OT/ Self Tanners?

cab54

Cathlete
Has anyone ever tried Fake Bake? This one is supposed to be the 'self tanner to the stars.' Yikes. Madonna, JLo, and Britney can HAVE it.

I tried the mousse, and first of all, it came out of the container dark greyish-green! I thought "OK, it will change on my skin.' Nope. Stayed greyish green and looked HORRIBLE. I waited. I figure, it will chemically react with my skin and turn it a nice tan shade. I got as far as my arms and torso, and couldn't stand the color anymore, which wasn't changing after 10 minutes.

So, I jumped back in the shower and used a scrubby to get it off. Back to my favorite--Lancome mousse that makes me a nice medium tan with a lustrous look.

Anyone have experince like this with this product? Did I do something wrong? I read the directions carefully. Also, it didn't want to spread around quickly and smoothly. Stayed and dried in all kinds of gloppy places, no matter how quickly I spread it. :(
 
Self Tanners are not that healthy - no matter what they claim.

I lather on some 30/45 or above sunscreen and go out into the sun which is a lot healthier than staying completely out of it. I have currently a coppertone tan while using 45 SPF sunscreen. I feel great going out in the sun and not being afraid. I don't lay out and tan, I go swimming, hike or do whatever.

The sun is good for the body/health - she even kills certain cancers (do a websearch). A lot of health problems seem to be arising from being afraid of the sun IMHO.
 
Why would Jennifer Lopez need a self-tanner? (As a person of Cuban/Spanish descent, with olive skin, I can't imagine.) Just wondering.
 
:7 LOL, mogambo, I wouldn't think so, but she was one of the people mentioned in their online advertising. Nor should madonna, with her Italian heritage, you'd think. They should be able to tan just fine in the sun. Maybe this was to look tan like''NOW---for a movie roll or aomething?

I however, am light light light Irish/German/scandinavian---the Cherokee back in my bloodline (great grandma was full cherokee) did not come out in my coloring at all. :(

I just couldn't beleive the God-awful color this turned me. No human is this color ---maybe some reptiles. It is grey-green!

And I agree that there are healthful benefits to being in the sun a certain amt of time every day. I think it is good for your Psyche too. I get some sun all the time, with a backyard pool--even just taking care of it! But, I tend to burn even through 30 or 45 SPF, and have to be careful. I AM building up (slowly) a base tan under this fake tan. I just am so pale all my veins show and always like to 'enhance' the tan I'm getting. I love the outdoors though, and fresh air. Hubby would stay cooped up in the dark with the a/c full blast all summer if he could. Yuck. It makes him crabby, but you can't convince him. ;-)
 
I haven't tried it. This summer, I've used Bain de Soleil and L'Oreal's Sublime.

Have you tried asking about Fake Bake on the Sunless.com forum?
 
>:7 LOL, mogambo, I wouldn't think so, but she was one of
>the people mentioned in their online advertising. Nor should
>madonna, with her Italian heritage, you'd think. They should
>be able to tan just fine in the sun. Maybe this was to look
>tan like''NOW---for a movie roll or aomething?
>
Many people don't tan because it is the biggest contributor to non-age-related wrinkling.

A healthy 10-15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure is all you need per day. And while the sun used to be healthier, the thinner ozone layer has definitely made exposure more of a risk.
 
>
>I tried the mousse, and first of all, it came out of the
>container dark greyish-green! I thought "OK, it will change
>on my skin.' Nope. Stayed greyish green and looked
>HORRIBLE. I waited.

Maybe it was old? I once opened a bottle of self-tanner that I'd had around for a while (and I'd used it before, and it came out white!) and it was dark green. The chemicals must change over time.
 
Who says self tanners are unhealthy? I would like to knowe this too. I have never heard this. Messy? Yes. Unhealthy? I don't know about that.
 
I have been using TanTowels from HSN. The color is very good for my day-glo white skin. (I'm a red-head);) No streaking, and very little uneven-ness in the color at difficult spots like ankles. The tanner is on a baby wipe type of thing that comes in individual foil packs.
 
