Do's and Don'ts of Self Tanner

Do's of Self Tanner

• Exfoliate your Skin

When exfoliating your skin, focus on the areas where your skin the roughest because that is where all the dead skin is and where your self tanner will most likely come out darker. Go softer in the leg area when it comes to exfoliating, you don’t want to create any cuts, which will make the self tanner look weird and darker in certain places.

• Apply at Night

Typically, most self tanners take up to 8 hours to reach the desired shade. The best time to apply self tanner is at night since that is when we usually are the least active and have time to let the self tanner sit and settle.

• Wear Gloves

If you don’t want EXTRA tan hands that don’t match your body, I recommend purchasing a self tanning mitt. If you can’t, there is no problem with using your hands just make sure you wash them with soap and water to get the excess self tanner off and have your hands return to a somewhat normal color.

• Wear Loose Clothes

Wearing loose clothes is essential. If you wear tight clothes after applying tanner, it is less likely to stick to your skin, and instead stain your clothes. There is also a higher change of getting random lines that transfer from your clothes to your body- which is NOT a good look.

• Take Recommendations

If someone is recommending a self tanner to you- LISTEN! It usually means they have used that tanning brand before and have had no problems with it. Try it out, you never know, it could be better than the one you are currently using.

• Shower Before Leaving the House

After letting the self tanner settle into your skin overnight, make sure you shower so you get rid of the excessive self tanner. Showering will also help fix any streaks or imperfections that may show up overnight.

• Moisturize Before Applying the Self Tanner

Moisturizing your body before applying the self tanner will help the tan look more natural and last longer.

Don'ts of Self Tanner

• Shave Before Applying

If you get a cut before applying self tanner it will look weird and uneven. You are better off shaving a day or two before applying self tanner- or even afterwards.

• Sweat

Sweating will cause streaks in your tan so try and refrain from doing any activities that will make you hot.

• Apply a Second Layer

DO NOT apply a second layer or you will come our WAYYYY darker than you intended. Give the tanner some time to do its job, after 10 hours if you still aren’t at your desired tan, apply another layer, but not as heavily as the first.

• Apply A Lot More on the Face

Self tanner is fo the body, so when applying to your face, you want to use a smaller amount. There have been countless times when I have used a lot of self tanner on the face and i woke up the next day and had a green tinted face.

• Shower After a Couple Hours

Although showering after applying self tanner is important, you want to wait at least 8 hours before rinsing off the small layer that is left.