Best Self Tanner?
 

I'm currently in my dermatology course and after all the skin cancer lectures, I'm done with tanning beds. I look really awful pale though (I have very dark features). So, I'd like to try self tanner. I have no idea what to use though and have no desire to be orange.

Any suggestions? I have no idea where to start!

I use the gradual tanning lotion (I think multiple brands make it now) because I am EXTREMELY fair-skinned. It gives me a subtle glow without going from pasty white---->orange.

I've wanted to try that Jergen's Natural Glow lotion. It doesn't claim to be a self tanner but claims to give the user a "healthy glow," which is what I'm going for, since I'm pale too. Has anyone used it?

^^^^That's it! I couldn't remember the name and I haven't picked up any this season, lol.

Second the Jergen's natural glow!

I have given up on trying to "get color." Startlingly white is a color :) but when I actually need to look decent in a swimsuit, I love the Jergen's.

I've used it! I'm naturally tan but like everyone, pale in the winter. I used the one for medium skin tones and it worked wonderfully. Not a significant difference like a summer of tanning will get you, but more like a day-after the beach kind of tan/glow. I loved it.

I tried the Jergen's Natural Glow a couple of years ago, but I didn't keep it up. For one thing, it smelled a bit odd. Also, I remember scratching my arm at one point and the "tan" basically came off in the spot where I scratched. Perhaps they have changed the formula by now.

Jergens is good, very subtle. As for the smell, every self tanner has that smell :(. However Sevin Nyne, Lindsay Lohan's, claims to have gotten rid of the smell (I have not tried it though, and its pricy)

Bare Escentuals Faux Tan Sunless Tanner:
http://www.bareescentuals.com/Faux-T..._SKINCARE_BODY

This stuff works wonders. Not too orangey. People comment that they think I have natural tan. I apply once a week. Make sure you wash your hands with a salt or sugar scrub when you are done to get it all off.

The Faux Tan Body Moisturizer will give you a hint of color in the winter.
http://www.bareescentuals.com/Faux-T..._SKINCARE_BODY

I've tried the Jergens, but I have sensitive skin and it just doesn't work out (and yeah, it does smell kinda funky). I think people are just going to have to deal with the fact that my "natural glow" is blinding white :o

Try the MaryKay one. In terms of color and how long it takes you to get dark/how many applications (it's a lotion)/how many days used, it's great.

It's a bit greasy on your skin though, so I use it right when I come home and am not planning on going out (so I have time to wash it off before sleep so it doesn't get on my sheets). It's really not possible to turn orange with it at all.

Edit: No streaks ever, definitely moisturizing, inexpensive

I love Nivea Sunkissed. It tans gradually, doesn't streak, doesn't smell and looks really natural. And it's cheap and moisturizes as well.

The sun ...

I am in the "tan, then burn" category - lie out in the sun for a few hours unprotected and I'll tan, any longer and I burn. At the start of summer, I'll use SPF8, and when I've picked up some color, I'll go to SPF15 or SPF30. One of my foundations is SPF8 (I think), so if I choose to wear full makeup, I know the skin on my face is protected. So my self-tanner is the good ol' sunball.

My husband, OTOH, is pasty white, and will burn after 10 minutes in the sun if unprotected. It's a running joke in the family that he is a vampire. He always wears a hat (even in winter), uses SPF50 in the summer, and just lives with the fact that he'll never have a tan. He is blond and hazel-eyed - and quite honestly, he'd look weird with a tan.

Gosh, I tan quite easily. When I used to try to get tan, I'd get pink during the day, and the next day, I'd be golden. Now, I use 50 SPF if I am outside for more than an hour or at the beach, and even with reapplying, I end up with a very slight overall color. (I don't want my skin to pre-age me!). Like I said, it doesn't take much for me to get color, so what I end up with after wearing all that sunscreen is just enough for me.

As for my face, I mix a dime's size amount of Jergen's facial glow with another dime sized amount of my usual daily moisturizer, and it gives my face that extra glow (make sure to work it down your neck, too). If you do it a few days in a row before an event, you don't even have to wear foundation (I hate face makeup in the summer!), even though it says it takes two weeks.

Personally, I like the Jergens natural glow. I use the express one, which after one application gives me noticeable color (but I'm super pale). And honestly, I like the smell, too. I've had a few instances of skin melanomas, so I have to completely cover up, even in the summer. If I don't use any self tanner (which I don't in the winter), I look absolutely glow-in-the-dark pale.

The problem that others have stated about how if you scratch the skin and the color comes off... that happens with any self tanner if you don't exfoliate REALLY WELL before applying. Especially your knees, ankles, and elbows. Because you're not really scratching the color off- you're scratching that outer dry layer of skin that soaked up all the color. Learned that one the hard way.