I have been using St.Tropez Self Bronzing Mousse and I say, go back and give your self tanner another chance! I say this because I bought this mousse and when I applied it I was horrified that it was blue. It made me look like a smurf! And it wasnt easy to spread evenly. I let it dry and left it on all night and took a shower the next morning. BEAUTIFUL! It had miraclulously (sp?) turned my skin the most awesome shade of brown, not at all orangey, and looked like I just got back from Aruba! I got many compliments. I applied it again and found that at 2 applications I got the shade I was after.
What I learned: the blue/grey/green color that some of the newer self tanners have is for a reason: this tinting allows for a nice brown color without orange undertones. Of course, looking like a smurf, you can't go outside for at least 3-4 hours while you wait for it take effect and you can then shower it off, but its worth it! These tanners weren't meant to be worn in public. The tint is really mainly there to show you where you've applied it. I also learned: mousse tanners are better than lotions because they streak less. Yes, they look a little streaky when applying it, but you just make sure to really rub it in and you wont have a problem. Why use a mousse? It doesn't stick to hair! Lotions do stick to hair and if you accidentally get it on your hairline it looks gross. Mousse tanners are specifically recommended for men b/c of their body hair. SO, I will be using my blue smurfy sticky mousse for ever more! LOL!
 
I have been using self tanners for years and I know from experience there are some to stay away from, and some that are great. I use them for two reasons 1) tanning beds are very risky and 2) nothing beats getting a tan overnight (especially for someone as pale as me). I currenly use the Jet Tan airbrushing system, you can purchase it on HSN if anyone is interested. It's wonderful, the results are so natural and even.

I think the most important thing is practice applying them evenly, and use a good product. I also like Au Courant self tanners, the Mystic Tan, and Coppertone Endless Summer is good if you can stand the strong smell.

Good luck, I recommend you try again with a better product. :)
 
Another "Tan Towel" fan here. Also another red-head! I love the Tan Towels. Easy to use, not messy, no orange color. No spraying. It goes on evenly and looks natural. :)
 
I am the one who says that self tanners are unhealthy - simply because of all those artifical ingredients. If you have a bottle of self tanner, go down the list of ingredients and do a websearch for each one of them and then decide if that stuff would be so good to be put onto the "larges organ" of your body.

I did it once a few years back and never used this stuff again, but then regular lotions, especially the one with hair growing inhibitors are not healthy in my book either.

Take my statement with a salt of grain - I don't even use a microwave;-) .
 
hands, ankles and wrists (oh, my!)

Another self-tanner question here:
I've gotten pretty good at using self tanner (I've recently used Loreal, and it gives my good color), but I still have problems. I've figured out that on wrists, I need to use some lotion ahead of time to keep the area from becoming too dark vs. the rest of my arm/hand, and I avoid knuckles, because they also get dark. I have a difficult time with fingers, though. How do you get the stuff between the knuckles without getting it on the knuckles?

And I haven't figured out the ankle/foot problem either. My ankles get darker than the surrounding skin, but if I avoid them, my ankle/foot it too pale.

Everywhere else looks pretty good!


Any suggestions?
 
RE: hands, ankles and wrists (oh, my!)

Kathryn - what I do for my feet is apply the lotion to my legs and rub, rub, rub, then just before it's all rubbed in I move down to the foot area--there's hardly any cream left on my hands at that point.

To the TanTowel crowd: I've been wondering if people were liking this product. Thanks for posting. I have very dark hair but have extremely white skin for someone who is supposed to have olive skin. Is there a smell?

I've also wondered about that jet spray stuff. Does it get all over everything else or is the spray kind of directed to one area?
 
RE: hands, ankles and wrists (oh, my!)

Thank goodness I have olive skin. Lawdy, lawdy. I have to avoid adding a single unit of extra color to my skin from the sun, or all I hear from the Southerners here is "Where are you from?", and it ain't real friendly.

I say I'm from Nebraska. It's a lie, but then they stop asking. I mean, nobody every leaves Nebraska do they? }(
 
RE: hands, ankles and wrists (oh, my!)

Kathryn,

RE: the ankle area. Exfoliate with a good salt scrub (like Philsophy - I use Gingerbread Man cuz it smells so darn good!) As a rule, the self tanners always apply better to well exfoliated skin. You will tan darker on areas of your skin that are dry. For my elbows and ankle areas, I apply a VERY light treatment of moisturizer before using the Tan Towel. It seems to do the trick. I make the palms of my hands have a good moisturizer on them too.

RE: Tan Towel odor. Not much really. No more so than any other self tanner. You also tan quicker than lotions...within 2-3 hours of application I start turning color :)

The Jet Spray tanner HSN has been selling looks like it will create a mess. Not sure how you're supposed to avoid ruining your walls or shower stall when you use it. I guess you have to do it outside?
 
RE: hands, ankles and wrists (oh, my!)

Hi all,
About the Jet Tan machine, I find it hardly has any overspray. I stand on a large towel when I spray. Many people stand in their shower and then just wipe it down when they are done. As long as you direct the airbrush gun toward your body, it shouldn't create a mess. I love it, it is the only way I can get perfect hands and feet when using a self tanner.
 

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