How I Extend My Spray Tan + My Tip On Making Self Tanner Not Streaky

Sweatshirt | Shorts

I love the look of being tan but I struggle so much with applying self tanners, having them go on without streaking, getting my entire body to look even and maintaining that. I started spray tanning last year after finding this great local spot in my area. The girl that owns it completely understands my needs and the color is always perfect. She knows how to give me just enough color and it’s the perfect shade of bronze without being too orange or fake looking.

I typically go every 2-3 weeks in the summer so I need something in between those last few days before my new appointment to help extend my tan and smooth out any areas that are beginning to fade. I have quite a few self tanning products in my beauty closet but over the years I struggle with so many of them not applying evenly or looking patchy in certain areas. And then I began playing around trying to make something to work for me and have finally found the perfect combination and technique. This isn’t necessarily ground breaking information but I don’t know why I never tried this before so I thought I would share what I have been doing!

After trying quite a few self tanners, I’ve determined that the St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse is the best for me and leaves me with the best color and least amount of streaking. The color is perfect for my pale skin and looks incredibly natural. However, even though the formula was great, I was still struggling with my application and a streak or patch of skin that I didn’t blend well enough would pop up and ruin the whole look. One evening I was trying to remedy a bad self tan job I had done and grabbed one of my unscented body lotions to help (this is the brand I currently use, but any would work). I rubbed it in and it looked much more smooth! Not perfect, but much better. So the next time I decided to try and mix equal parts self tanner with my unscented body lotion to see how it would look and it was PERFECTION!

The color went on a bit less intense which I was fine with but I had more control, no streaking and my skin stopped looking so dried out! (self tanners and spray tanning can really dry my skin out) So from them on I have adopted this new method of mixing my self tanner with my favorite unscented body lotion to help extend between spray tan appointments, touch up any areas that may look patchy and moisturize any areas while still adding some color. The key to this trick is using an unscented body lotion or cream because often fragrance or scent will break down the tanning product.

For application, I like the St. Tropez mitts the best and usually put one small dollop of body lotion on the mitt and pump the self tanning mousse on top and mix with a q-tip. This will definitely sheer out the formula and not make it as intense but for me it is worth it since my tan looks more even and natural. This trick has absolutely saved me and I feel like I can manage my self tanning so much better now! I’ve been doing it for almost 2 months now and knew I had to share it on the blog once I knew it worked consistently. If you love to self tan, but still always struggle with application try this technique to help!