off. I like to do a touch-up once every one to two weeks. It will naturally fade off. I do recommend avoiding exfoliating your body until you are ready to tan again. Exfoliating isn’t bad, however, it will shorten the time your tan lasts.