Getting that Winter Glow

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My summer sun has officially faded away so its time to bring out the sunless tanner. In my youth, I frequented the tanning bedding and tried to stay looking like I had just came back from the islands all year around (I’ll be paying for all the sun damage one day). Now, I have embraced my fairer complexion, but I still like to have a little extra color to avoid looking ghostly. If I have a special event I will have a professional spray tan, but, on the regular, I like to use a tanning oil that mixes with my normal lotion. These are my two favs: Isle of Paradise and Tan Luxe. I feel like both give great results. I feel like I get a little more color with Tan Luxe after the first application, but is a good bit more expensive so I usually go with Isle of Paradise unless Tan Luxe is on super sale. The benefit does not make up for the price difference in my opinion.

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I have tried many different brands and I prefer the tanning oils for several reasons:

  1. It has a more gradual result so you can build up your tan up over several days of application, which gives me more control of how tan I want to be.

  2. It goes on less streaky because you mix it with the moisturizer you are already comfortable using and its easy to correct mistakes.

  3. Its super easy and fast to apply. With other products it takes much longer to make sure every area is even and dried before getting dressed and moving on with my day. The tanning oil takes less than 5 minutes to apply and dries quickly like normal moisturizer.

  4. It smells and feels WAY WAY better than other sticky and super potent lotions and foams. I cannot stand that icky feeling that most sunless tanners come with.

Ok, now moving on to actually applying the tanner. I don’t always get a flawless result, but I have found a few tricks to make applying a little easier and successful.

  1. Shower/Shave/ Exfoliate. First, you have to prep your skin for the best results. Shaving and using a good exfoliant gets rid of dry skin and helps get your skin get ready to soak up the tanner better. Also, it is really important to wash off all deodorant, perfumes and lotions that might be left on your skin. Lately I have been loving the Raw Sugar brand from Target for my body scrub, body wash, and lotion.

  2. Oil up your dry areas. I use Palmer's Skin Therapy Oil My knees, elbows and ankles are always trouble spots for sunless tanner. They are usually a little more dry so the tanning oil seems to stick and gather making my skin look a little dirty in some areas. Putting a body oil (or lotion) on before the tanner on these few spots helps make the application in those areas smoother.

  3. Work in sections. I mix one pump of Raw Sugar lotion with one full dropper of tanning oil for each leg, do the same for my torso and then split that last mixture between both arms and shoulders. This helps make sure that my whole body is even.

  4. Wash your hands… like really really good. This is always the place wear I mess up. Make sure to wash your wrists, hands (in between fingers) and nails really well with soap after your finished.

I usually try to apply it 2-3 times per week to keep a consistent glow.

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