Option 2 - Faking It
Whilst sunbeds are a good way of helping you to achieve an all round natural tan, it does take quite a few sessions to achieve your ideal look, which can prove to be a little bit costly if it is something that you need to do on a regular basis.
Contrary to what you may believe or read in the papers, all fake tan does not make you orange and un-natural unless that is the look that you are trying to achieve. Actually many fake tans have now been formulated to give you the most natural of appearances and can be done more efficiently than with sunbeds, especially if you are not afraid to do it yourself.
Types of self-tan:
- Spray Tan
- Tanning Lotion
- Instant Tan
- Gradual Tan
- Tanning Mousse
If you are wanting to do your tan at home, it is best if you have a couple of free evenings if you are using a traditional lotion or spray, or a week or so if you want to apply gradual tan before an event to give it time to develop.
Spray tans, lotions and mousses (if the developing type) all take around four hours to develop and will get darker the longer you leave them on according to your skins ability to take the tan. You are best washing the top layer of tan off around six to eight hours after application, so sleeping in it is sometimes best as you have the optimum time for the tan to develop without looking overly brown.
Gradual tan also contains moisturiser and takes around a week to achieve the desired colour. Like all self tans you need to make sure the lotion is rubbed in thoroughly and evenly to avoid patches and streaks.
Instant tanning gels, lotions and mousses all show the colour of the tan as they go on to the skins so you can see if you make a mistake. These will usually wash-off and mistakes are easy to fix.
How long they last:
- Spray Tan - about a week
- Tanning Lotion - about a week
- Instant Tan - usually wash-off
- Gradual Tan - around a week
- Tanning Mousse - wash off if instand or about a week if developing
