Sunless Tanning Products

Aquajock

Aquajock

Cathlete
As a follow-up to the thread among us "pigment-challenged" types who've gone whiter than the driven snow during this bizarre (and for some areas of the country, brutal) winter, thought I'd list some sunless tanning products I read on another forum. I have precisely zero idea where to get them, but I think they can all be found in department or drug stores.

Clarins
Neuragena Sunless Tanner / Bronzer
Bain de Soleil with streak guard
Coppertone Endless Summer
Banana Boat self-tanner (remember to exfoliate and moisturize)

A-Jock
Uncle Fester's Competition
 
Another good one, which happens to be my favorite, is Estee Lauder's Sunless cream. It gave me a very natural, unstreaked color. I should probably add that growing up my brother called me CASPER, so from that you can gather that I am very white, and difficult to tan.
 
I just used Clinique Self-sun and Paula's Choice Almost the real thing self-tanner and they both gave excellent results. Paula Begeon's products are very similar to Bobbi Brown and are alot cheaper. She wrote the book "Don't Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me". Excellent customer service. www.PaulasChoice.com. the Estee lauder tanner is excellent but too expensive IMHO
 
I use either the Elemis Self Tan (British brand, hard to find in the US www.elemis.com)which gives a natural golden glow, and Decleor's Self Tan Cream and Spray, which gives a much more deeper, shimmery tan
(www.decleor.com)

Clarins self tans are good as they come in a golden shade or a deep bronze shade, so depending upon your base colour, you have a choice, but it is imported from France to the US, so it'll be a bit on the pricey side :(

Happy Self Tanning Everyone :D

Anna :D
 
I love Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Foam! I've used it for about 2 years or so and have had great results. It dries so quickly and looks natural. Susan
 
Yes, that is another great product. I just bought the Target clone of it so I'll have to see if it works as well as Neutrogena!
 
You are right about Estee Lauder's being expensive. It cost me 25 bucks! I have been looking for a good one for so long-I might just have to continue to splurge:7
 
Let me know how the Target version measures up! This is one of the only stores I LOVE to shop at! Any excuse to go in there is fine with me!:) Susan
 
I haven't used a self tanning product in about 8 years...do they still stink? I've got a wedding coming up that I bought a really cute pair of sandals to wear to. I don't want to have to wear hose but I'm so pasty white (and am a klutz to boot, so add in some blue bruises)....do the tanners work on ankle areas? I think in the past one cannot self-tan ankles and hands...is this still true?

thanks!
 
Hi there ! :)

You can self tan hands and ankles and feet -just make sure to really scrub well around the bony ankle, over the top of the feet, and over the backs of the hand, in-between fingers too.
Then moisturise well with a body cream.
When applying self tan to the legs, apply it to the thigh and lower leg first, massage in well, in fact over-work it in, and whatever is left on the hand, gently drag the product over the knee (another bony area), and over the ankle and around the foot.

With hands - use a latex glove (you can buy these from a drug store), pop it onto one hand and massage self tan into the back of the other hand (taking care to blend it with the lower arm), then take a slightly damp piece of cotton wool, and gently wipe in between the base of the fingers. Wait a few minutes for the treated hand to dry off a bit, then swop the glove over and tan the other hand. Careful around the insides of the wrist, if you have creases there, as the product can accumulate in creases, to avoid this mix the tan cream in with some body lotion :)

In fact, if you are wary of self tan, using half and half of body lotion and self tan can aleviate fears as you get used to applying the self tan. The 'tan' won't be as strong, but you can always build it up :)

Also, if you have a more oily/combination skin, going for a gel is a good idea as a self tan cream can aggravate an oilier complexion :)


Hope this helps :)

Anna :)
 
I just saw on gloss.com that Estee lauder has come out with self-tan towelettes. Has anyone tried them? $27.50 but doesn't say how many in a package.
 
I also recommend Paula's Choice. Nice color, nice price, and no stinky smell. I ordered some Tan Perfect from HSN which looks good, but haven't gotten it yet.

I used to use Banana Boat (found at drugstores and sometimes the dollar store), but my legs would smell funny for a day or two afterwards.
 
I too am a life long member of the Casper club. I'm practically translucent I'm so white:) I have never used a self tanner though. What do you do to exfoliate and moisturize? Doesn't it look funny that certain parts are a darker color? Do you use it on your face? My ignorance is showing, help!
 
yes, I'd like to know the answers to those questions too...how long does this stuff take to "set", does it come off all over your sheets at night? Does it just wash off in the shower next day? Does it come off all over workout gear and furniture when you sweat to Cathe vids? How long does it last? What does it feel like on your skin? Do you really apply it everywhere? Does it leave permanent pigment on bits of you? Does it help hide scars and the like?

Strange stuff methinks......

I too am perfectly ignorant on this cosmetic wonder, anyone care to enlighten?

THank you!!!

Clare
(formerly a stranger to the cosmetics counter at Boots.....)
 
RE: Dawn.....

Hi Dawn !

Any old body scrub will do :) and depending on what your skin type is on the body determines whether you need a body lotion (normal/combination), or a body cream (dry/very dry skin). You may want to moisturise all over or just in certain areas that are particularly dry, such as elbows, knees, ankles, feet, hands, backs of knees, etc.

