How To: Fix Your Fake Tan Fails

Even the most skilled tanners have the occasional tanning disaster so we’ve put together some handy tips to help you correct them.

“Help! I have orange palms!”

The Cause: Applying false tan without using a glove or a mitt or repeatedly touching skin during development time. If the developing tan comes into contact with your palms, it will transfer and therefore the tan will develop on your hands.

The Fix: Unfortunately, tan is notoriously difficult to remove from the palms, however our top tip is to apply any oil based product to the hands, allow to soak in and then use a grainy exfoliant and hot water to lift away the tan.

My legs have gone scaly like snakeskin”

The Cause: Over-applying tan. The skin only absorbs one layer of tan, so it won’t make any difference to the end result how thickly you apply it. By applying the tan heavily, you will use more product than you need to and the end result will be a scaly finish, where the layers of tan have tried to develop over each other. A nice thin, evenly applied layer will provide a much better outcome.

The Fix: The best way to tone down your scaly skin is to take a nice relaxing bath using an exfoliant to remove the excess tan. If you’re left with a slightly uneven tan, apply a layer of Gradual Glowing Self Tan to provide an all over glow.

“My tan has gone patchy” “Help, my tan is streaky!”

The Cause: Patches and streaks can occur for a number of reasons, such as missing areas when self-tanning, coming into contact with liquids during the development period and using body products before or shortly after applying the tan. Try to apply your tan in a really well lit room and if possible use a full length mirror and if you struggle to reach your back, try turning your mitt over so that you can use the back of your hand to apply to your back. Once you’ve applied your tan avoid using moisturisers, perfumes and deodorants as they can all react with tanning solution causing the tan not to develop

The Fix: Patches and streaks are simple to correct, as you just need to even yourself back out! Use either Gradual Glowing Self Tan or Dark Glowing Self Tan to ‘fill-in’ the lighter patches and allow to develop as usual.  

“I’ve fake tanned and my face has gone too dark!”

The Cause: Using too much tan, or too dark a shade for your skin tone. For best results, moisturise your face before applying to stop tan grabbing onto dry skin and looking ‘overdone’

The Fix: If you go a bit over the top don’t panic… a good oil based face mask will draw away the majority of the tan from the face to lighten up the colour. Alternatively, a good foundation will tone down your colour until the tan has faded away a bit.

If you need help with your fake tan fails, contact us on Facebook or Twitter for a speedy response!  

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