Before you even think about browsing the shelves for some fake tan, you really need to address yourself to getting your skin in tip top condition. This is the only way to minimise the risk of a fake tan disaster, which is the last thing anyone wants!  Our skin takes a real bashing over winter, and not just the bits that are exposed, in fact the skin on our faces and hands is likely to be in much better condition than the skin on the rest of our bodies, purely because they are the bits that are exposed, and that we are most conscious of keeping moisturised over the cold winter months.

There are two elements to preparing your skin for fake tan that are the most important, and they are exfoliating and moisturising. Over the winter months, dead skin cells tend to build up and can leave dry, even scaly feeling skin patches almost anywhere. By exfoliating regularly, you can gently remove this build up, and allow your skin to breathe and renew properly. However, when you are exfoliating regularly, you also need to moisturise, as it can strip some of the skins natural oils, and you will find yourself going round in circles, exfoliating dry skin off only to find more. Areas such as knees, ankles and elbows need particular attention, they tend to be the driest areas as the skin is under more strain, so gets drier quicker. Exfoliate from head to toe at least once a week, and moisturise every single day. If you can moisturise your knees, ankles and elbows twice a day then do!

It takes around 4 weeks for your skin to totally renew itself, so you will need to keep this regime up for at least that amount of time to get optimum results. If you can prepare your skin for four weeks prior to applying fake tan, you are highly unlikely to get patches of strong colour due to dry skin areas. You are also much more likely to get an even colour all over, and you will also find the fake tan goes on much easier and soaks in evenly, rather that in patches. Using rich moisturising creams before you go to bed, on key areas such as elbows, ankles and knees means you can really slather the cream on without worrying about it ruining your clothes, and you will wake up feeling silky soft in the morning. Getting fake tan right is all about patience and preparation, there are some great products on the market, but they can only work at their best if they are presented with skin that is in tip top condition. Regular application of a good skin care cream can really make the difference between and OK fake tan and a great fake tan

As winter draws nearer, and our summer holidays are starting to fade in our memories, finding a skin care cream that can give our skin a little bit of a glow becomes a priority for many of us. There is nothing worse than looking back over your holiday pictures to see yourself tanned and smiling, only to realise that your tan has faded to nothing, and your skin is starting to look a bit dull and lack lustre. This is where self tanning moisturisers step in to save the day, they have been around for a couple of years now, stepping in to rescue those of us who have either fallen foul of a shocking fake tan, or who have seen enough shocking fake tans to not even want to think about giving it a go. Self tanning moisturiser claim to allow you to build up a lovely golden glow, with no risk of streaks, patches or strange orange hues gracing you with their presence.

There are many different gradual tan moisturisers on the market now, with more appearing as their popularity increased, so the question now is which one is the best. Let’s take a look at some of the main players in the self tan moisturiser market to see how they perform.

Garnier Summer Body

This comes in two different shades, one for pale to medium skin and one for medium to dark skin so you can decide on your tan level. It smells quite sweet, and may even get a bit sickly if you are not one for sweet smells, but this does fade so it’s of no great concern. It’s a lovely moisturiser and goes on very easily, although you can’t really see where you have applied it as it is white, and absorbs very quickly. Garnier summer body has a nice consistency, which makes it very easy to apply and within about 5 minutes it feels like it has soaked in and there is no sticky “fake tan” feeling. It does give a good, even colour, with no hint of orange, and doesn’t really need to be used every day as the colour builds quickly and easily – you could probably get away with using it 2 or 3 times a week and maintain a lovely tanned glow.

Dove Summer Glow

This also has two different shades, fair to medium and medium to dark. It smells OK, although does have a little hint of fake tan smell about it, but nothing to overpowering. It goes on very easily, but again it is difficult to see where you have applied it as it is a pinky/white cream that disappears on application. The drying time seems to be a bit of an issue with this one, and it says on the bottle not to get dressed until the moisturiser has soaked in, which it never quite seems to do. There is a definite feeling of stickiness left over, and this doesn’t really go until you have showered. The colour is nice, but if you don’t apply enough then you are in danger of getting streaks, and of course you won’t know this until the next day. Still a good product, but needs to be treated with similar caution as full on fake tan – exfoliate and moisturise before applying, paying particular attention to dry areas such as knees and elbow to make sure they don’t go orange.

Johnsons Holiday Skin

This also comes in two shades, fair to medium and normal to darker. With the distinct smell of fake tan it can be a little overpowering, but if you use it at night then only you will be able to smell it! This goes on very nicely, although as with all these products it is a white cream so you cna’t really see where you have applied it. The moisturising aspect of Johnsons Holiday Skin is great, it leaves your skin feeling wonderuflly soft and silky. The colour however isn’t so hot. Unfortunately it seems to rub off on clothes and towels etc. after application, so not something to put on first thing in the morning if you are intending to wear light clothes. It is also a bit on the sticky side, although this does wear off after a couple of hours. It does give a lovely golden tan, but seems to go a bit streaky/patchy if you use it for a few days in a row, and starts to build up a bit of an orange hue. Definitely one to use two or three times a week, before going to bed so you can restrict the dodgy smell and colour transference to your bed.

Out of these three it seems to be Garnier Summer Body that delivers the best results, with minimal smell, stickiness and risk of streaks and for a reasonable price too – all of these self tan moisturisers retail at around £4, although you will find many shops have great offers on them from time to time, so if you have found one you really like then snapping up a couple of bottles while it is on offer is a good idea. If you are looking for a nice glow throughout the winter, and don’t want to subject your skin to sunbeds or risk a full fake tan, than you could do far worse than investing in a good bottle of skin care cream that lets you build up a tan as you moisturise.

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