How I Apply Sunless Tanner
I know it’s already almost August, but I get questions all the time about how I apply my self tanner. Today I’m going to show you how easy it is to apply sunless tanner on yourself! You’ll be amazed.
How I apply sunless tanner:
Step 1- Exfoliate Your Body
Before you apply sunless tanner, you need to exfoliate your skin. This will help the tanner to ‘stick’ to your skin better, it will prevent streaks and it will help your tanner to last longer. I like to use a natural loofah that I got for a few dollars at Walmart. I use it across my whole body while in the shower. After you exfoliate, then you need to shave your legs. Don’t forget this step!
Step 2- Use Tanning Drops on Your Face
I don’t use my sunless tanner on my face because it’s too strong. I prefer these Isle of Paradise drops that I mix into my moisturizer and then apply to my face. This gives me a gradual tan on my face. After I use these, I wash my hands and get ready to apply sunless tanner on the rest of my body.
Step 3- Prep the Skin with Lotion
I use a little lotion on my elbows, knees, ankles, or anywhere else that my skin is a little dry or rough to help the sunless tanner not collect in those places. This is something I've learned over time and it really helps me get good coverage without weird dark spots.
Step 4- Always Use a Mitt!
I love the St. Tropez sunless tanning mousse. I’ve tried several brands, and I love this the best. It just depends on your body, what you want it to look like, etc. My biggest tip is to experiment and find what works best for you.
Using the mitt, I place 3-4 pumps on the mitt. Then I spread it all around my body, trying to avoid the areas I put lotion on earlier. Once I know that I don’t have a thick amount of mousse on my mitt, I hit those rough spots.
I usually start with my arms, and move from there to my shoulders and chest, and finally I apply sunless tanner to my hands. This is all with those same 3-4 pumps from earlier. You don’t need very much to get a good color on your skin.
Step 5- Apply Tanner to Hands
For my hands, I rub the mitt across my fingers, and try to get the crevices really thoroughly. I get my hand and wrist by running my fingers through the mitt. This helps me to not have orange hands and elbows. After I apply the sunless tanner on my fingers and hands, I make sure to wash off my fingernails so I don’t have discoloration on them, too.
Step 6- Apply Sunless Tanner to Legs
When I'm done applying sunless tanner on both of my arms and hands, I apply it on my legs. I start with a few pumps on my mitt and apply it to my calves, then my feet, ankles, and knees. Be careful to really rub it in as you go and try not to miss any spots. When my lower legs are done, I apply sunless tanner to my thighs. I use a few pumps of the mousse for this, as well.
Step 7- Wait for Color to Develop
When you are done, you won’t be able to see much color at first. Don’t stress. It will show up soon!
The bottle says to wash off the sunless tanner after 1-3 hours, but I wear this overnight or up to 24 hours before washing. In my experience it works best for me that way. If I wash it off sooner, the color isn't as dark as I'd like. Try it both ways and see what you like!
Sunless Tanner Maintenance
To keep my sunless tanner looking its best, I apply lotion daily. I also try to avoid scrubbing my skin too hard in the shower every day after my workouts so I don’t scrub the tanner off early. For me, this process is a weekly thing I do for myself.
I hope that this tutorial was helpful. You really have to find what works for you and make sure you exfoliate, use a mitt, and take care of it throughout the week. Let me know if you have any questions and check out my IGTV video I made with the whole process below!
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