Jean Godfrey June Has Perfected the Self-Tanning Routine. Let Her Teach You How.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Some peoplehaveto be tan. A girl I went to college with was always limping down the sidewalk in her flip-flops, deeply tanned and inscrutable in white Vuarnets; she suffered from a gruesome-sounding toe fungus, the only cure for which was a drug that required you to stay out of the sun. She refused to take the drug because she had to be tanmorethan she needed not to have toe fungus.
I have to be alittletan. A healthy glow, you know? A tan makes me look better-rested than a thousand peptide-infused eye creams and makes any bathing suit I try on look sexier. I don’t want to be tan badly enough to increase my chances of contracting deadly cancer or to speed-age my skin, so I use — really I am devoted to —self-tanner.
My dysmorphia-or-not was triggered, man-centeringly, by a boyfriend (also college) who casually noted, after we watched a gorgeous, deeply tanned girl named Casey dance naked in an outdoor-amptitheater production ofHair, that I’d be even more attractive if I had a tan. Right or wrong, the die (or, more accurately, the dye) was cast, and forevermore, tan I am.
In my devotion, I have tried them all. Lotions, foams, waters, sprays (hard no on sprays; more on this later), wipes, drops. I have discovered many things, including the fact that no matterwhat type of formulayou like best, the technique remains the same, and it iseverything. It is also significantly easier than self-tanner purveyors and the legion of articles on the subject can make it sound.
My favorite self-tanning products
New! You can now save this product for later.
Always moisturize before tanning. I like this one because it smells minty and applies easily.
New! You can now save this product for later.
My very favorite tanner. It's frothy, light, and wildly superior to any other formula I’ve tried.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Apply tanner with a mitt for a more uniform application. You can use any, but I like this one.
Ignore the “first rule” of self-tanning
My most important advice is ignore the common instruction to exfoliate first: total waste of time. It’s not that I’m against exfoliating, it’s that it does nothing to improve the quality of your self-tan. What you need instead ismoisturizerapplied only to the spots where your skin is thicker: knees, elbows, knuckles, toes, and the like (is the wordknucklesnot one of the least appealing in the English language?). The reason is that thicker, drier skin sucks up more tanner, leaving you with a darker spot. The moisturizer makes the skin less dry, putting it on equal footing with the rest of your skin and making for a seamless, streakless, splotchless tan.
You can use any moisturizer you like; I lovethe Hippie Stick from Jones Roadbecause it smells minty and comes in a push-up stick so your hands don’t get covered in moisturizer. The best thing about the moisturizer trick: If you forget, it’s just as effective to go over the drier areasafteryou tan as before. Either way, the results are the same.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Dry spots moisturized, you’re ready for the tanner
Whichever type of formula you like — I love a mousse, because they blend easier, streak less, dry faster, and even smell less — put it on with a mitt. I love the one from Vita Liberata, but note that the myriad mitts of the tanning world are all quite similar. The foam the mitt is made of makes any formula go on more uniformly, plus the mitt protects your hands; a tanned palm is a decidedly unglamorous look.
New! You can now save this product for later.
My very favorite tanner is a frothy, light-as-air foam fromSaltyface. Founded by a woman from Vancouver (Vancouver is one of those places that even a person who naturally tans in minutes might find themselves in the market for self-tanner), it’s wildly superior to any other formula I’ve ever tried, clean or conventional (it’s clean). I originally tried it because I liked the name, which sounds like a sun-kissed cool girl just emerging from the surf. It is not cheap, but I love it because the color is perfect — a natural, toasty glow, whether you go light-medium or medium-dark. It melts instantly into your skin and blends seamlessly, dries quickly (some tanners that dry quickly give you crazy streaks — the Saltyface does the opposite), it smells like nothing at all (self-tanners can really smell intense), and comes in an incredibly easy-to-use pump.
New! You can now save this product for later.
If you prefer a tinted formula (I do not; I like to self-tan right before bed and tinted formulas more noticeably stain the sheets, but they are helpful both for accuracy and instant gratification), themousse from Vita Liberatain medium is great.
If mousse is really not your thing,the lotion from James Reedgives great, toasty color, has no smells, dries easily, and doesn’t transfer. I apply it with a mitt.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The technique
Once you’ve moisturized, and you’ve got your tanner and your mitt, spritz (or dab, if you like lotion) a little tanner in the middle of the mitt and start smoothing it across your skin, starting at your lower legs. Blend more than you think you need to, and once there’s a little less tanner on the mitt, migrate the blending down to your feet, which are the hardest to get right. A quarter of your body’s bones are in your feet, and most people’s feet have at least some drier, thicker skin: Feet are a minefield. The key, as with every other part of the body, is (1) moisturize the dry spots, and (2) blend more than you think you need to.
