Fake Bake: Self Tanner Routine!
Who doesn’t want a good looking tan all year long?! Living in Washington I RARELY get to see any sunshine! We get about 2-3 months of it if we’re lucky and most of the the other time it’s raining or cloudy! Obviously I wish I lived in a place where there was sunshine ALL the time but for now I have to settle for fake tanning to get my body looking bronze.
There’s something about bronzed skin that completes a look and makes you feel put together. Not to mention I feel like my body looks way better with a tan! I have tried tanning beds and spray tans and have found that the tanning beds are HORRIBLE for my skin and the spray tans don’t always turn out the best! I also don’t like paying for a tanning membership every month when I may not get much use out of it. SOOO that leads me to my fake bake routine!
I was super nervous to try out self tanner at first because I didn’t know what was going to happen after a few hours! I could either look beautifully bronzed and sun kissed or I could look like an oompa loompa…. and surprisingly it turned out good! I still needed to practice a bit around the areas that are hard to blend but it didn’t turn out horrible!
Anyways, enough rambling… here are the products I use and the steps I follow to get a bronze glow all year long
My Routine:
Step 1: Exfoliate & Moisturize
I cannot stress this step enough! It’s so important to have a perfectly clean base before applying the self tanner. I have tried to apply the tanner without exfoliating before and it turned out so blotchy and was not flattering at all! Take the time to use a Loofa or an exfoliating mitt (I will link one from amazon here for you to try out). Once you’re out of the shower and done exfoliating, I suggest using a really good body moisturizer to get your skin prepped and so any dry patches affect the way the tan goes on (my all-time favorite moisturizer can be found here).
Step 2: Apply the Tanning Mousse using the Applicator Mitt
Next I take my tanning mitt (linked above) and I do two pumps of Tanning Mousse at a time (linked above as well!). I typically start at my calves and then do my thighs using about two pumps per calf and two per thigh. With whatever is left on the mitt, I rub my ankles, feet, and knees. These parts of the body are super hard to blend and by using whatever is left on the mitt, it makes the areas look much more natural and not blotchy. I do this all over my body ensuring that I’m also careful around my wrists, elbows, and hands. I bring the tanning mouse all the way up my neck but I don’t self tan my face with it. Once I feel like I’ve gotten my whole body and it’s streak free, I move on to the next step!
Step 3: Apply lotion to the areas that are hard to blend
In order to make everything look seamless, apply lotion to the hard to blend parts of the body! I do this to my feet, ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and hands. It ensures everything went on smoothly!
Step 4: Apply Face Tanning Drops
In order to give my face a bit of a tan, I apply the Gradual Tan Drops (linked above)! I add three or four drops to my moisturizer and apply all over my face bringing it down my neck. This allows my face to get gradual tan and doesn’t cause any breakouts to my skin!
Step 5: Rinse
The last step in my routine is to rinse off the tanner. I usually leave the tanner on overnight and rinse it off in the morning. If I am rinsing it off the same day, I usually let it sit on my skin for 6-8 hours before rinsing! I typically don’t use any soap and do not scrub my body because I don’t want it to rub off and look uneven. When getting out of the shower, I pat myself dry to ensure the tan stays on and doesn’t come off on the towel.
So that’s it! That’s my self tanning routine and it’s honestly so easy! It takes me 10-15 minutes and I usually self tan once a week. If any parts of my body turn out blotchy, I will exfoliate them! Let me know if you have any self tanner hacks that I should try!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO Lauren
