Self-Tanners

I have got quite the collection of self-tanners thanks to my pale complexion. I don’t use self-tanners to make myself that much darker. I really just use them to take the edge off of my paleness and give myself a “glow” (I hate that word, but I don’t know what else to call it). 

Even though I don’t use them to get incredibly dark there are times when I want more color and times when I just want a tiny bit of color. When I’m looking to keep my tan pretty light or to extend the tan of another self-tanner I use gradual self-tanners. I have used quite a lot of these over the years. I loved the Dove Energy Glow, but it got discontinued. I have also tried the Nivea one, but I can’t stand the smell. The fragrance they used to cover up the self-tanner smell is too strong. Right now I have the Jergens Natural Glow Firming Daily Moisturizer for Medium to Tan Skin Tones and the Loreal Paris Sublime Glow Daily Moisturizer for Medium Skin Tones. They both have a little bit of shimmer in them, which I personally don’t like, but oh well. The Jergens is more moisturizing and gives me a little more color, but smells pretty bad. The Loreal is lighter in color and in texture and has kind of a sweet smell. Overall, I like the Jergens one better despite the smell.

The rest of the self-tanners I have give more intense color and have guide colors to them. The St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse is my least favorite of the ones I own. The color is a nice dark brown with a green undertone, but I find that it gets splotchy as it fades. It dries quickly which is nice, but I feel that it dries out my skin. And the worst part is using it on my face. It seems to make any dark spots or acne get even darker while the rest of my face doesn’t seem to tan much. I don’t experience this with other brands.

The Bare Escentuals Faux Tan and Sun Labs Self Tanning Lotion in Ultra Dark are very similar. The Faux Tan is more orange/red based while the Sun Labs is green based. They are both moderately moisturizing and take longer to absorb than the St. Tropez. I find that they both last pretty nicely on the skin without getting as splotchy as the St. Tropez.

The most recent addition to my collection is the Xen-Tan Deep Bronze Luxe Weekly Self-Tan. This is my favorite, but I think that some people wouldn’t like it because of the texture. It is an incredibly thick and moisturizing lotion. The color is hard to describe. It doesn’t come out a dark brown color, but instead a light brown color. I was worried that the lighter guide color would lead to more streaking, but as you rub this in it seems to get darker. I find that this gives me the darkest color of them all and lasts the best. I like the fact that the lotion is thick because it hydrates my skin more. It does take a bit to soak in, so you have to wait to get dressed for a while.

I apply self-tanners with different frequencies based on my mood at the time. I tend to go through phases where I want to be darker and then I will stop caring about it and barely use tanners for a while. A general rule is to apply the regular ones about once a week and gradual ones more frequently. Of course when it comes to self-tanning regular exfoliation is necessary as well as moisturizing dry areas before applying the tanner. I like to exfoliate with plain white sugar when I need an intense exfoliation and maintain it through dry body brushing. I always apply tanners at night before bed after I take a shower. Then I wear the guide color the next day until I shower at night. The ones with guide color can stain your sheets and clothes, but it will come out in the wash. Although after the same thing is stained many times it can become permanent, so you need to be aware of what color your sheets and clothes are.

When I apply tanner, I use latex gloves on my hands to protect them from the tanner and I also use a brush to make sure the tanner is applied evenly. It helps to keep streaking to a minimum. I found just using the brush to keep my hands clean was too time consuming and caused me to use too much product although that is an option too. I use a synthetic flat top kabuki. I got it with the Bare Escentuals Faux Tan, but any large brush would work. I would suggest a synthetic one though as a natural hair brush would soak up a ton of product. 

Hope this helps you if you are new to self-tanning or wanted to know what the differences were between some of the tanners out there.

Meagan