Get a Fake Tan Before the Wedding Day with Sunless Tanning Products

Feb 2, 2010
April Bowles

Many brides want to avoid looking pale and pasty in their wedding photos. A bride wants to be glowing and beautiful on her big day; however, many don’t want to increase their risk for skin cancer by going to tanning beds or getting direct sunlight. If used the right way, sunless tanning products or a professional fake tan can make a woman look bronzed and sun-kissed.

Experiment with Fake Tanning Products Well Before the Wedding Day

Brides should not wait until the week before their wedding to decide they want to try sunless tanning products. It could result in disaster. Instead, a bride should pick a tanner at least one month before her big day and possibly further away if she wants to try more than one.

The first test any woman should do when trying sunless tanning lotions or sprays is to try it on the back of her hand first. Make sure there isn’t any allergic reaction and see how dark the area gets. The bride should then decide if she wants to continue with that tanning product. If so, try a full-body test at least one month before the wedding. This way it can fade if it looks unnatural or streaks. If the bride likes the tan, she should repeat the process 24 to 48 hours before her wedding.

How to Apply Sunless Self Tanner

There are four basic steps to applying self-tanning products. The first step a bride should take is to exfoliate her skin using a grainy scrub. There are tons of exfoliating products available to fit any budget. While exfoliating, make sure to pay special attention to rough areas such as one’s feet, knees, and elbows. The second step is to apply non-greasy lotion to the rough areas, because they tend to soak up more of the tanning product and become darker. The lotion will help to prevent this from happening. Let the lotion dry for 15 minutes before moving on to step three which entails applying the tanner.

Brides should read and follow the instructions of the specific self tanner that they are using. With lotions, it’s normal to start at one’s ankles and apply the lotion using circular motions. Don’t apply lotion to the rough areas such as the elbows, knees, and feet until last. Women should use much less lotion on these areas. The fourth step is to wash one’s hands immediately or they’ll become extremely dark. Brides should make sure to scrub their fingernails while washing their hands. Don’t get dressed until the product completely dries or it can rub off onto clothing.

If a bride wants a darker tan, she should wait to reapply the tanner for at least one day. Women should give the tanning lotion time to develop. Some take hours before they fully develop.

Get a Professional Sunless Tan

There are salons that will apply sunless tanning lotions for customers. The process is similar to above. The person would exfoliate the customer and then apply the sunless tanning product. There are two main benefits of getting this done professionally. Brides can relax while someone massages the product over their bodies and the product will be evenly distributed over their bodies. It can be hard to reach one’s own back to apply the product. However, this option is usually expensive. Most salons start pricing this treatment at well over 100 dollars.

Another option for a professional fake tan is getting a spray tan. Many tanning booths spray the product evenly over the woman’s body and then have drying jets to help dry the skin. This is less expensive. Some of these beauty treatments start around 25 dollars. If brides want to make a spray tan last longer, they should apply a gradual tinted lotion each day after the spray tan. It’s recommended that a bride experiment with these two professional options before the big day to make sure she likes the results before she’s committed to it.

A bride who wants a faux tan for her wedding should experiment with sunless tanning products well before her wedding and consider professional sunless tanning options.