The Tan Commandments: How To Achieve The Perfect Tan

When it comes to achieving a natural-looking glow, we’ve got you covered! Follow these simple (yet effective) Tan Commandments for fuss-free, beautifully bronzed summer skin...

Prep work

Prep for streak-free perfection by doing everything else first – always paint your nails prior to applying your tan. For best results when tanning – if leg grooming is your thing – try to shave 24 hours before application, as shaving opens pores and can cause the colour to deposit unevenly.

Scrub up 

Exfoliation is key – the best way to achieve a full, even application is to exfoliate 24 hours before you plan to apply your self tan, to ensure your skin’s completely rinsed and ready.

Use our Exfoliating Mitt or our Body Smooth Refreshing Polish to get rid of those pesky dead skin cells and leave your skin feeling like a silky smooth blank canvas, eagerly awaiting its impending golden shimmer! 

Put down the moisturiser 

Moisturising immediately before applying your tan creates a barrier between your skin and the active plant allo-melanin found in our tanning range. This means that your self-tan won’t penetrate the upper layers of the epidermis and your colour won’t develop as effectively.

Luckily, all products in our tanning range are super nourishing and moisturising, so you can keep your skin hydrated and happy while you tan!

A must-have mitt

Don’t skip the mitt! Instead of applying the tanning product directly to your skin, dispense some product onto our Tanning Mitt before clenching your fist to spread it out. Next, apply to your skin directly from the mitt – this will ensure a more even application. 

Bottoms up!

Work the tan into your skin from your feet upwards, to avoid applying the product unevenly on other areas. 

Face time 

You wouldn't typically use your body lotion on your face, and the same applies when you tan. That's why we've created Sun Drops Gradual Tanning Facial Serum – simply blend a few drops with your daily facial moisturiser to achieve a natural sun-kissed glow. 

Beware of dry patches

 Elbows, knees, hands and feet are all prone to picking up additional product. After applying tan in these areas, gently wipe them with a damp cloth to smooth the product out.

If your skin’s particularly dry in these areas, you can also moisturise them, to ensure you get a nice, even application. By simply popping a small dab of our Body Love Firming Buttercream onto these areas, you’ll not only smooth your skin and help your tan blend more evenly, but the barrier created by the moisturiser will prevent any undesirably intense colour – dry patches are the one exception to the ‘no moisturising’ rule! 

Wash your hands 

The hands can be real tell-tale signs of tanning mishaps! So, once you’ve finished applying your tan, make sure you carefully wash your hands. This will prevent the product settling on your palms, knuckles and between your fingers. 

To achieve an even colour after you’ve thoroughly washed and dried yours hands, work the excess product from your arms down onto your hands and blend.

From the top, tanning drops 

After four days, or as your tan begins to slowly fade, it’s recommended that you exfoliate to help your colour fade evenly, ready for a new application. This is especially important if you have drier skin. After 24 hours you can apply more product to build your tan and get that sun-kissed glow on the go once more.

Your time to tan 

• Tan around your schedule – if there’s a special occasion coming up in your diary, Sun Drench Overnight Tanning Mousse will work best to deliver a sun-kissed glow while you sleep.
• If you’re dressing for a week of warm weather, our Summer Skin Gradual Tanning Lotion will build a natural looking, gradual tan.
• Caught off-guard by an unseasonably sunny day? Reach for our Instant Glow Perfecting Leg Serum to immediately bronze skin. 
• Already tanned but just want to give your skin an extra boost? Our Summer Goddess Shimmering Body Oil adorns the skin with a radiant, sun-kissed lustre. 

Now that you’ve got your tanning know-how down, there’s nothing standing in the way of you achieving your most radiant sun-free tan yet! Total tanning confidence is on the horizon – even if the sun stays behind the clouds.