Self Tanning Tips

Now that we’re nearing the end of May, summer is officially all we can think about. On the East coast the temps have risen into the 80s and 90s, and our clothes are getting skimpier and skimpier. This simply means that self-tanner is currently a must! Unfortunately the art of self-tanner is not an easy one, so I caught up with Sinead Norenius, the founder of Beautisol to get some application tips. Sinead has created a self-tanning brand catered to your skin type. For example, if you have acne prone skin, you don’t have to hesitate about using that generic self-tanner on your face she included ingredients in her product to help fight acne and give you color at the same time.

Check out her tips for flawless self-tanning applications below, and definitely try out the line, I was rather impressed!

If I had to run off to an event and desperately needed to apply a bit of color, what are your tips for getting a base without ending up streaky?
I would recommend going with a self-tanner with a dark guide color. It will give you instant color before the effect and it will show you exactly where you put the color and where you may have missed. This is important especially for people who are fair because the mistakes show up more on light skin versus dark skin. Also, wear a dark color like black, brown or navy so if any of the guide color gets on your clothing it won’t show up. And, go with an odor eliminating product so it won’t offend the people around you! Those are my top three recommendations.

Most people have issues with the ankles, knees and behind the knees. Do you have tips for those areas?
You always have the tip to put lotion on those areas so the skin absorbs the moisturizer first. Anytime you fold the skin the color will double-up and that’s why it looks darker. So, I only recommend that if you’re super dry, super dry. If not, put the product on as you normally would and then take a dry washcloth and buff those areas. Buff the elbows, buff the wrists and buff the ankles and around your feet. That way you still get color but it doesn’t grab. Which is really easy. Sometimes people put too much lotion on and then mixed with the self-tanner you get weird marks. So, head to toe, buff and be done.

We are always told to exfoliate before self-tanning. Can you get away with self-tanning without taking this step?
Yes, you can. The idea is that you will get the dead skin off which will make the tan last longer a day or two leaving less maintenance. But the dryer your skin is the more the self-tanner will absorb. It’s not a horrific thing if you don’t, unless you have dry patches. Then I would suggest you do.

What about applying self-tanner to the face? Do you have any tips for proper application?
If you have light hair I would say to put a lotion over the eyebrows and hair line. Use a tanner with a guide color so you can see exactly where you’ve applied and where you’ve missed. Apply it in circular motions and blend down to the neck. Blend the rest to the ears and don’t forget behind the ears!

Then, the hands. What’s your tip for getting rid of the streaks?
If you’re not going to wear gloves wash your hands after applying to each section so you don’t heat activate the tanner. Make sure to get in between your fingers, the web area on your hands. If you really have some issues then you can take a hair bleach (Jolie) mix it up and then let it sit there for a little bit and wash it off. I wouldn’t recommend doing that to your whole body like “oh, I screwed up” but in small areas you can do it. Just keep a small box of gloves in your house and wear them when applying (tighter the better) so you won’t make a mistake.

Do you think using lemon works?
Yes. You can mix baking soda, lemon and water. Perfect! But you have to let it soak.You will be spending more time taking it off then putting it on which is why I say wear gloves! There’s always tips but why go through that?

Posted in: BEAUTY TIPS