Once you’re happy with your feet, go in with a little extra at your lower legs, and then move upward toward your thighs. Blend and blend and blend. And be generous: It’s hard to use too much on your legs. Stop where a bikini would stop, if you like.
Continue upward on your torso, stopping where a bikini would stop, or not. As you tan your chest and arms, make sure to be thorough with your neck as well. Many paler-spectrum people’s faces are darker than their necks, and tanner fixes that problem beautifully. So again, use enough, and blend a lot. Your arms and hands present challenges not unlike your feet; moisturizing first or afterward should do the trick, but save your hands for the very last, when there’s less tanner on the mitt. Use a light touch, try to touch on all the angles, and definitely moisturize your knuckles before or after. Avoid tanning your palms (obviously), but also the inside of your wrists and up under your arms where sun would never normally hit.
Go light on your face
Most people use a face-specific tanner. Saltyface makes an adorable one; for whatever reason, I just use the same foam, on the same mitt. My advice, whether you like a face-specific one or not, is to go superlight on the first attempt. You can always do more tomorrow. I don’t know why overdoing the face is harder to undo than the rest of the body, but it is. Maybe we exfoliate our faces enough that there’s less to work with if you’re trying to scrub off the tan, or maybe it’s just that you can’t scrub your face very hard without damaging your skin. Or some combination. Tanner beware. Also weird: I often find I don’t need to tan my face at all so long as my neck is tanned, a phenomenon I have little explanation for.
Rx for streaks and blotches
There are easy fixes if you’ve overtanned a spot: A wet washcloth goes a long way. If you want to go further, smooth on a little body oil first (I lovePure Calm oil from UMA,which smells of chamomile, geranium, and vetiver, a combination that is infinitely more gorgeous than the sum of its parts), or an alpha-hydroxy-acid-infused something (I think thepeel pads from Goopare the perfect targeted, super-intense tool) before you scrub with the wet washcloth. If a washcloth is way too DIY for you, there is a gorgeously scented and wildly effectivebody-soap-meets-exfoliator from Mutha(get the Detox Greens scent —heaven) that works similarly and decidedly more glamorously. If you’ve undertanned a spot, just go back in with your mitt over exactly the undertanned area.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Is DHA in self-tanner dangerous?
Is self-tanning bad for you? In contrast to actual tanning, in the sun or, more grimly, a tanning bed, no. “Compare actual sun damage from real UVA and UVB to self-tanning?” New York City–based dermatologist and psychiatrist Amy Wechsler blanches visibly at the question. “Self-tanning issomuch safer. You can’t compare the two at all.” The limited evidence that DHA (the active ingredient is self-tanner) can cause glycation and free-radical formation involvestudiesthat tested DHA on skin in much higher concentrations than occur in actual self-tanners. “Most of the concerning data come from cell culture and laboratory models rather than long-term human studies,” says dermatologist Robert Anolik, also based in New York City. “After decades of widespread use, we have not seen convincing evidence that self-tanners increase skin-cancer risk or cause clinically significant long-term skin damage.” In contrast, the evidence on the carcinogenicity of actual UV exposure is overwhelming, as are its decidedly un-cosmetic effects on the quality of your skin.
The only danger Wechsler sees in her practice is that a tan can trick people into thinking they don’t need to wearsunscreen. “It sounds funny, but some people think that a self-tanner gives some protection against a sunburn,” she says. “Obviously, it doesn’t.” A broad-spectrum mineral SPF 30 blocks 97 percent of UV rays (a 50 blocks only one percent more, so I don’t bother, given theextra-nasty chemicalsor extra pastiness needed to achieve the 50); thecreamy, silky SPF 30 from Forahabsolutely rules, and the chic yellow tube is a summery bonus. I’m also fond of thealoe-and-rice-milk-infused SPF 30 from Burt’s Bees.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
An inconvenient truth no one wants to hear
Whether it’s a sunscreen or self-tanner, never use a spray. I realize how tempting it is to ignore this advice, but you breathe in particles of whatever you spray, and particles of self-tanning mists and spray sunscreen alike are terrible inside your lungs, where they easily enter your bloodstream (where they absolutely should not be). If you absolutely must use a self-tan spray, apply it to a mitt just as you would any other formula rather than spraying all over your body — that way, you breathe in less spray. The self-tanning-mist storm that is a salon spray tan, sad to say, I really would not do without a gas mask.
The Strategist beauty editors’ favorite self-tanners
More From The Strategist
- The Back-to-School Hall of Fame
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- Everything You Need to Outfit Your College Dorm
- The Strategist Summer 100
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
