How To Top Up Your Self Tan To Keep A Sunny Glow All Year Round

Gorgeous tanned woman

Yes, we've all been there, when we've had a self tan professionally applied, or we've carefully applied one at home (read here on how to apply a gorgeous streak free tan) and then a few days later it starts to get patchy. Dryer areas of skin tend to remain darker, whilst on other areas the tanning product will wear away more quickly giving a patchy look. Generally, the only answer to this is to soak in a bubble bath, and then exfoliate and moisturise all over to remove any remaining tanning product. Unfortunately, you are again at square one, more than likely looking lily white. So, is it possible to keep a year round glow topped up week by week without build up of too much colour? The answer is - yes it is, if you can keep to a few "golden" rules such as ...

  • Many articles will tell you not to exfoliate once a fake tan is applied, however, we recommend using a body polisher or gentle body scrub when showering as this keeps dead skin cells at bay. Using these products may exfoliate away any dead skin cells with your self tan along with them, but it will stop the build up of dry skin in areas such as the base of the neck, the inside of elbows, knees and under the arms. Dry skin in these areas will collect more and more colour from tanning products and will end up giving you a patchy and almost "grubby" appearance.
  • If you want to build into your daily routine an application of tanning product after your daily shower, or last thing at night, look for a good quality body moisturiser which incorporates a tanning product, such as St Tropez Everyday Body Lotion or Johnson's Holiday Skin. These types of products will not irritate your skin and will keep your skin glowing without too much build up.
  • If you are using a full-on tanning product limit the re-applications to every 3 to 5 days, but on the days between applications carry on using your body polisher, but follow this up with a normal, good quality moisuriser to keep your skin's surface in tip-top condition.