A Just A Little Bit Orange Feature. By Vicki Mayhew. Copyright © 03/15/2003. All Rights Reserved.

The Dark Sunless Tan: Getting It And Keeping It

Recommended Products

Excellent low cost sunless tanning products to try, depending on your skin type:

Type I: Coppertone Oil Free Effortless Color in light/medium.
Type II: Coppertone Oil Free Effortless Color in Medium or Dark
Type III: Banana Boat Deep Dark Sunless Tanning Creme Lotion or Coppertone Oil Free Effortless Color in Dark or Bain De Soleil Streakguarde Foam in Dark
Type IV: Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Foam in Deep or Extra Deep (in the yellow-orange bottle).

Note: Coppertone Oil Free Effortless Color is also labeled Coppertone Oil Free Sunless Tanning Lotion with Vanishing Tint.

Products are available from drugstore.com, TanForLess.com, and ULTA.COM, or your local drugstore.

Exfoliation

Since a dark tan will show fading faster then a light one, most people need to exfoliate regularly to keep a dark tan looking good.

You will need to exfoliate well before you apply your sunless tanning product. In the shower, try baking soda on a washcloth, mixed with a bit of shower gel. It is inexpensive and works well. This can be drying, so if your skin is normally dry, do not use this method frequently (more than once every two weeks or so).

Exfoliating shower gloves are my personal favorite. Exfoliating gloves made of mesh nylon or sisal can be purchased in the bath and body section of department stores and drugstores. You can also purchase a back scrubber if you need help exfoliating your back.

Some people prefer exfoliating scrubs. Freeman Facial Scrub with Raspberry, Almond & Kiwi or Apricot & Wild Cherry are better than average and inexpensive. Be sure to rinse well after use to remove excess granules. Avoid oily scrubs before you apply a sunless tanning product, as the oil can prevent the DHA from absorbing.

Throughout the week, before applying a maintenance coat of a sunless tanning product, exfoliate lightly all over with a washcloth, or with shower gloves. Don't try to remove your tan; this is just a light "buffing" to loosen dead surface skin. If hands, feet, elbows, or knees look bad, exfoliate them more thoroughly.

At the end of the week, when it is time to start over, you'll need to exfoliate thoroughly. Hop in the shower, and lather up with your favorite shower gel cleanser, and exfoliate. Concentrate on hands, feet, knees, and elbows, and any areas where fading looks worse (armpit area, behind knees).

You are NOT trying to remove all of your tan; you are trying to remove surface dead skin, and soften the look of any fading. When you leave the shower, you should still be lightly tanned. This is normal. You may even look a little patchy, but when you reapply your "tan," it will even out.

However, if you have let your tan fade to the point of lizard skin, take a long tub soak for 30 minutes, and exfoliate while still in the bath. This time you really are trying to remove more of the tan, as lizard skin can be hard to disguise with an additional application of sunless tanning product. You may not remove all of your tan, or lizard skin. Don't worry. Some residual "tan" on the skin is normal.

What is lizard skin? A term used to describe the dry, scaly look of a fading sunless tan. Click here for a photo.

After your shower, let skin dry completely. Apply a heavy moisturizer to hands, feet, knees, and elbows (a creamy product such as Creamy Vaseline). Then apply your chosen sunless tanning product.