Make sure you have allowed yourself enough time
If you follow these instructions, it will be around two hours before you can put on "street clothes" and go somewhere. Be sure to read these instructions from start to finish before beginning. Note that these instructions are intended for sunless tanning lotions, not sprays or sunless tanners with added color. The best time to apply sunless tanners is a couple of hours before you go to bed. No sunless tanner currently available contains adequate sun screen, so you should use sunless tanners at night and sun screen during the day.
Make sure you have everything you need handy
You will need a place to take a shower or bath, a cotton washcloth to exfoliate your skin, soap, skin lotion, self tanner, facilities to wash your hands frequently, a band or tie to keep hair off of your face, and a fingernail scrub brush. If you are going to apply self tanner to your back, make sure you have a sponge paintbrush (the three inch size is good) with a handle of three inches or more. You may also want a loose outfit, such as a robe, to wear while the self tanner is drying. It's also good to have a watch or clock around.
What are you going to wear?
If you are not applying sunless tanners to your entire body (and you really shouldn't if you are new at this), what you wear will determine your tan lines. Dark-colored, snug-fitting bathing suits are the best choice. But what if you only want to apply the sunless tanner to your face, arms, and legs? Then put on a dark, snug-fitting T-shirt and shorts. Snug is the key word. Whatever you wear should fit tightly enough that you can put the sunless tanner right up to the edge of it without it seeping underneath. Under no circumstances should you wear light to medium-colored fabrics which contain nylon, because sunless tanners will stain them permanently.
Take a shower or bath
Take a shower or bath, using the cotton washcloth to remove dead and dry skin by rubbing your skin gently in a circular motion. Pay particular attention to the lower half of your legs, knees, ankles, tops of feet, and elbows. You may also use a commercial exfoliating lotion if you wish, but I can assure you that they are not as effective. Important: Do not shave your legs if your skin is at all sensitive.
Preparation
After bathing and exfoliating, take some time to allow yourself and the room to dry off. If you are applying the self tanner in the bathroom, you do not want the room to be all steamy. Nor should the room be so warm that you are sweating. Apply ordinary skin lotion to your feet and ankles, knees, elbows, hands, wrists, and any area with fine lines, such as your neck and face. Put on your "tanning" outfit.
Start applying the self tanner
Take a look at the clock and note the time. Start with your legs, doing an entire leg at a time. Start at the edge of the bathing suit or whatever you are wearing and work your way down. Apply the self tanner a little more heavily than you would apply ordinary lotion. Most sunless tanners tell you to rub in well until the product is absorbed. This is a crock. If you do this, you are taking too long and your hands are going to be orange. Instead, apply quickly but thoroughly, spreading in a circular motion to avoid streaking. Don't worry if a little bit of the sunless tanner is visible on your skin. Instead, be careful not to miss any areas.
When you get near your ankles and feet, spread the self tanner from your legs onto your ankles and the tops of your feet. Use as little as possible in this area. Do not apply it directly to your toes, your heels, or the sides of your feet. After doing one leg, check the time. If it has been more than five minutes, wash both of your hands thoroughly using the nail scrub brush. Wash your nails, the palms of your hands, between your fingers, your knuckles, and please don't forget your thumbs. Be sure you scrub the sides of your hands as well. After finishing both legs, repeat the hand scrubbing process. It should take you no more than five minutes to apply self tanner to both of your legs.
Continue applying self tanner
If your hair is wet from your shower, now is a good time to dry it. Unless your hair is extremely short, tie it back with a hair tie or a hair band. Check the clock again. Start applying self tanner along the top edge of whatever it is you are wearing, working your way upwards. Stop at your neck. It is best to apply the self tanner to your entire torso before applying it to your arms. Use the sponge paint brush to apply self tanner to your back. Now check the clock. If it's been five or more minutes, wash your hands again before going on to your arms. When you start to apply it to your arms, wipe a small amount of self tanner onto the backs of your hands. Don't forget under your arms and the sides of your torso. Now check the clock. It is time for you to scrub your hands again. Naturally, you will not splash water around and get it on your arms while doing this, for that will leave spots on your tan.
Finish applying self tanner
Next, your face and neck. Apply sparingly to this area, because this part of your skin takes to self tanners quite well. Apply especially sparingly to your forehead hairline area. If your hair is short, don't forget to apply it behind your ears. As soon as you have finished with your face and neck, scrub your hands again. Now take a look at the clock. You have entered the drying zone.
But first let's think about your knees
Apply some ordinary lotion to the tops of your feet, blending it up onto your ankle. Blend it onto the sides of your feet, and, if you are feeling brave, the tops of your toes. Now apply a small amount of lotion to your knees. It's the area just below the knee which tends to darken too much. Rub it gently with lotion. Do the same thing to your elbows. The area of your elbow you should be concerned with is the part that puckers when your arm is straight. Now rub a large amount of lotion all over your hands, blending it onto your wrists. For the final (!) time, wash the palms of your hands, between your fingers, fingernails, etc., with a soapy nailbrush.
The drying zone
You should not put on street clothes, exercise, clean the house, swim, bathe, or do anything that will make you sweat for one hour. You should avoid contact with everything and everyone for at least fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, you can put on a loose nightgown to wear while you are drying. Ideally, you will wait thirty minutes, but I realize that may not be possible in all circumstances. You should not put on things like tight jeans, belts, shoes, and bras for at least one hour. If you can wander around naked or half-dressed for an hour, well and good. All the self-tanners I have tried have performed best when I have given them plenty of time to dry. The minimal method is to wait thirty minutes, put on a long, loose nightgown, and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, you will have a tan. The other method is to wait thirty minutes, put on a loose nightgown, wait one hour more, then put on regular clothing. Obviously applying self-tanner in the morning before going to work is not something you are going to want to do on a regular basis.
Taking care of your new tan
To take care of your tan, avoid contact with water and anything that will make you sweat for the first three hours. To allow plenty of time for the stuff to work, I recommend waiting eight hours before bathing again. After you bathe again, you can apply more self tanner if you wish. This is the one time a commercial exfoliator comes in handy. Use it when you bathe before applying your second coat. If you don't apply a second coat, apply lotion to your entire body after you bathe.
Maintaining your tan
How often you will a) need to exfoliate and b) need to re-apply self tanner depends on several things. First of all, there is your skin type. Some people flake a lot, some people don't. Which self tanner you use will have an effect. The tanners which are watery in consistency (the gels, mousses, etc.) do not seem to last as long. If you did not exfoliate well, your tan could start flaking off in just 24 hours. Of course, it is really your skin flaking off, taking your tan with it, but that doesn't make you feel better. Generally, you can get by with applying self tanner every three days. If you apply it frequently (every one to two days), be careful to avoid irritating your skin when you exfoliate.This Article Is Courtesy of Sunless.com
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