Unless you’re Karl Lagerfeld who can get away with almost anything, getting an orange-y tan shouldn’t be on your to-do list whenever you find yourself in a tanning salon! Keep in mind that you’re getting a tan, the bronzed god or goddess look that makes your skin look like it’s been kissed by the sun – and in a good way, at that. You don’t want to become the human cousin of an orange or your skin giving Carrot Top’s hair a run for its money.
But orange-y tan happens, and it happens more than you think! Karl Lagerfeld is among the best-known examples but it has also happened to Plain Jane and to Tom, Dick and Harry. Indeed, it’s a risk that everybody who steps into a tanning salon has to take, and it makes a fake tan look even faker than it already is.
Lest you hide in your house for days, perhaps even weeks, on end until your orange-y tan, there are actually several things that you can do to tone it down. You don’t have to avoid spray tans in the future, too – the trick is in choosing a tanning salon with an excellent reputation, such as Palm Beach Tan, so you don’t look like a carrot walking down the road – no Halloween costume needed!
Use Hot Water and Oil
You will usually be instructed by the tanning salon technician not to take hot showers or baths, soak in a Jacuzzi, and apply baby oil, among other post-tanning measures, since these can take off the tanning spray faster. You should follow these instructions to the letter if you want your fake tan to last longer and look more natural.
But if your tan is either too dark or too orange-y for your own taste, you can ask the tanning technician about applying baby oil or coconut oil on your skin, letting it soak for five minutes, and then soaking in a hot bath afterwards.
The goal here is to wash off some but not all of the tanning spray so you end up with a lighter or a less orange-y tan. Both the oil and hot water break down the tanning spray’s ingredients.
After a hot water bath, you should take a shower and lightly rub your skin with a loofah. Just be careful about scrubbing too hard or too long since you can end up with patches and splotches on your otherwise perfect tan. Just scrub lightly and gently for about a couple of minutes and stop when your tan seems to be of the right level.
Use a DIY Solution
Aside from burnt toast or orange-y skin, you may also end up with an uneven tan – even with professional tanning technicians, it can happen – but in most cases, it may be your fault. You may, for example, have sweat too much or touched your skin too soon after the spray tan was applied.
You really shouldn’t exercise, shower and get wet in any other manner so soon after the spray tan application session! You have to wait for an hour or two – the tanning technician will provide the best period – to let the solution develop and stick to your skin well.
The good news: Patchy and splotchy tans can be fixed, too. As with the too dark or too carrot-like tan, exfoliation is usually the best solution.
You may exfoliate your skin using a loofah at least a couple of time while paying more attention to the patchy areas. You can also use a DIY scrub made by mixing lemon juice and sugar – let the mixture sit on your skin, particularly on the patchy spots, for a five minutes and lightly scrub it with loofah. Be sure to focus on the darker areas since these are where the splotches are more noticeable.
But what about drip marks? These usually happen when you get wet from the rain, or sweat from physical activity, or even cry so soon after the spray tan session. You don’t have to look like a Dalmatian with all those spots and drip marks!
The key here is to act as quickly as possible, particularly before the solution has developed. Take a small amount of lotion, rub it lightly around the spots and drip marks, and blend it with the remaining bronzer. You shouldn’t let the spray tan become completely dry with visible drip marks or else you will, indeed, end up looking like a Dalmatian on two legs.
Of course, getting the right tanned tone from your spray tan is also a matter of choosing the right color. You and the tanning technician assigned to your case should thoroughly discuss the best one for your skin type and tone. You don’t want to end up like a carrot or a tomato, much less like burned toast, after getting out of the tanning booth.