Self Tanning Mistakes

Here's What You Need To Know

*We have learned from our mistakes and hopefully the next generation can benefit from our experience. In the over 40 age group, I am sure that there are many of us, who lavishly applied baby oil and then baked under the hot summer sun. It felt good and by the end of the summer, we looked incredible. Unfortunately, I am still running into girls who are making the same mistakes that we did. The are trying for the darkest tan possible so that they can go to the cottage and wow their crowd. How do you point out to a sixteen year old that the tan that she is working so hard on, is going to age her. She is going to be sorry by the time she hits middle age because she is going to look every one of those years and then some.

What You Think

Have never tried self-tanners for the reason of your horror story. I kept hearing all about the bad things like color streaking unevenly and the tanner rubbing off like it obviously does. ~ Nat

I have stained all my t-shirts and panties because of the self-tanners and bronzers! ~ Deb

I found out the hard way that if you don't exfoliate joints, you find yourself with darker areas that you don't want. It is a really good idea to exfoliate and then dilute the self-tanner with a moisturizer to prevent this from happening. ~ Kelsy

I've been experimenting with the Avon Self-Tanning spray (comes out white foam). It states directly on the bottle that it can cause discoloration of clothing. I have not noticed any discoloration in the week that I've been using it. It indicates that one should apply lightly on skin that creases(ankles, elbows) and I'd underline that. For some reason those areas are darker than other areas even though I made every effort to apply evenly! ~ Liz :)

Savage Bronze Tanning Mousse I did find it difficult to spread, so when I used it yesterday I mixed in some body lotion. That seemed to work well for my...and, I now have a nice tan, not orangey like QT. ~ Joyce

Be aware that some of the self tanners are now containing bronzing agents. And they rub off. Not the time to put on a new white sun dress. ~ Your Beauty Guide

Tricks

Exfoliation is very important and if you are going to apply self tanner to your feet, be sure to exfoliate every bit of dead skin or you will notice streaks that are darker than others.

A Wedge of Lemon

If you do manage to find yourself with a streak or two, a quick once over with a wedge of lemon will pick up much of the excess color. No lemon handy? Use a cotton ball and a little toner. That works too.

Did You Know

Did you know that you can actually dilute the color of your faux tan by using certain moisturizers? You will want to avoid lotions that contain Retin-A, AHAs, BHAs or glycolic acids. They are great at exfoliating dead skin cells, but your faux tan will come off with it.

No Time

Haven't time to exfoliate your legs... try shaving them before you apply the tanner... even if you don't think they need it. Shaving removes the top layer of dead skin cells.

Tanning The Face

It is really important that the face is clean and dry. An extra step you might want to take is to use a toner to remove any traces of makeup or oil that might still be on your face. This could cause splotches and that's not what you want.

In ending... enjoy your faux tan. With a little know-how, we can have the tan we always wanted... without the mistakes or the damage.