Sunless Tanning, The Shameless Truth:
The definitive guide to faking it.

It has been given nasty names and sneered at. One often hears tales of orange, zebra striped catastrophes and stained palms that have scarred people’s reputations and brought down entire civilisations! When faced with such damning evidence and social rejection, how is it that the sunless tanning market has grown by $25 million every year for the past decade in the United States? As an outed self tanning fiend I will provide you with the real story.

 DHA:

DHA, Dihydroxyacetone is a sugar, the active ingredient in all sunless tanners.
It was discovered in the 1920s while several scientists were working with photographic emulsions for X-rays.
DHA works by reacting with the amino acids present in the outer layers of dead skin, the epidermis, to produce a tanned ( or hideous orange ) effect.
Therefore, do not fear the fake tan, it only works on dead cells, you will not die or turn into a lizard-orangutan-frog monster, however a few people may be allergic to DHA, if you do have a reaction to a sunless tanner it is more likely that another one of the ingredients caused it, for instance Alpha or Beta Hydroxy Acids ( AHAs & BHAs) or alcohol.
In which case you should discard the offending substance and keep the bottle to research which naughty little ingredient caused your reaction ( or get a refund & write down the list of ingredients ).

Yes, what you read in those trashy, useless beauty magazines is true.
Sunless Tanners have come a long way since the chunky, orange packaging and results from the 80s, Blah Blah Blah.
Let’s get to the facts--à
Everybody’s skin reacts differently.
Some perfumes smell like a fermenting cat on some people’s skin while on others the same fragrance may smell like a bale of hay.
This goes for DHA as well.
Some people turn a beautiful golden brown while another person using the same ST will become a sickly jaundiced yellow or a festive orange.
This is where skin types come into the equation.

According to how your skin reacts to the sun, you will fit into one of 7 or 8 skin type groups.

The Method:
A streak free, believable fake tan is possible.
The secret to banishing streaks and blotches is to exfoliate.
Since sunless tanners react with dead skin cells, the best result is obtained from an even coverage of dead skin all over your body.
I always use a soft, cotton washcloth in the shower.
I rub in circular, gentle motions, concentrating on the thick skinned areas that absorb ST like the elbows, wrists, ankles, feet and knees.
When you’ve finished with that, dry off well and put a light layer of moisturiser on your elbows, hands, wrists, knees and feet.
Let that soak in for about ten minutes and then you’re ready to apply your ST.

I always recommend starting with the face and working your way down.
Apply in circular motions using a little more ST than you would with a normal lotion.
If this is your first time, stay away from sprays, they are evil unless you have the blending talents of a make up artist.
Spread a thin line of ST from the shoulder down to the wrist and blend in circles, don’t avoid the elbow, the lotion you put on earlier will keep the effect lighter than the surrounding area.
When doing your hands it’s easier to but a dot of ST on the back of one hand and rub the backs of your hands together.
For your back, get someone you trust to rub your ST onto the places you can’t reach ( some people swear by cling film for this job, I just think that no one loves them ).
Remember to wash your hands at least every five minutes with soap and water, be careful not to splash your “tan” though, you’ll get little white dots.
Once you’ve applied everywhere you want to take a slightly damp cotton ball and wipe your thick skinned areas as mentioned before, don’t forget your knuckles and a tiny dab on the wrist bone will do.
Within eight hours you should have a nice fake tan.
To maintain your tan moisturise every day and a normal ST will wear off within 4 or 5 days, you can reapply every three days as long as you exfoliate your old tan.

If you don’t like the idea of sunless tanning why not try a bronzer?
They are based on cosmetic dyes, come in powders, gels and lotions and wash off, you can even mix them with your own lotion to lighten the effect.
I use: Rimmel Sunshimmer in Matte Medium , Estee Lauder Bronzing Mousse, Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder and Boots 17 Bronzing Pearls .

Often, finding the right ST is a matter of trial and error.
In general if you are a beginner or have fair skin you should avoid Dark formulations, and stick to the Lights and Mediums, mousses will work best for you as they are so damned easy to use.

Here are some of my favourite Self Tanners:

La Roche Posay Autohelios: Fabulous! Very easy to apply and lasts forever, nice medium brown colour. About £8.00

Guerlain Terracotta ST No.2:
So nice and brown but so expensive.
Lasted me about two weeks, of course that’s with full body application
Eeek!
About £17.00

Boots No.7 Self Tanning Mousse: Very easy to apply, it’s a mousse after all.
No scent.
The color is light to medium, don’t go overboard though, layering doesn’t work too well with this one, it goes orange on me.
About £9.00

No-Ad ST Lotion: Smells coconutty lovely and produces a fab medium brown!
My little baby!
Perfect for layering.
About £10.00 for 500 ml !!

Clinique ST Lotion Dark: Not for the timid! Keep away from thick skinned areas.
Very Dark, little to no scent, can easily lead to sunless tan build up.
About £14.00

Au Courant Lotion/Spray/Mousse/Face Gel: As seen on Baywatch and every other show featuring perma-tanned individuals, a staple of Hollywood, but they won’t admit it.
Possibly the ultimate group of STs, as of yet not latched onto by Fashion Editors, they are too ignorant to do any research.
Available online at http://www.aucourant.com

RoC Sante Soleil:
Nice light smell, light brown colour, easy to apply and blend, doesn’t last terribly long though.
Get La Roche Posay if you can.
About £9.00

The Body Shop Fake It!
Not as good colour as the old watermelon ST but smells a hell of a lot better.
If you’re in The Body Shop, grab it before any horrid woman tries to.
About £14.00

Yves Rocher Monoi de Tahiti Express Bronze ST
Smells so delicious, I just might eat it.
The colour is very light but can be layered over several days to achieve a medium brown tan.
This product is tinted and applies as shiny and pink-brown.
About £6.00 but can be found on sale quite often!

Here are some of my most hated STs:

St. Tropez: Lauded by most Mag-heads as the best ST on the planet.
It’s more like an average colour with a messy and smelly application.
Very thick, like chocolate pudding.
Available in a lot of salons.
Not worth the price which is usually around £20.00

Lancome Flash bronzer Spray:
Loaded with alcohol and smells sickeningly flowery.
Why? Oh God, why?
As a matter of fact I hate the whole Flash bronzer Line, too expensive and ineffective.
A huge conglomeration of sadists if you ask me.


Nivea Lotion and Spray:
Wretch!
The smell is awful, the colour is horrendous and it nearly led to the demise of a dear friend.
Not even worth considering

Piz Buin ST Lotion:
Smells like highly perfumed soap and no matter what, always turned orange.
Their ads with the man in the white speedos were so misleading.

Bronz’Express:
Eww, these have got to be the most disgusting STs on the planet.
Stinky, loaded with alcohol and I have never been turned such an intense orange by any other product, even with a light handed application using a sponge.


Big Important Note:

Always play it safe in the sun.
Wear a broad spectrum sunblock of an SPF 15 or higher every day to protect your skin from premature aging and UV induced skin cancer.
Stay away from sunbeds.
Eat your vegetables.

Article by Dominick - 2001
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