Sunless Tanning

I love the look of a sun-kissed tan. Unfortunately I have a few things going against me. For one, I live in a place where it is winter about half the year, and dark for a good portion of that time. I also happen to be a very whitey-white girl, sitting in the top ten percentile for skin cancer risk with my strawberry hair and freckles.

Tanning beds are quite popular here, and the reasoning behind their usage ranges from people wanting a "healthy" tan to "needing to feel the warmth" in the winter months, easing those cabin fever blues many of us suffer from during the darkest part of the year. But all these reasons fall flat when you get a diagnosis of melanoma, and its not something I feel comfortable risking. There really is NO such thing as a healthy tan, no matter how you try to justify it-especially from a tanning bed. So other than a short stint of crazy tanning in my late teens and early 20's (hey it was the '80's! Big hair, bright pink lips and super dark tans!) I stay away from tanning beds and always use sunscreen-minus the 15 minutes a day for vitamin D benefits that is recommended.

I've used a variety of self-tanners over the years, and when salon spray tans started gaining popularity, I jumped on the bandwagon. Salon tans are a great choice if you have an event to attend or are going on vacation and want some color. But at $25-35 a pop on average, its not something I can add to my weekly regime. I started exploring some of the spray tan products that can be purchased from local retailers, and this is the best one I've found:

Banana Boat's Summer Color Self Tanning Mist. I like it because it gives even coverage, isn't too sticky and does not have a weird smell like self-tanners often do. It also works quickly-I usually put it on before I go to bed at night and in the morning, voila! I'm tan! And at around $8 at Target, its a great bargain!

Applying your own spray tan isn't difficult, but does require a little preparation and planning. The most important thing you can do is to exfoliate regularly in the shower. This helps remove dead skin and makes for a smooth palette to apply your tan. iVi Scents has a sugar scrub that looks scrumptious, I haven't been able to try it yet because its been sold out for awhile, but my name is on the waiting list!! Scroll down to see my review of their other products, super yummy smelling, non-toxic and cruelty free!

When applying the spray tan, I usually put a towel down on the bathroom floor to keep any over-spray from getting on stuff. Spraying with a smooth, flowing motion, I cover my whole body. I wait a minute or so, then put some lotion in my hands and go over everywhere, making sure to rub it in evenly. One thing I've found with at-home spray tanning, the bottle will say you don't have to rub it in. But I do anyway because it is really difficult to spray your own body evenly and going over it with lotion helps a lot. I also use the lotion to give a light application to the tops of my feet (you don't want to apply it directly to your feet and hands-the skin there absorbs the color to the point of oompa-loompaness) as well as my face and neck. Wash your hands well after applying! Give it a bit to dry before you get dressed or go to sleep-I've never had a problem with this product staining clothes but I'm sure it will if you try to get dressed while your skin is still wet!

While a spray tan doesn't replace the sun, its a healthier alternative to tanning beds. Real sunlight gives us much-needed vitamin D (tanning beds are purported to do this as well, but there is a lot of conflicting information in that regard and they are still more unsafe than safe overall) and I certainly love to spend time on the beach when I travel. But if you want some color without worrying about cancer, and don't want to spend the $ on a professional spray tan, this is a great alternative!