Self-Tanners Are Actually Great Now
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I loveself-tanner— as long as I don’t have to apply it myself. Typically, if I’m sporting a faux glow, it was done by a pro wielding an airbrush gun. It’s not that I’m against at-home formulas. I’m just comically bad at applying them. I always miss a spot, fail to blend properly, or get dressed too soon. Plus, I have very fair skin that doesn’t tan naturally, so many formulas look fake on me. I’m still scarred from sixth grade when I used Bain de Soleil on my pale legs and turned a streaky shade of orange.
Thankfully,at-home formulashave come a long way. “Right now, self-tanners include more skin-care-forward ingredients in thinner, easier-to-apply formulas, and the shades are more natural looking, not unnaturally dark or orange,” says Erika Vasco, celebrity spray-tanner and founder of the Tan Edit.
I asked Vasco to break down the latest innovations making at-home self-tanners more foolproof — and then I put them to the test myself.
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Tanning waters create a foolproof facial glow
We’ve been seeingtanning watersfor a couple of years now, but they still feel like magic to me. They look completely clear but contain dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a plant-based ingredient that reacts with the skin’s outer layer to create a tan. I have tried quite a few and can vouch that they make facial tanning almost foolproof. You mist them onto your face and décolleté, and within hours, they develop into asubtle glowthat’s surprisingly even and never streaky or spotty.
The “magic,” Vasco says, is that tanning waters contain a much lower percentage of DHA than traditional self-tanners. “Most self-tanners contain 10 to 20 percent DHA; tanning waters have 4 to 8 percent,” she says. That lighter concentration makes mistakes far less noticeable. These products also don’t include bronzers, which Vasco says can interfere with development, and many include skin-care ingredients likehyaluronic acid,vitamin C, and botanicals.
My tan:I triedthe Tan Edit’s Water Veil. It smells incredible, thanks to aloe and cucumber; contains hydratingglycerin; and doesn’t have that telltale self-tanner smell. I sprayed it on before bed and woke up with a subtle, even glow. Since the formula isgradual, you can build the color over time without fear of overdoing it.
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Body milks spread well on skin
“These formulas are much easier to spread, which means you’ll apply them more evenly and use less product,” says Vasco. Body milks typically contain 6 to 12 percent DHA, putting them somewhere between tanning waters and traditional mousses. That lower DHA concentration matters. Vasco says formulas that are too strong can pull orange, especially on fair skin.
My tan:Vasco recommended theCyklar Self-Tanning Milky Essence. The silky fluid has a faint yellow tint but nobronzers. Before applying it to my legs, I exfoliated and shaved, then rubbed it in likeregular lotion.It’s fragrance-free, though I still noticed a slight self-tanner scent as it developed. About 12 hours later, I had a believable light bronze that didn’t skew orange. I did notice a couple faint streaks because I got dressed too soon, but because the formula is lighter, the mistakes weren’t glaringly obvious.
“You have to wait until it feels completely dry,” Vasco says. “If after two to five minutes, it still feels wet, you used too much product at one time.” Her advice: Work in thin layers instead of applying a lot at once.
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With express formulas, tans develop extremely quickly
There are plenty of products marketed as “express” self-tanners, but the category can be a little misleading. Some formulas allow you to rinse off quickly, but the actual tan still takes six to 24 hours to fully develop. For example, thoughLoving Tan’s 10 Min Express Self-Tanning Smoothing Body Maskcan be rinsed off after ten minutes, the color develops later. Vasco says the fastest true express formula she’s seen is theSt. Tropez Express Mousse, which develops in about three hours (and will continue to deepen). You can also customize the depth of color: Rinse after one hour for a light glow, two for medium, and three for the darkest result.
My tan:I like a tinted mousseapplied with a mitt. I find it’s easiest to see and spread without streaks. I applied this all over my legs and let it dry. After ten minutes or so, it was dry, but my skin felt a bit tacky the entire time. I put onloose-fitting pants. I showered at the one-hour mark. I could see the color after rinsing, but the tan continued to deepen over the next few hours. It was a light tan in a believable tone. No streaks at all. The express-tan feature is nice, but I’ll use this again just because of how evenly the color developed.
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Self-tanners with added undertone tints help you get the most believable tan
DHA, the ingredient that actually tans the skin, is clear. The undertones in self-tanners come from added bronzers and tints, which brands use to influence how the tan looks as it develops. “Professionals add bronzers with different undertones to the spray-tan formula depending on your skin tone,” says Vasco. Those who are Hispanic, Latino, or Black often look best with violet undertones to avoid a yellow cast, while fair skin tends to benefit from blue-, green-, or olive-based formulas that help offset redness. The goal is a believable brown glow instead of a tan that looks orange, yellow, or muddy.
Vasco says most at-home self-tanners are green-based because it works well across many skin tones, but now brands likeBondi Sands,Tan-Luxe, andSt. Tropezoffer formulas with different undertones so consumers can better customize their glow.
My tan:I went with theBondi Sands Technocolor Sapphire for Cool Tones. It’s also a mousse that you can rinse off after an hour. It contains low-level DHA and blue undertones so the tan isn’t too dark or orange on light skin. After one hour, the color was very subtle but didn’t get much darker throughout the day. The hint of color was a nice golden shade, not at all orange. I’d use it again, but next time, I’d leave it on for three hours for more of a tan.
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