Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Tutorial: How I Apply Self Tanner

I think I've mentioned in another post that I am not a self tanning expert but I have been doing it a couple of years. This is my bold description of how I go about it. The product I'm using now isn't very long lasting so I have to apply every 2-3 days to get to my normal spring/summer color. The whole process takes about 15 minutes and my current tanner dries completely in about 2-3 minutes (however I still get some staining in my clothes so be careful!) 1. While in the shower I use a sugar scrub to exfoliate the dry parts of my body (elbows, knees, feet, and also my thighs which can look patchy without proper exfoliation). I also go ahead and shave my legs. *Its important to mention that using a salt scrub is not recommended because the salt causes your skin to lose moisture. 2. I dry completely after my shower and lotion my face, elbows, knees, feet, and ankles. 3. My current tanner is a whipped foam so I shake the bottle and place half a pump on my fingers and rub it in circular motions on my face and neck. Make sure you "push" the color into your hairline and smooth out the color around the jawline, orbital bone, and mouth - otherwise you'll end up with a ring of color that's darker than the rest of the face. Wash your hands thoroughly and use a scrub if you need to so you can get the rest of the product off before it stains. 4. For the rest of my body I use Salon Care Professional Vinyl Gloves from Sally Beauty Supply (I paid $4.99 on sale for a box of 100). I start at my lower legs and work my way up rubbing in one pump at a time - remember to shake the bottle every couple of pumps or you'll get more air than color. For the product I use 1 pump will normally do my entire calf, 1 pump does the thigh, 1 pump does my lower stomach, sides and around my lower back, 1 pump does my chest, shoulders, and the backs of my shoulders, 1/2 pump per arm, and I use 1/2 pump for my upper middle back. For that upper middle back area I do kind of a "reach around" or I ask for help, luckily I've never used a product that looked terribly splotchy when I use this method. 5. Let the product dry for at least 3-4 minutes before applying clothes. I try to do this before bed so I'm only staining my night clothes and so far the color washes out. 6. To maintain my color in between applications I use a terry cloth in the shower instead of a loofa and lotion 1-2x a day.

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