Those who fake tan regularly, what is your routine?

[Brawoe1]

So I have been using st tropez gradual tan in the dark/medium and thought that was my solution as I don’t want to constantly be fake tanning… but it isn’t that tanned really at all and I didn’t use it last night (have used it every evening from Sunday) so 5 days solid, and today it’s patchy. I look after my skin and I exfoliate and I moisturise every day so I’m gutted the gradual tan isn’t my answer!

so, if you fake tan all through summer, what is your routine? What do you do each day to your skin?? I hate fake tanning, I really do and I don’t think I could get away with just once a week as I do end up patchy. So I’d like to see what pro tanners do to their skin each day to see if I’m missing something…. Plus when you fake tan, do you do whole body…

I use St Tropez tanner. I do it about once a week or a bit more often if I really want it to look fresh for some reason. I shower, shave and exfoliate, then put a bit of normal body lotion on knees, elbows, ankles and toes. I put the tanner on with a mitt and check all round in the mirror that I haven't left any bits out. DH does my back and shoulders. I don't bother doing my tummy as I never show it.

I only ever have my arms from elbows down and legs from knees down on show and used to find tanning all over a massive hassle as it would look great initially, then I’d shave my legs or exfoliate using a body scrub and it would go patchy so all I use now is an instant tan, the St Moritz wash off tan in a tube which is about £4 and bloody brilliant. When I get up I whack it on with a mitt while I’m getting ready which takes 2 minutes , it dries in ten mins and looks great then washes off when I shower at night.

@Hotmess1 do you not find the wash off one though feels kind of tacky during the day? This is a good point though about bits that are on display and that was me this last week, did face, neck, chest and arms…. Today I went to a class and had a vest top on so obviously looked like a liquorice all sort which big white shoulders 😂

@ThisIsNotARealAvo which at tropez do you use?

shaving def ruins the legs… so what do you do if you only have half your body on show but then say, Saturday you get invited to a bbq…. And want to wear shorts/skirt??

My other trouble is my face. Fake tan gives me spots. I have been using the st tropez drops which supposedly has all types of goodness in and it’s good but after 5 days my skin is starting to clog a little….

I've never used a face one. I did used to use the clarins tanning drops which you add to any body lotion and they were very good. For my face I just use bronzer.

If I was going out somewhere I'd do another layer of tan if I had time. Otherwise I'd wear something a bit more covered up I suppose.

Be careful with the instant tan if you get caught in the rain.... a friend of mine put this on before going to a wedding and then was caught in a freak rain shower and it streaked all over her clothes.

I rarely tan now but when I was younger my routine would be to apply the tan two days in a row which helped even out any patchy/streaky bits. This was St Tropez lotion.

I want to know the secret of applying fake tan as it always streaks for me.

What does everyone do re: removing? Do you scrub the whole thing off and start again? Or do you just exfoliate and reapply, even if there is some left on the skin?
I have always scrubbed it off completely before and it's such a ball ache that it puts me off using it now 🙄

Let it fade off itself

A friend who wore it all the time would scrub it off though

@meatballmarinara yes!!!! The other week I used the st tropez in the green, the express one. Left it on for 3 hours, showered and then bed, that was nice and pale and then 2 days later I wanted to top it up so put it straight on with no exfoliating, left for one hour and it was fine, covered up any slight patching but everything I have read says you should take it all off before reapplying but as you say, it’s a ball ache plus no tan ever lasts a week on me like they say, so for me that’s twice a week!

Following for tips. Back when I took more care of myself I used to do Sunday and Thursday night, sleep in it and wash it off in the morning leaving a nice glow, but I’ve treated myself to some gorgeous white bed sheets and don’t want to spoil them!
How do you all time it?

I use Bondi Sands ultra dark weekly and this is what my week looks like. You really do need to remove it all properly or it will be patchy if you apply it on top of old tan.

Thursday - apply fake tan
Every day have a shower and lightly exfoliate with a Korean face towel. This way it never gets patchy.
Wednesday night - soak in an oil/bubble bath and after about 30 minutes scrub the remaining bits off
Thursday - fake tan again

It does mean that from Monday onwards I’m not as tanned as I’d like to be but I’m usually at work so not that bothered. If I was on holiday I would take an instant tan to use in the evenings and if it was 10 days away I’d reapply it while I was there especially if swimming as chlorine makes it horrendous.

@Startuplife what's a Korean face towel and what does it do?

@hobbledyhoy i get them from Amazon here Essentially they’re an exfoliating mitt but really really good.
You can use them just with water but I use them with body wash so I get a light whole body exfoliation every time I shower.

@Startuplife oooh they look good. My skin is quite dry and prone to redness so they look great as less abrasive than some of the exfoliating mitts. Thanks!

If you keep applying gradual daily and don’t remove does that give a good enough result?

@Llamasally I started daily last Sunday through to Thursday evening and by Friday I did have it patchy, it clung to the top parts of my arms and not round the sides… I found it harder to remove than fake tan as well so I don’t think I’m going to use it again. Today I put on st tropez express and washed off for one hour and I’m much more golden than the dark gradual tan. I’m hoping to be able to do this twice a week… I’m thinking Thursdays and Mondays and will scrub the day of applying.

I wear tan all year round. I use the bondi sands lotion as my skin is too dry for mousse. I apply it once a week and leave it on overnight then wash off in the morning. I use dark on my body and medium on my hands and feet so they don’t go orange. Moisturise every day, and every other day I use the dove summer body gradual tan to prolong it.

I bought a tan remover mousse thingy in primark and it’s amazing! Apply it all over and leave it for about 20 minutes and it makes the tan so easy to remove. I then reapply tan the same night as I hate not having any on

For medical reasons, I have UV therapy twice weekly. I am getting a lovely gentle colour.