Beauty Experts Say You Should Never Self Tan Right After a Shower (2024)

As someone who is so pale that my natural skin tone is borderline translucent, self-tanning is one of my favorite indulgences. Nothing gives me a confidence boost like waking up with the kind of natural glow that suggests I've been outside at least once in my life without any sun damage. But the perfect self-tanner can be elusive. It's a little too easy to end up looking patchy, streaky, or worst — orange.

Once you know how to apply self-tanner, however, the benefits are seemingly endless. It lasts about a week, and "will camouflage imperfections," says Kristyn Pradas, founder of Pradas Glow sunless tanning products and celebrity spray tanner who has bronzed the likes of Ariana Grande and Victoria's Secret Angels. "You can hide your veins, it will camouflage your cellulite, you can contour the body to appear 15 to 20 pounds lighter than you actually are." Plus, it will always be better than sunbathing and subjecting yourself to the sun's harmful rays.

Below, Pradas offers her expert tips for how to achieve the perfect (faux) sun-kissed glow, bolstered by insights from the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab. Keep in mind that self-tanners won't protect against sunburn, so make sure to apply a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher sunscreen every day to shield against sunburn. Wait until your self-tan has fully developed before applying sunscreen (check the bottle for exact timing!), and be sure to reapply sunscreen regularly when outdoors.

1. Choose the right formula.

When picking which self-tan formula is right for you, it comes down to your skin type. According to Pradas, if you have oily skin, you should steer clear of creams oils and opt for a mousse formula. If your skin is more on the dry side, make sure you find a moisturizing self-tanner, as self-tanners can be drying.

As for your face? Make sure the product you're using mentions "face" or "face and body" on the bottle, advises Good Housekeeping Beauty Director April Franzino. These tanners will typically add ingredients that are good for your skin (like the alpha and beta hydroxy acids in the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads) and take out ingredients like fragrances, which may irritate the delicate skin in your face.

2. Exfoliate ahead of time.

You've probably heard that you should exfoliate before you tan, but for a truly seamless glow, Pradas recommends exfoliating every day for at least two to three days before you tan. "This way you really remove all of the dead skin cells that are sitting on top of the skin ready to come off," says Pradas.

"If you just exfoliate once, you’re going to get a bunch of dead skin cells off, but you’re not going to get everything off. When you tan dead skin cells, those dead skin cells are going to eventually shed themselves not at the same time as the other skin cells, and so you could be left looking patchy or spotty." Exfoliating "will help produce a nice, even tan," says GH Beauty Lab chemist Danusia Wnek. The results should last about a week, and exfoliating first and keeping skin moisturized post-tan will help your color last longer.

3. Don't apply right after you shower or moisturize.

You want your skin to be clean when you apply your self-tanner, but you should wait a little bit post-shower to slather on your tanning solution. When you get out of the shower, your skin is more absorptive and "the self-tanner or the bronzer [can] seep into your pores, which can leave you with almost a speckled appearance, it almost looks like blackheads or freckles."

If you're in a hurry to apply, you can run ice cold water over skin for 15 seconds to prevent this kind of seepage, but your skin should be completely dry before applying tanner to prevent uneven application. Additionally, avoid using body moisturizers first, as they could form a barrier on skin that prevents the tanner from developing evenly.

4. Protect hands and feet.

A tell-tale sign of a shoddy self-tan? Orange palms and feet to match. Before you begin tanning, Pradas recommends applying fragrance-free moisturizer to hands and feet only. If you have especially dry skin, you may need to apply more than one layer. Go for a non-oily moisturizer that absorbs quickly. In a pinch, any moisturizer will do — just be sure it's been completely absorbed before you start tanning.

5. Go easy on dry skin.

Be mindful of other notoriously dry areas of the body as you tan. Lightly apply the tanner over drier areas of the skin like knees and elbows, which will absorb the product quicker and produce a darker color in those spots. Rub it in circular motions to prevent streaks, suggests Wnek.

6. Work from the feet up.

You know how when you bend over, your body naturally creases? If that happens while you're tanning, the lines will be visible post-tan. To prevent these creases, it's best to start tanning at the feet and work methodically up the body, ending with your neck and face.

7. Try using tools for a seamless glow.

For the most flawless application, it's best to use a tanning mitt. Not only does a mitt help self-tanner go on easily and streak-free, but since you wear it like a glove, it also protects your fingers from any unwanted stains. Simply pump some of your self-tanner onto the application mitt and use it to smooth onto skin.

Some parts of the body are trickier to tan than others. For small areas like your feet, Pradas recommends using a synthetic makeup brush to blend everything evenly. When you're tanning your face, a mitt will do the trick but you can also consider using a makeup brush, which helps diffuse the tan evenly and ensure a subtle, blended glow. "Make sure that you blend it into the hairline in circular motions," says Pradas.

For the most impossible-to-tan area of your body — your back — "you can take a spatula and you can put the mitt on that," says Pradas. Genius!

8. Wash hands immediately after application.

Nothing is more of a telltale sign of a fake bake than hands that resemble Colby Jack cheese (been there). To be sure your hands don't take on any unwanted splotches, wash them right after your finish tanning, being careful to avoid splashes that may get on the rest of your body. Prevent staining and wait until the product is fully dry before you get dressed to prevent streaks and staining clothes. Use a makeup brush to blend the areas around your hands and wrists so that you don't finish with a stark line.

9. Don't wait to finish mistakes.

Try to catch mishaps early on. If you see a mistake right away, you should try to blend it out with a makeup sponge or brush, or even try blotting it with a paper towel. If you don't see the mistake until after your tan has developed, don't panic! Pradas recommends using an exfoliating wipe, or making a paste with baking soda, water, and fresh lemon juice and applying it to the skin.

If you have a bad mishap, you can use a self-tan remover. Self-tan removers often combine exfoliation to remove the top layer of skin, and hydration, since moisturized skin is less likely to hold onto pigment. These types of products act as quick fixes for mistakes both big and small. On the flip side, to achieve a darker color, apply another layer of the self-tanner. Multiple applications may be needed to get a deeper result, Wnek says.

10. Make it last.

Always read the packaging on your tanning solution to determine how long you should wait before showering. Rinsing off too soon after could rinse streaks of tanner down the drain too. To preserve your self-tan for as long as possible, Pradas recommends taking lukewarm showers. Once you get out of the shower, be sure to pat yourself dry instead of rubbing, since rubbing of any kind can cause skin cells to shed.

If you want to be extra safe, you can try to avoid tight clothing. If you need to wear something tight (like a sports bra, for instance), apply talc-free baby powder onto your skin before you wear it to make sure your tan stays glowing.