Funky Female's top tips for applying fake tanNo more streaks!

Fed up of your self tanning lotion always looking streaky? Check our top tips of how to get best fake tan this summer

How to apply fake tan?

With the British summer never being much to shout about and our holiday tans fading fast, applying fake tan is a great way to keep a sexy glow throughout the summer – but it’s hot always easy is it? Funky Female have put together some top fake tan tips on how to ensure you can great a great looking tan, how you can keep it and how you can remove fake tan when it all goes a bit wrong!

What to buy?

Before you even think making a start you need to consider the best fake tan for you and your skin tone. If you have fair skin, you should ensure that you don’t apply a dark fake tan as you might just turn out looking like you have been tango’d (or orange, for those younger readers). If you are worried about what shade of self tan to use, it might be worth thinking about adding some moisturiser to dilute the colour or just using to one of the many tinted moisturisers now available.

Before you start...

Before you start applying fake tan, you need to ensure you prep your skin properly.

Remove unwanted hair

Make sure you remove any unwanted hair before you start, as self tan lotion can dye hair, therefore, making it look darker in appearance. If you wax, it is a good idea to do this the day before you apply fake tan to ensure the skin has time to calm down.

Exfoliate

Make sure you also exfoliate the skin before applying any fake tan as this ensures any dead skin is removed. As fake tan only colours the outer layer of your skin, if any skin peels off, the tan will go with it, leaving an un-even finish. We’d recommend exfoliating with a good body scrub and loofah.

Moisturising

This is a really important step if you suffer from dry skin, as the self tan lotion will soak up more of the fake tan liquid if the skin is dry, resulting in darker patches. We’d recommend thoroughly moisturising the day before you plan to apply your fake tan and look to apply some additional moisturiser to known dry areas such as knees, ankles and elbows just before your first application.

Applying Fake Tan

Now you are finally ready to start applying fake tan – check out our top fake tan tips below:

Make sure you skin is clean and dry before your start the application.

We recommend you start at the bottom of your body and work your way up – but leave your knees, ankles, elbows and finally hands until last as these areas need less of the liquid to change colour.

You can use flat hands or a tanning mitt to help with the application of self tan lotion – which ever you feel more comfortable with.  If you do use your hands, a top tip is to apply Vaseline to your cuticles and nails before your start applying fake tan to help avoid them from staining. 

Apply a little liquid to your hands or mitt and then use a sweeping and circular motion to rub in the fake tan into the desired area. This will help avoid streaking. Start with one leg, then the other before working your way up.

Make sure you use less liquid on the ankles, knees and elbows to avoid darker patches – if you do end up with streaks or dark patches, make sure you read our ‘how to remove fake tan’ article.

You should then finally, apply fake tan to your hands. A top tip here is just to add a little self tan lotion on the back of one hand and then rub the backs together – this will help to stop them from going orange.

Let it dry!

Once you have applied fake tan, you need to let it dry for at least 10 minutes before even thinking about putting on any clothes – even then you might want to consider putting on lose clothes so it doesn’t rub or stain your clothes either.

Don’t forget to factor in drying time, especially if you are applying fake tan for a special occasion!

You should also avoid exercise or strenuous activity for a couple of hours after applying self tan lotion as sweating can cause streaking (nice!).

You should now have a lovely fake tan ready to show off – don’t forget to keep your skin moisturised to ensure you keep that colour looking good.

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