Self-Tanner: With These 10 Tips The Tan from The Tube is Perfect

Your legs are still in pale winter mode? Self-tanners now give us a summer tan – safe and, thanks to our tips, absolutely spotless!

Self-tanner brings us now already in summer mood!

How we are looking forward to the summer! Hopefully it will be really warm and wonderfully sunny. And when spring uncovers its first areas of skin, we want to welcome it with a nice summer tint. Time for a tanning session. This is more gentle on the skin than extensive sunbathing, protects us from UVA and UVB damage and works within a few hours. So the tan from the tube is perfect and streak-free!

1. Before applying, exfoliate the skin all over the body to make the color result even – but not with an oil-based exfoliator. This leaves a film on the skin that prevents the self-tanner from coloring the upper layer of skin.
2. If you want to tint your legs, you should first remove all hairs. Waxing, epilating and shaving are best done the evening before, then the skin can soothe itself overnight.
3. The choice of the color tone: The new self-tanning products offer different shades of color from a light to an intense tint. For a natural look, the tone should be only a few shades darker than the current skin color. If the tone is too light after a single application, simply apply a cream.
4. If you only want a delicate glow, mix the self-tanner with your face cream or body lotion.
5. Use different products for face and body. A cream can be spread more precisely on the face because of its firmer consistency. The products for the face are less greasy and do not contain any penetrating oils that can irritate the eyes.
6. Begin by rubbing on the legs, it is best to apply with circular movements so as not to risk a chipmunk look or the model stained carrot.
7. Caution on elbows, hands, knees and feet: the thicker the horny layer, the more intense the coloration. It is best to apply a very light body lotion to these areas of skin beforehand, allow it to absorb and only then apply the self-tanner.
8. Dose sparingly: Apply the product several times rather than too thickly, this results in a more even tan. Allow to take effect for at least 20 minutes before putting on.
9. If something has gone wrong and a brown stain has appeared: take a bath. The horny layer of the skin swells up – now irregularities can be peeled away more easily. Fingertips or nails that have involuntarily turned brown are allowed in the lemon juice bath.
10. To keep the tan for as long as possible, the application should be repeated once or twice a week, because after two to three days the slow rejection of the colored skin layer begins.

The best beauty tips for self-tanning from the experts

Tips for the perfect use of self-tanners were obtained personally in Los Angeles from Hollywood tanning guru Fiona Locke, who tans stars like Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen for their appearances on the Red Carpet.

Self-tanner: The most important information at a glance

• Peeling: For an even tan, removes loose skin cells. Only rub sensitive skin with a towel.
• Bathing: not directly in front of it, that weakens the effect, because the skin is then soaked with moisture
• Discoloration: Where the skin is thicker, such as on elbows, heels (also cuticles), it often becomes darker – cream with body lotion to prevent this. If the sensitive areas have taken on too much color: treat them specifically with peeling. The elbows and knees may also be rubbed with some lemon juice.
• Brows and hairline: Wipe with a damp handkerchief, the active ingredient also tints light hairs…
• Clothes: Wear dark clothes immediately afterwards, because white T-shirts quickly get stained. Tanning lotion goes out when washing – just not from synthetic, silk and wool.
• Storage: about half a year, avoid direct sunlight on the product.
• Frequency: purely theoretical? As often as you like.
• Sun protection: Self-tanners offer no UV protection, unless a light protection filter is built in, which is actually the case with many products in the meantime.
• Zero-tinting? Happens. In up to 15 percent of users, the skin does not tan despite the use of self-tanning products. Skin experts assume that these people have too little protein in the upper layers of the skin and thus the tanning effect is absent.
• Inhale self-tanning spray: according to the manufacturer, this is safe. We recommend: Still it is better to hold your breath when spraying!

Which self-tanner is the right one?

Lotion, gel, cloth, mousse or spray? Or a tanning shower for at home? Pure matter of taste! But since the tanning ingredient dihydroxyacetone, or DHA for short, extracts moisture from the skin, dry skin is better supplied with lotion or milk. Gels are suitable for oily skin, cloths are real flash tanners and ideal for beginners. If you are using a self-tanner for the first time, you should start with a low tanning level for light skin types in order to better assess the effect on the skin.

Even more self-tanning tricks

Sprays are practical for hard to reach areas such as the back. If you want to spray the back alone, you can use the regression method. Spray over the shoulder into the air and take a step into the mist. If you are afraid of stains on your hands when applying cream, use special applicator gloves for application, which are available in drugstores. Those who prefer to have a professional tan can book a “Bodytan” in the beauty studio, where the self-tanner is applied with a special airbrush technique. Advantage: Besides the certainty that even the hard to reach areas are perfectly tanned, the immediate effect is convincing.

How long does self-tanner last?

Very important for self-tanners that work with DHA: Although the active ingredient is a sugar derived from glycerine, this active ingredient can also cause damage to the body. If it has been lying in the store for too long or has been exposed to heat during transport, the sugar breaks down formaldehyde. Formaldehyde has been classified by the EU as “possibly carcinogenic” since 2016, and is also suspected of altering the genetic make-up. Anyone wishing to read more about the toxicological effects of formaldehyde can obtain information directly from the BfR. Therefore: The self-tanning cream usually does not last longer than half a year. Even if it begins to smell, it is better to buy a new tube.

Tan yourself! Can I do self-tanning by myself?

If you want to mix your favorite body lotion with a tanning agent yourself, you can do so quite simply:

Self-tanning cream with DHA

You need: 5 g DHA (dihydroxyacetone) from the pharmacy, 15 ml cold water,100 g cream (with a ph-value below 7), without perfume or protein additives, collagen, urea, nuratine, elastin, etc., as otherwise the DHA is broken down.

To do: Dissolve DHA in cold water and stir into the cream at a water temperature of about 30 degrees. Important: Do not heat up too much, do not heat it over 40 degrees. Approximately 2 hours after application, a first tanning effect can be seen. Tip: store in the refrigerator.

If you want to rely entirely on nature, you can also use carrot oil to soften your complexion – don’t worry, the tint is by no means so strong that you can become a Donald Trump lookalike.

Tanning Spray with Erythrulose

If you do not want to use DHA, you can also use another active ingredient: erythrulose. This tanning agent also consists of sugar, but cannot break down dangerous formaldehyde. Advantage: Erythrulose also does not dry out the skin as much as DHA and is also said to tan without streaks. Disadvantage: Tanning of the skin does not work within a few hours, but can take up to three days.

DIY recipe: Mix a few drops of Erythrulose (from the pharmacy) with a tablespoon of Aloe Vera juice and, if necessary, some distilled water. Mix into a spray bottle, shake and spray onto the skin. The maximum tanning effect is achieved after about three days.