Whether you love to be glowing and tanned all year round or you just need a little pick me up to help fight those winter blues, what better way than having a great tanning routine that could fool even the most experienced fake tanner into thinking your tan is real. Here are some top tips to perfect your routine and to help you get the best results from your tan.
Exfoliate
This may be the most important step in the whole process, exfoliating will remove all the dry and dead skin to give you a clean and smooth surface to apply your tan to. For the best results soak in a hot bath for 10 minutes before to soften your skin and open your pores. Then exfoliate away, you can use a mitt or a brush, whatever your preference is as long as it exfoliates.
Feel the Cold
This is probably the least pleasant for most but do it for the tan! Running cold water over your body will help to close your pores after a hot shower. Running a bag of ice over your legs would even work, this will stop any tan seeping into open pores and will help your legs look silky smooth.
Top Tip: Exfoliate and shave the day before tanning to allow your pores to completely close again before tanning.
Moisture is Key
Using moisturiser is so important but remember not to moisturise using a heavy lotion right before you tan. If you need to moisturise and tan in the same night then leave at least an hour in between, however if you decide to get the easy option of a spray tan you cannot moisturise on the day of your tan at all. Use a light moisturiser and focus on your elbows, knees, ankles and wrists – the places that tend to get most dry.
Catching the Sun
So, it is finally time to apply the tan and you have two options – number one is you apply your own fake tan out of a bottle, number two is you get a spray tan. If you decide to apply your own tan use a tanning mitt with a rubber glove underneath to prevent tanned palms, trust us it’s not a good look. Apply the tan all over your body and use any excess on your mitt to do your elbows, knees, ankles and hands.
If you’re a first-time tanner then spray tans can take the pressure off and ensures a great tan. For more information about spray tans, visit our page.
Whether you have a spray tan or do it yourself it is best to wear loose, dark clothes after because the tan is likely to transfer and you don’t want to rub your tan too much when it is fresh.
