Despite being as pale as Casper the Ghost for 75% of the year, being tan in the summer makes me feel like a brand new bitch. Not only does being tan make you look so much more snatched, but who honestly doesn’t want to have glowy, bronzed skin. While you could just go sit outside in the sun to eventually achieve the perfect color (aka put yourself at risk to all of the damages of sun exposure), why not speed up the process and get a little help from some self-tanner. Even though it can seem daunting to do it yourself, I’m here to tell you my tips, tricks, & products to get it perfect and natural every time. It’s also wayyyyy cheaper than getting regular spray tans and can look just as good.

Step 1: Exfoliate

Exfoliating is seriously a major step when it comes to self tanning because it is essential to get rid of all of that dead skin that may not come off easily from just washing regularly, especially on your legs and arms. I used to barely exfoliate my body before, but ever since I started self-tanning, it has become a part of my everyday shower routine because it makes my skin 100000 times softer!

Lalicious Sugar Scrubs are by far my favorite body scrubs to use because they are made with natural ingredients and are gentle on the skin, while still exfoliating really well. My go-to scents from this brand are definitely Sugar Kiss, Coconut, and Birthday Cake. This scrub also is good because it keeps your skin really moisturized and smooth.

Step 2: Shaving

Similar to why you need to exfoliate, shaving is a must because you need your skin as smooth as possible when putting on the self-tanner. If you don’t shave well before putting it on, you can risk getting weird streaky marks that will completely make the tan look unnatural.

Lol this is the most blurry pic ever, but I always use the Gillette Venus Comfort Glide Razors. The soap on them smells so good and it actually makes it way smoother when shaving. Im sure there’s plenty other good razors, but this is what I’ve been using for years.

This shaving cream is literally so inexpensive, but it actually works so well and smells amazing.

This shaving cream is originally a men’s brand, but they have a women’s line with this scent and it smells like heaven. They don’t always have it at the Target I go to, but if you see it, I highly recommend getting it. They sell it on Amazon too!

Step 3: Wash Your Body

Super self-explanatory.

This body wash is honestly on the pricier side, but it literally smells luxurious as fuck.

Step 4: Moisturize

Once you get out of the shower and dry off, make sure to moisturize your entire body to make sure that the fake tan can be smoothly applied. Especially on drier areas like your elbows and knees, use extra moisturizer on those areas.

This hands down one of my favorite lotions. Just get it.

I talked about Lalicious earlier, but their Velour Body Melts are everything. If you’re someone who gets really dry skin, I would def recommend this product.

Step 5: Apply The Self-Tan

To apply the self tan to your body, make sure you use only a couple pumps of tanner at a time on your tanning mit and rub it in using circular motions. Start from your feet and legs and eventually work your way up your body. A dead give away for a bad fake tan is a person’s feet and hands, so make sure you’re extra detailed in those areas and get in between your toes and fingers. As long as you are applying in circular motions, as I said earlier, and it doesn’t look streaky as you are rubbing it in, the finished product will look natural. Also, if you are not super flexible, you may need a person to help you rub it in on your back since it can sometimes be hard to reach.

I love the St. Tropez Self Tan Express because you only need to leave it on for 1-3 hours before having to wash it off, where as a lot of other brands can take up to 8 hours. This tan also has more of an olive undertone, which helps to avoid that ugly orange appearance. Also I usually don’t use this to tan my face, but I’d prob recommend tanning face drops. Sivan Ayla’s brand, Lux Unfiltered, has good reviews for theirs!

Self-explantory, but a tanning-mitt is what you use to run the tan on your body.

Step 6: Leave the Tan On For the Desired Number of Hours

Depending on how bronzed you want to look will determine how long you leave it on for. While you wait, I suggest sitting on laying down on a towel you don’t care about to avoid getting self-tanner on your furniture or blankets. Also, when you’re waiting for it to set either relax with nothing on or wear clothes that are really baggy so it won’t accidentally smudged the tan.

Also don’t leave it on too long or you’ll look like that crazy mom who was addicted to tanning.

Step 7: Wash It Off

After waiting a couple hours, wash off the tan in the shower. You may see a little difference, but it will take several hours until it fully develops into your desired color.

Step 8: You’re Officially a Tanned Goddess

Now that it is probably the next day, you should be looking the perfect golden shade! You’re welcome.

In order to maintain this gorgeous new color, make sure to keep your skin moisturized and don’t exfoliate your skin too much for the next couple of days or it could take off the tan.

The Easiest & Best Self-Tan Routine