Tips for Self Tanning: Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

A good self tan is long lasting and fades naturally. That's why this tip is so important!

Everyone knows it's essential to exfoliate the skin before a self tan so that the tanner has an even surface to adhere to and won't go patchy, but did you know that in order to prolong a tan, moisturizing is key?

Key tip: skip buying costly "tan maintainers" for a self tanner. All you really need is a good moisturizer that doesn't contain stripping chemicals! (Avoid AHA, etc. Just check the ingredients before you buy!)

Moisturizing thoroughly all over at least once after you've rinsed off your guide color and revealed your tan underneath is so important. Moisturized skin does not shed as quickly, therefore the color lasts longer. Moisturized skin also will fade more evenly and you will even notice that a moisturized tan exfoliates much more evenly when it's time to scrub the tan off a bit and reapply!

Also, keep in mind that the DHA in self tanners can slightly dry out the skin, so it's important to put back in twice the amount of moisture! If you want a perfect tan, moisturize daily!

Another helpful tip is using a moisturizer that contains SPF. This way every time you go outside you are protected from the sun's harmful rays and at the same time you are moisturizing your skin and keeping it glowing, even, and beautiful!

Personally, I buy a moisturizer intended for the face, eye cream, and a body moisturizer.

I pay careful attention to moisturize the hands, feet, and any other area that I notice fades the quickest, before and after self tanning.

Key tip: to avoid losing moisture in the face and keep the hairline from getting discolored, apply a thin layer of facial moisturizer all over the face and into the hairline before you self tan. (I also use under eye cream.) Remember to moisturize regularly after you've rinsed the guide color off.

Tips for Self Tanning: Wear gloves!

One thing that completely changed my self tanning experience I learned a few years back...

Wear. Disposable. Gloves!

Disposable gloves take the "discolored palms" out of the equation. You can take your time and blend well without have to worry about your hands staining. This will allow you to create the most even tan.

Gloves also take water out of the equation, as you don't have to worry about washing your hands and "dripping" over any area you may have already distributed product. If you self tan you already know... when developing a tan, water is your worst enemy!


I recommend vinyl non-latex gloves that fit snugly to the hand. Latex is more "Clingy" so it makes it more difficult to blend your color. You can get disposable vinyl gloves almost anywhere, and at a cheap price.

The risk of "stained palm" is no more!  Pick up a box of gloves and never worry again.

Quick tip: I tan the backs of my hands last. What I do, is remove one glove, and tan the back of that hand with the glove that's still on. Then I wait a few minutes, slide the glove back on the now tanned hand (very gently so I don't smudge color) and tan the back of the other hand. I also will use a self tanning brush or mitt occasionally. Simply rubbing the backs of the hands together will distribute some color, but may not distribute color into the creases of the hand (knuckles, etc) for the most natural look.

Tips for Self Tanning: Shaving

• Do NOT shave right before you self tan!

Okay, this is a big one. Few, and I mean very few people can get away with shaving before they self tan. But not a lot of people know this!

Shaving before you self tan opens your pores. It makes your skin sensitive and easily irritated, and believe me, your tanner will irritate freshly shaved skin, possibly causing redness and rashes.              

The worst thing is, when you self tan after shaving, your open pores will collect self tanner giving you a "dotted" look. There is nothing worse than having little dotted pores after you self tan! Skip the shave!

Now you may be saying, "Is 24 hours okay to shave prior?! How bout 48?" I would say you need to wait at least 24 hours after shaving to tan.

But you can also wait until after you've developed your self tan and rinsed off the guide color to shave! Just shave gently and carefully to avoid lifting any color. You will thank me later. :)

Naturally Fair Skinned Adriana Lima is a Spray Tanning Beauty!

Adriana Lima is another celebrity who is well known for her gorgeous tan.
Adriana models for Victoria Secret, and most of the time we see her looking bronzed and glowing.

What many people don't know is that Adriana is naturally fair skinned! We typically see her in varying shades of bronze, but the glow she gets is (smartly) faux!

Check her out below with skin tones closer to her natural fair complexion, and with beautiful bronzes!

UPDATE: Adriana prefers to stay tanned, so seeing her fair is rare. She is a model, so her appearance is something she takes seriously. For those wondering, more than likely Adriana is regularly sprayed as opposed to self applying her tans. Her skin usually

has at least a subtle bronze. I added more pictures for those who'd like to see more ;)

The only mistake Adriana made her gorgeous tan on the right, is she left a little bit of her scalp showing starkly white at the part. I always recommend blending a little bit of lotion diluted self tanner through where you part shows if possible. Other than that, her super dark tan is flawless!

Adriana looks lovely light, but every Victorias Secret Model likes to rock a wonderful bronze! Adriana is another one of my favorite self tanners- she almost always looks glowing and fresh- never baked or overly sunned! This is because models understand the importance of taking care of their skin and getting a tan the safe way. Her tans range from just a bit of color, to very very bronzed. As you can tell by how she is normally seen, her preferred look is a VaVaVoom Bronze!

Adriana with a subtle tan.

Adriana is truly an example of a model who rocks an impeccable, nearly undetectable faux bronze! And she does it all the time! Props to Adriana, and stay tuned to this blog for tips, tricks, and products that will give you your perfect tan glow!

Megan Fox Fair Skin

Megan is probably my favorite self tanning starlet to talk about, because she is the example of just what a self tan/spray tan is truly capable of!

Lately Megan has been looking gorgeous with a skin tone closer to her natural "palest of the pale" complexion. But think back to when Megan first came on the scene in Transformers. Many forgot that we were introduced to her looking like this:

Megan was introduced to us with a deep, dark, bronze tan!

As opposed to with her natural fair skin:

Megan rocked this ultra tanned look for awhile before she started showing us more of her natural skin tone.

Megan is, in her own words, "as fair as it gets."

Megan is very fair with pink undertones

Megan looks strikingly beautiful with her natural porcelain skin tone, but she also does a stunning bronzed look. Her spray tans usually look extremely natural and beautiful, and give her a wide range of looks.  She is evidence that the most pale skinned person can get a natural, safe tan if they feel like it! Go Megan!!