Makeup Files

For those of us living in the northern hemisphere, we’re right in the middle of winter. You know what that means: pale skin.

Late winter and spring are good times to start self tanning if you’re interested in browner skin. While self tanning is much safer than hitting the tanning booth, there are some drawbacks to this method.

Mainly, sunless tanner can cause streaks if you’re not careful. It can also cause darker patches and orange-tinted skin. Though there are preventative methods to avoid this from happening, there are also techniques to fix a tan that totally went out of whack.

Exfoliation

Noticed some dark spots on your knees or streaks on your hands? Exfoliation can help!

There are typically 3 ways to exfoliate away the messed up parts of your sunless tan:

1. Use a washcloth, loofah or shower pouf to rub away at your skin.
2. Use a exfoliating lotion with little granules that scrub away your skin.
3. Use a combination of both.

Try body scrubs like BODY Sugar Body Scrub by Sephora.

When exfoliating, just make sure that you don’t over do it. If your skin feels raw and painful, you’ve gone too far. Be careful or you could damage your skin permanently.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice has been used as a lightener for ages. Women have put it in their hair at the beach to create lightened streaks. You can also use it on your skin to lighten up a botched sunless tan.

1. Squeeze a lemon into a small cup or pour some previously purchased lemon juice.
2. Dip a cotton square or ball into the juice and soak it up.
3. Rub the lemon-soaked cotton on the offending area.
4. Wash off your skin and moisturize.

This method works best for small tanning mistakes, such as dark spot around your fingers or wrist. If you want to get rid of your entire tan, you’d have to go through a lot of lemons. Use a different method instead.

Tan Removers

Beauty companies have realized how often we mess up our sunless tans. Many companies have come out with tan removers, including ModelCo Tan Remover Exfoliating Scrub and Tanwise Exfoliating Self Tan Remover.

Since these products can be a bit pricey, use them as a last resort. Try cheaper methods like lemon juice or traditional exfoliation first to see if that does the trick.

Wait it Out

Still have some dark spots even after trying everything above? That’s too bad.

But guess what? A self tan will eventually fade. It may take a week or two, but before long, you’re botched tan will go unnoticed. Though it may be embarrassing at the moment, just remember that it will be gone before you know it.

Photo credit: Evil Erin