My Self-Tanning Routine

If you haven’t noticed by now…I’m super into self-tanning! I like to dedicate one day a week (or at least a portion of that day) to myself for all things self-care, including tanning. For all my girls who also self-tan, you know it goes a little something like this: shower, shave, exfoliate, tan. Today I’m breaking down exactly what I do to get my natural bronze every week, including what I use to exfoliate and my go-to tanning products and brands.

TAN PREP

The key to a good tan is all about how you prep! Before you apply your self-tan you need to shower, shave, and exfoliate. Basically, these prep steps just make sure your skin is free from stubble and dead/dry skin cells for the tan to do its thing properly. I try to prep for my tan the night before if I’m tanning in the morning or the morning of if I’m tanning later that day.

I don’t know if you girls have tried Athena Club razors but they are to die for and conveniently show up on your doorstep. I’m obsessed! Plus, they stick right to your shower wall, which I love for keeping my shower looking clean and uncluttered! After you shave, it’s time to exfoliate! I exfoliate in the shower with this for my face. Dr. Lancer is my ride-or-die face exfoliator and I’ve been using it for years! It doesn’t leave behind any oily residue like some other exfoliators do…oil-based products are best to avoid in general before/after tanning as they’ll mess up your tan. For the body I love to use Aesop Body Scrub…it’s gentle but effective, and smells incredible!

TANNING THE FACE

For my face, I mix these tan drops into my nightly moisturizer 3-4 times a week before bed. I love tan drops for the face because they’re super customizable, you can control the number of drops you apply depending on how much color you’re looking for. They give you the best natural tan and glow, perfect for those no-makeup makeup days.

TANNING THE BODY

My go-to self-tanner for my body is Loving Tan because I love that it’s express! I hate going to sleep with tanner on, and this give me the best natural brown, toasty color in 2-3 hours max! For a natural tan and to prolong my deep tan, I love the Lux Unfiltered Gradual Self-Tanning Cream. I honestly don’t go on vacation without it!

P.S. I only tan my body once a week but I will use the Lux Unfiltered whenever I’m feeling like my tan needs a little help.The reason I tan my face 3-4 nights weekly is because I wash my face twice a day (morning and night) and use rich skincare products which as a result tend to breakdown my face tan quicker than the body. So I find that mixing my tan drops into my nightly moisturizer 3-4 times a week keeps my face even with my body.

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