Undoubtedly, the most difficult areas to get right with spray tanning are the hands and feet. Fingers and toes and dry skin get in the way of a flawless, natural-looking tan, so some extra care needs to be taken when spray tanning these areas.
How exactly do you spray tan hands and feet to get an even look? With some care and patience, you will be able to master hand and feet spray tanning, and you will be able to show off your glowing skin in no time!
Tanning Your Hands And Feet
Between the right preparation and application, tanning your hands and feet is not that difficult, no matter how many mistakes you have made in the past. Follow the below to get natural-looking, patch-free hands, and feet.
Preparation
Preparation, preparation, preparation. There is not enough emphasis put on how important preparation is to well-tanned hands and feet.
24 hours before your tan, you should exfoliate your whole body. When doing this, concentrate on the drier areas such as your ankles, heels and other areas of your feet with a build-up of dead skin cells. Removing these dead skin cells will help the spray tan set more evenly on the skin, free from patches and streaks.
If you have an old spray tan on your hands and feet, you should try to exfoliate this away, but if this does not work, you will need to use a tan removing product to make sure your skin is free from any tanning products. Any residue tan left over will only cause your new tan to have darker patches.
Once you have exfoliated your skin, you should moisturize using a fragrance-free lotion. Be sure to massage it well into your hands, between your fingers, and on your feet, focussing on your ankles and heels – the drier areas.
Tanning
You should always leave your hands and feet till last. You should wear a tanning mitt during the spray tan application if you are going to be rubbing the product in, to avoid your hands turning a funny orange color.
Using a tanning mitt with the leftover product, sweep your hand from the top of your wrist to over your hands, up to your fingers towards your nails. Press the mitt softly over the knuckles and fingers to cover any spots that might have been missed out.
Point your toes down and sweep the mitt over the toes and the foot, pressing down to ensure all spots are covered. If this does not apply the tan evenly, you can massage the product with the tanning mitt, but do not add in any new product as this will create a darker tan on your feet compared to the rest of your body.
After Tanning
The process does not stop once the tan has set in. In order to keep your hands and feet, as well as the rest of your body, looking gorgeously glowing and with an even tan, you should moisturize daily.
Focus once again on the drier areas on your feet, and your wrists, to ensure that these areas are kept hydrated and do not dry out or crack up. Moisturized skin holds a tan much better than dry skin and will allow the tan to fade more evenly over time as well.
Tips For Other Difficult Areas
The hands and feet aren’t the only difficult areas to spray tan on your body – there is your face, your neck, ears, back, elbows, armpits, and knees. Here are some quick tips on how to master those areas with spray tan:
Face – You need to get your face tanned, without it looking too fluorescent and obvious. The best option is to choose a gradual tanning product, which allows you to control the shade on your skin. Apply a bit of moisturizer to your hairline and apply the self-tanner in small, circular motions.
You might want to use a makeup sponge or brush to contour the self-tanner into the different areas of your face for a more even blend. Do this daily until you have built up a tan that looks natural, while still suiting the rest of your skin.
Ears – You should not forget to tan your ears! Place a small amount of self-tanner onto the back of your hand, and use a cotton swab to gently dab the self-tanner onto your ears, blending it into all of the small crevices.
Neck – You will need to blend the self-tanner on your neck to make it look as natural as possible. Blend the self-tanner up your neck and stop at your jawline. This will give a natural contour to your jawline, which structures your face so beautifully, while still appearing really natural.
Back – If you do not have an extra set of hands at home to help you with tanning your back, which is by far the easiest option, you can look at using a tanning stick. A DIY option includes placing a tanning mitt on a body brush and using this to gently and evenly blend in the self-tanning lotion to your back while using a second mirror to guide you along the way.
Armpits – Shave your armpits 24 hours before self-tanning, and do not apply any deodorant. All you need to cover your armpits is a small spray of self-tanner – anything more will look very unnatural.
Knees – Self-tanning products tend to darken on drier areas, and knees are often very dry. The day before tanning, exfoliate the skin on your knees and moisturize your knees really well. Use a little bit of moisturizer on your knees during the self-tanning application to prevent the product from clinging to your knees and turning a very unnatural, dark shade.
How To Remove Spray Tan From Hands And Feet
Accidents happen, and there is a lesson to be learned from each mistake! If you botch up the spray tan application on your hands and feet, don’t stress too much, there are some simple ways to remove the spray tan, and to start again.
Feet – The best way to remove self-tanner from your feet is to get your feet into warm water straight away and try to scrub off as much as you can, without damaging your skin. Use a body scrub or an exfoliating mitt to remove the excess product, and to try to restore your skin back to its normal color.
Hands – Run some warm water, with some bath oil, into the sink. Place your hands in the water-oil sink and let them soak. Together, the water and the oil will break down the fake tan and remove any unwanted streaks and patches. If the tan is being stubborn, you can apply some oil to your skin for a while before soaking it in water.
Go swimming – Chlorinated pools work wonders to remove fake tan. If nothing else is helping, go for a couple of swims in a pool. The chemicals will break down the fake tan and help it fade faster from the skin.
Related Questions
How do you remove spray tan from the bottom of your feet?
If you accidentally get some spray tan onto the bottom of your feet, you can use a gentle shower gel and an exfoliating cloth to scrub the product away. Dry your feet and check to see if there is any spray tan product remaining, and if there is, you can soak a cotton swab in lemon juice and run it over your feet. The lemon juice helps to wear down the tan and will remove it after a while.
Will my spray tan turn darker overnight?
Many spray tan products contain bronzers that give an instant dark tone, but these are not permanent. DHA, which is the ingredient in spray tan product which darkens the skin, takes a while to work. You will find that your skin is darker the day after your spray tan, as the DHA has had time to react with your skin to turn it a darker shade.
What should I do if my spray tan is too dark?
If you think your spray tan is too dark, you can apply baby oil or coconut oil to your skin. Leave it to sit for ten minutes, and then hop into the shower and use a body scrub or exfoliator mitt to remove the oil, and your spray tan should lighten. You can also soak in a bath with baking soda, to lighten your tan further.
Tanning Hands And Feet
While your hands and feet might give you a few nightmares leading up to your spray tan, there really is nothing to worry about. Enough people have made the mistake of orange, patchy feet, and have come up with the best way to get an even, natural look.
By following the right preparation, application, and care, you should be able to evenly spray tan your hands and feet, to match the rest of your summer, golden glow, no matter the time of year!