You can use it on your face, usually one application is enough, because if you were sunbathing you don't tend to get a strong tan on the face anyway. Cleanse and tone the face, exfoliate too with a facial scrub to get rid of any dry patches, and instead of moisturising, you can apply a little of the self tan at a time, gradually build up, and massage into the face, I start from the bridges of the nose and out to the hairline. Overwork the product in and don't forget to blend down onto the neck, the sides of the neck and around the back of the neck.
If you have dry skin apply a little face moisturiser beforehand :)

Once overworked in, take a slightly damp cotton wool pad, and very gently work you way around the hairline, to take off any build up at the hairline (especially important if you are blonde haired). Don't press too hard when doing it or else you will end up with an untanned line around the hair line. Use the pad gently along the eyebrow too, as product can build up there.

As long as you 'overwork' the product into your skin, exfoliate well before hand, you should in theory, have no dark patches. Self tan accumulates where there is dry skin build up.

Give it a go Dawn, it is worth it, and by the end of the Summer, you will be so perfect at applying self tan, it will become like second nature :)

Good Luck

Anna :)
 
RE: Clare.........

Hi Clare !

Self tan varies from product to product with regards to setting time,

*A Gel self tan will 'sink' into the skin within 10 minutes, then you can put clothes on, etc.
*A cream self tan will take up to 20-30 minutes to sink into the skin and then you can put your clothes on.

It is best to shower/bath/exercise before self tanning. Once the cream or gel has been applied, it can take from 4-6 hours to develop. Though I have known some to show colour change after 3 hours :)

The self tan naturally fades off the skin usually from doing day to day things like workouts. showers, etc. I would recommend re-application every 3 days, to keep the tan topped up but you will have to repeat exfoliation, and moisturising, for an even application :)

It does, unfortunately (here is the :( part) come off where clothing seams are, for example, sports bras, where you sweat when working out, which is why re-application is important :) It is more noticeable on white underwear, usually where the elastic line is.
Though, I have to say in all my self tanning years, it has never come off on nightwear, or bed sheets :)

It doesn't really feel like anything on the skin, it is normally a white cream that contains an ingredient where once it is exposed to the air, turns brown......like an apple that has been cut in half, which oxidises in the air and turns brown.

It won't leave permanent pigmentation on the skin, it will fade naturally, usually with the skins natural dead skin cell shredding mechanism (don't ask ! I was up all night with DS, he has stomach flu ! ).

It won't help hide scars, you need to use a body make-up like Dermablend that will do that for you. A tan does, however, help to silhouette the figure (optical illusion), and great for making cellulite areas on hips, thighs and arms look better :)

Hope this has answered some of your questions......

Take Care

Anna :)
 
Check out the website sunless.com. It should answer many of your questions.

I personally only use sunless tanner on my legs. I have fair skin, but living in Florida, I do get some sun. Even if I lay out my upper body will get a little color, but my legs don't get much. I feel that sunless tanners makes my legs look much better/leaner and it evens out the skin tone to make scars, stretch marks and freckles a little less noticeable. It also makes me feel a little more confident. When I lived in Minnesota, a lot of people had pale legs so it didn't bother me. But in Florida, my white legs stood out like a sore thumb so I started to use sunless tanners. It takes some experimentation though. Occasionally I goof up and get some blotchiness around my ankles.

Here's my simple routine (I do this about once a week unless I'm lazy or slack off during winter):
-I shower, shave and sometimes exfoliate with any body scrub (shaving exfoliates a little by itself so if I'm in a hurry I don't always use a scrub, but it's probably best to, especially around the ankles and knees).
-When I'm completely dry, I put on some black underwear (so it doesn't matter if I get tanner on it) and then apply tanner to my legs from the ankles up. Sometimes I'll immediately apply some moisturizer lightly over the ankles, knees and tops of feet to prevent blotchiness. Wash/scrub hands immediately. Then I stand or walk around in my underwear until my legs are dry (about 30 min., but it depends which formulation/brand you use). Then you can get dressed, go to bed, whatever without worrying about staining anything.
-Don't shower or sweat til the next day or it'll streak.
-If you moisturize each day your tan should last for approx. 5 days.

This is probably more than you wanted to know (especially about the black underwear thing) but I'm just being honest.

About my face, I use sunscreen so it is whiter than the rest of me. I will not experiment with tanner on my face. Too much to go wrong. But I am going to purchase a bronzer that had really good reviews on makeupalley.com. Bronze Goddess by Estee Lauder is oil-free and supposedly good for fair complexions. So it'd be good to give some color to face, neck, chest, etc. Just a suggestion.

So give sunless tanners a try! The newer formulations are much better than they used to be. Good luck...
 
Hi there! I learned a trick from Baywatch. They had this show on television a couple of years ago, and I learned that if you put on lotion right after you apply a self tanner, it keeps it from streaking. Also makes your tan more even. So I've been using Neutragena Deep self tanning spray and I rub that in as evenly as possible, they said that it really helps to rub it in good. Then I apply bath and body works lotion, any kind. It works so great, I don't think I'll ever use any other self tanner. plus it smells fresh.
it only costs 10 bucks too. That's what they said the baywatch girls do. It works.
;)
 
Has anyone tried getting a Mystic Tan? They're the new thing in tanning salons where you get in a booth and it sprays self tanner all over in about a minute. I'm really thinking of trying it because applying self-tanner at home is so tedious.
 
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