If you’ve just recently used a self-tanner or received a spray tan, you may be a little worried about rain affecting your color.
Can you get a spray tan when it’s raining? As long as you are prepared with an umbrella to protect yourself from the rain, then you should be fine. If a few raindrops land on your new spray tan, then you can use a dry towel to buff out the areas that look splotchy.
So in this brief article, you will learn how rain can affect your tan, when you should actually be worried, and steps you can take to protect your tan.
Can Rain Ruin A Fake Tan?
In short, probably not, but it depends on how recently you tanned, and what kind of product you used.
So first, let’s just briefly talk about how self-tanning and spray tanning products work to produce a tan.
Nearly all self-tanning products, as well as spray tanners, contain a safe chemical called dihydroxyacetone, or DHA. DHA is actually a type of sugar, that can be produced synthetically, or derived naturally from things like sugar beets or sugar cane.
When DHA comes in contact with the amino acids inside the dead skin cells on your body, it has a chemical reaction that forms a pigment called melanoidin.
This pigment is what darkens the skin and appears like a natural tan. Although it looks like a tan from the sun, it doesn’t last as long since the pigment is on the outside of your skin, and not deep inside.
The chemical reaction process takes 4-8 hours to fully develop, which is why many people apply it before going to bed and take a shower in the morning.
If you rub at your skin too hard or take a shower before this process has had a chance to take place, you’ll likely end up with a blotchy or streaky-looking self-tan as it won’t have had a chance to form correctly and evenly.
Once the tan has set in, and you’ve taken a shower and applied some moisturizer (super important to not let your skin dry out) your tan is fairly secure. It will slowly fade and lose color over the next 3-7 days and you’ll want to reapply, but it won’t easily come off from rubbing or getting wet.
So once this is the case, you really don’t need to worry about rain ruining your sunless or spray tan. If you were to go out in the rain shortly after applying self-tan, then you likely will have some blotches or streaks, so you’ll want to avoid this.
Why Does It Look Like Rain Ruined My Spray Tan?
I’ve had a few people message me mentioning that they went out in the rain shortly after a spray tan, and it appeared that the rain was instantly affecting their tan. First of all, your tan is probably fine, so don’t stress about that.
What is actually happening probably, is that the guide color that is in most spray tans (which is essentially like makeup) is washing off unevenly as the rain is hitting it, making it look like your tan is getting messed up.
However, I can almost guarantee you that if you go home and shower, your skin color will probably even out and you’ll likely notice that your tan is just fine.
Many self-tans that you get online also have guide color (I don’t personally prefer these) which can help people that are new to the craft apply their tan more evenly because you can actually see where it is going on your skin, and assure that it is being applied evenly.
How Can I Protect My Fake Tan From Rain?
So these tips apply a little bit differently for a spray tan, vs. self-tan that you apply at home, but they are all applicable.
1. Take an Umbrella
If it’s raining outside, and you’re on your way to get a spray tan, make sure you bring an umbrella. Protecting your skin from the harshness of rain splattering against it immediately after a tan can actually be really important. So just take the umbrella inside, and use it to get you safely back to your vehicle.
This is also helpful if you used a self-tan express, or some other sunless tanning product meant to give you a faster tan for an event like a wedding or party. Your tan will be a bit more delicate so you’ll want to protect your skin as long as you can.
2. Use a Poncho
I know, this sounds pretty silly, but these actually work really great for protecting your tan. They are loose so they won’t cause any issues rubbing your tan weirdly. They are also completely waterproof, so they’ll protect you from the rain.
3. Moisturize
This is a super important step for anyone using self-tanning products, as dry skin flakes much faster. However, this also will protect your tan from the rain.
As rain falls and picks up speed, it can actually do a bit of damage to your tan by removing skin cells in small areas faster. If your skin is well moisturized, it will do a far better job shedding off this rain than if it was dry, so be sure to stay moisturized.
4. Use A Quality Self-Tanner
I won’t go too in depth on this, as I already have a ton of list posts and articles about quality self-tanning products. I personally really love this one you can get on Amazon, but there are tons of great products on the market. Just be sure to get one with good reviews and a good track record. A quality self-tanning product will be easier to apply and will last much better than a cheap product.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is, if you’ve given your fake tan a chance to really set up fully, you don’t much need to worry about the rain. However, if it’s pouring outside and you’ve just recently had a spray tan or applied sunless tanner, take a few of the steps above to make sure you protect your beautiful new color.
I hope you found this article helpful, if you did, consider sharing it!
