It's getting warmer outside and we all want to spend more time in the sun. I remember the good old days when my sister and I would oil up and lay by our pool for hours on the weekends. That was about 35 years ago and people didn't really know that skin cancer was such a threat from sun exposure. I'm a fair little Irish girl and I burn easily. My sister being from a Scandinavian background (us kids were adopted), was blonde and could get a tan by looking at a picture of the sun. So, I slathered on the Sea & Ski tanning lotion and turn a wonderful shade of red, mostly burning my Lilly white skin, which would later tan down to a normal healthy color. My sister would mix a bottle of baby oil and iodine and use that to tan with. She's get a deep golden brown, her hair would bleach out naturally and she'd look great. I looked like an Irish girl that wasn't used to the sunny days in the U.S., red, flaky skin and much redder hair then normal. After a couple summers, I gave up. Besides, I can't lay still that long. I'm like a hummingbird on crack most of the time anyway.
Today we know how much damage that the sun can do to our skin and my sister is living proof. While she's never had skin cancer yet, her skin has a thickened look that has caused premature wrinkling. She looks at least 3 years older than me and she's actually 3 years younger. She still lays out in the summer, especially since she and her family bought a beach house that they stay at all summer long. Her husband goes in to work every day and she heads for the beach. I, on the other hand, live in the Southwest desert, which is even more sun damaging then her east coast home. I wear sun screen daily, a big floppy hat when I go outside, Capri pants so my legs don't burn, and makeup and skin lotions that all have an SPF factor. I have always been the whitest person in the desert bar none.
That is until I got brave a few years ago and decided to try the new self tanners, which have improved greatly over the past few years I might add! I thank the Gods daily for self tanner because I no longer need to be deathly white anymore, I can go anywhere from a natural golden glow to an all out dark tan and look great. This also means that I have tried as many self tanners as I could afford each year just to see which ones work the best. I grade them on ease of application, developed color tone and natural look.
There is a difference between self tanners and bronzers. Bronzer just gives you a bronzed color and then washes off while a self tanner develops with the skin's amino acids over a matter of hours giving you a tanned look that lasts for a few days. Some self tanners have both so the bronzer gives you color now while the self tanner develops over a few hours.
Here is a list of my favorites and why:
Bare Escentuals Faux Tan: This is a really odd self tanner. It's almost black when it comes out of the bottle but that's so you can see where you are putting it and how even it is being applied. It gives the most natural tan that I have ever seen! You can layer it on, applying it every other day for a few days and get the deepest most natural tan ever. You'll look like my sister in mid-summer! It may be considered too dark for fair skinned people but I like the versatility of how dark you can go with it. It doesn't smell too bad either and has mostly natural ingredients. No SPF. Kind of pricey unless you can get it during a Bare Minerals sale at QVC.
Bare Escentuals Faux Tan Daily Moisturizer: They came out with this a couple years ago. It's a daily use version of the original Faux Tan with moisturizers and isn't as dark as the original. Even after one use, you'll have a nice golden tan started. I sometimes mix a pump (I buy the jumbo sized pump bottle at QVC) of the original Faux Tan stuff in with a glob of this stuff and mix it together to kick start my tan when I first apply it. It gives it a bit more color but not too heavy. No SPF. About $18.00 a tube, one tube lasts me all summer. Bare Minerals also makes a Faux Tan mineral powder for the face, in case you'd rather not do your face but still have some color. I see that QVC is now selling a jumbo tube of this Faux Tan for around $24.00.
L'Oreal Sublime Bronze: This comes in a variety of types, gel, lotion, pre-moistened towels, bronzer-tanner and face tanner. It comes in formulas for fair to medium skin and medium to dark skin so you'll get a more natural looking tan. One note, if you have fair skin and try using the medium to dark just to get a darker looking tan it's going to look BAD!! I learned this the hard way. I tried the towlettes on my legs and they looked really streaky and blotchy because I couldn't see where it was being applied and where I missed. For an mass market brand, though, this brand does an excellent job and a reasonable price.
How to apply: Take a bath or shower and use a loofah or some type of skin exfoliant everywhere that you will be applying the tanning lotion. Self tanner looks better when applied to skin that is smooth and moisturized so it's important that you get that dead skin off before you apply. Towel dry and start applying from the legs up, using upward strokes. Using a self tanner that has a color to it helps you make sure that you haven't missed any spots. Do your legs, move up to your torso and upper body, then arms. Wash and dry your hands when you are finished. Apply a small dollop to the back of one hand and rub the backs of your hands together making sure to cover from wrists to finger nails. Don't wash your hands again for a few hours, that gives time for the backs of your hands to develop some color, too.
Make sure to apply moisturizer every day to keep your tan looking good. You may want to re-apply tanner every few days as well in order to keep that tan look. Read the directions for the product that you pick to see if it can be used on the face if you also want to do your face. Some tanners are not made to be used on the face and you'll have to look for a tanner made specifically for this purpose.
What ever product that you choose or what ever way that you get your tan, always remember that if you are going to be out in the sun wear a sun screen, the stronger, the better! Protect your skin and it will keep you looking good for years to come!
