Indian Summer

The To do’s & Not to do’s of self-tanner

I’m guessing that you didn’t manage to maintain that Ibiza-tan, what with this lovely autumn weather of late. We’ll have to get started with the self-tan, because the sun is out tomorrow. And no, we don’t want orange carrot legs, patches or other disastrous results. Though I have to admit, that sometimes no matter how hard you try, you still end up with an oompah-loompah look. So what to do if the self-tanner goes wrong, and you still want to go out? How to avoid the scary orange altogether and just how do you create those lovely even brown legs?

Orange. Patches. Mess. Here’s how you fix it:

1. Do not panic and start scrubbing like a maniac. Seems like the right thing to do, but actually you’ll have the opposite effect, the orange skin will disappear but will be replaced by red. You can use a scrub, but mix it with something like a massage oil. Then it will work, but in a milder way that preserves your skin. And use it all over your legs okay, not just obsessively on that 1 patch.

2. Fill a bathtub with bath oil and soak for 30 minutes The oil will soften the colour.

3. Take a dip in the pool. The chlorine will bleach the colour. Literally. Maybe not great for other swimmers, but hey, at least your legs won’t be as orange anymore. Then jump in the steam room and sauna to rid yourself of the remaining colour. And remember, if you are thinking of giving yourself a bit of tan before a sauna day: DON’T DO IT.

4. Combine good old lemon and sugar and rub this on gently with a washcloth. The stains will vanish like snow in sun.

How to totally avoid the above problems

1. Preparation makes light work. Sounds dull, but it saves you far more time than you will spend on the above points. If you scrub your legs well beforehand, you’ll have far less chance of streaks, patches or other unpleasantries, because the dead cells will be swirling down the plug hole.

2. Moisturise! Cream your legs well beforehand (a few days before, not just before you self tan). If your skin is well fed and nourished, the colour will be much more even.

3. Always use a glove to apply the self-tanner. It’s like a brush is for your hair. If you don’t use it you will never achieve a perfect result. Your hair may benefit from a beachy tousled look, but messy skin is a no-no. Using a glove also prevents orange palms and knuckles.

4. The aftercare is very important. Remove the unwanted colour immediately. Clean your nails, knuckles and check the skin around your ankles and knees. Use body lotion to dilute the self-tanner and then rub gently with a towel. No more uneven patches.

5. Don’t use cheap self tan products. Sounds like a sales speech, but in the world of self-tanners, expensive products end up costing less. The ingredients will be more caring and the colour will be gold rather than orange. Much more balance in the better products.

6. Build the colour up slowly. If  you think you’re going to get a nicer, faster result from covering yourself in huge amounts of product, you’re wrong. Layer. You only see the true result after 2 hours. So build it up slowly.