How to Get a Tan With Fair Skin

Laying Out in the Sun

Know the risks. Although you may want a "natural" tan, you should be aware of the serious health risks associated with the kind of extended sun exposure it requires. People with particularly fair skin should be aware that they are at an extremely heightened risk for all of these consequences: Sunburn, while painful in its own right, is more dangerous for the link between it and melanoma, a form of skin cancer. The damage to the DNA in your skin cells caused by UV radiation from sunlight or tanning beds results in the unregulated growth of cancerous cells. Though melanoma is treatable, it is also the type of skin cancer that causes the most deaths annually in the United States. The American Cancer society estimates that 120,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma each year. Extended UV radiation exposure can lead to premature aging of the skin. The price of a tan today will be the early onset of wrinkles, blotchiness, sagging, and leathery skin. These results have been observed in people as young as 20 years old. Though you may not think of it, laying out can severely damage your eyes. Sunburn to the eyes, medically termed "photokeratitis," can result in severe pain, temporary blindness, and longterm decline of eye function. UV exposure can also result in cataracts, a clouding of the eyes' lenses that occludes vision. Overexposure to UV radiation can suppress the healthy functioning of your immune system, leaving you exposed to illnesses your body should otherwise be able to fight off and potentially causing adverse reactions to certain medications. Indoor tanning beds put you at a much higher risk of all of these consequences; people with fair skin should never frequent tanning salons.

Purchase a high SPF sunscreen. SPF stands for “sun protection factor,” and lets you know how long you can stay out in the sun without getting a sunburn. Keep in mind that sunburns are more than just uncomfortable — they indicate injury to skin cells that can result in cancer. Therefore, it’s very important that you use a high SPF product. An SPF 15 product will extend the time it takes the covered area to burn by 15 times. For example, if your skin would normally get sunburnt after 10 minutes, you could stay in the sun for 150 minutes without burning if you wore an SPF 15 sunscreen. Note that SPF products will not prevent you from tanning; they will allow you to stay out in the sun longer without damaging your skin cells. People with fair skin are at a particularly high risk of burning easily in the sun, so purchase a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 35.

Cover your entire body generously with sunscreen. Although it’s important to use a product with a high SPF, far more important is that you use enough sunscreen. Most people simply apply a thin layer, as they might for cream on their face. However, when the FDA tests the SPF of sunscreens, they use a layer as thick as “cake frosting.” Use more sunscreen than you think seems reasonable — a cake frosting layer of product. Rub it into your skin as well as possible, but don’t worry if your skin can’t absorb all of the product immediately. Let the rest of the product air dry. Ask a friend to help you cover areas of skin that are difficult to reach, especially your back. Make sure to cover all of your skin — your face, chest, neck, between your fingers, the bottoms of your feet, etc.

Prepare a comfortable area to lay out. If you have a beach or poolside chair, pull it into an area that receives a good amount of sun. Prepare some snacks and drinks, and perhaps take a book or some other activity to keep you occupied while you’re laying out.

Lay out in the sun. You may think that the best way to get a good tan is to lay out for a long period of time, but that can be extremely dangerous — especially for people with particularly fair skin. Because your skin has a higher likelihood of reacting badly, you should lay out for short periods of time, giving yourself days in between sessions to see how your skin reacts. You should never tan two days in a row. Begin with half an hour of total exposure. As your skin gradually darkens, you can lay out for longer periods of time. Work your way up to an hour, but don't lay out too much longer than that. Set a timer if you’re worried you’ll fall asleep or lose track of time. Give your skin a few weeks to heal completely if you ever lay out too long and get burnt.

Make sure to flip over half-way through. Set a timer for half-way through the amount of time you plan to lay out — half an hour if you plan to lay out for the maximum recommended one hour. When the timer goes off, flip from your back to stomach (or vice versa) to make sure that you get an even tan all over your body.

Reapply sunscreen within two hours. Especially if the weather is very warm, you’ll probably sweat off some of your sunscreen without even noticing it. However, even if you’re not sweating noticeably, the ingredients in sunscreen simply lose effectiveness within two hours of their original application. Reapply a frosting-thick layer of sunscreen all over your body if you originally applied the sunscreen two hours ago or more. Note that you shouldn’t lay out for two hours; this advice is simply for people who may have applied sunscreen at the beginning of the day, then decided to lay out later.

Using Self-Tanner

Purchase the right self-tanning product. Consider your options carefully before making a purchase. If at all possible, try to test the product on a small patch of your skin to see what color it is; there’s nothing worse than committing to a product without testing it, only to end up looking like an orange! Self-tanning lotions tend to last longer than sprays, and you can control the application more easily with your hands that through a spray nozzle. Gradual tanning products deepen skin tone incrementally, whereas instant tanning products make an immediate, significant change. Instant products are far more noticeable, though, and can look silly if you change your skin tone too dramatically in one sitting.

Shave or wax your legs and chest (for men) in preparation. Though the fine hairs on your arms and the rest of your body won’t really interfere with the evenness of your tan, leg and chest hairs tend to be thicker. As such, you want to make sure that you apply self-tanning products to freshly shaved or waxed skin in those problem areas.

Exfoliate in the shower. Use an exfoliating bath scrub in the shower. Dry and dead skin cells react to the tanning products differently, so you want to make sure you’re working with an even surface of fresh skin. By removing the dead cells on the surface of your skin, you’ll ensure more even, natural-looking tan. If you don’t have an exfoliating bath scrub, you can use an exfoliating glove or a hard loofah. Rub gently in circular motions, pressing hard enough to invigorate but not damage the skin. Dry your skin thoroughly after your shower, as the product will have trouble binding to the skin if you’ve left it damp.

Put on a pair of latex gloves. Regardless of whether you’re using a lotion or a spray, self-tanning products are messy. You’ll be using your hands quite a bit to apply the product evenly, and you don’t want to have freakishly dark hands by the end of the process. To protect your hands, cover them with latex gloves.

Apply the product to your body. To keep track of where you’ve already applied the product, focus on one part of your body at a time: start with your legs, then do your arms, then your torso. Wait until the next step to apply the product to your face and neck. If using a lotion, squeeze as much tanning lotion as you would normal moisturizing lotion into the palm of your gloved hands. Use large, circular motions to apply the product evenly across your dry skin. If you’re using a spray bottle, hold the bottle at least 6 inches (15.2 cm) away from the skin when spritzing. This will avoid heavy, splotchy application and encourage an even mist. Ask a friend to help you with your back regardless of which method you use, as it’s very difficult to both reach the skin on that area, and to see whether or not you’re applying the product in an even layer. Don’t apply the product to the bottoms of your feet or your palms, as those areas don’t tan naturally.

Apply the product to your face and neck. You don’t want to use as much tanner on your face and neck as you did on the rest of your body. The skin in these areas is more delicate, and the color will deepen far more easily here than on the rest of your body.

Wait for the product to set. Don’t put on any clothes while you’re waiting for the product to set. Be especially careful not to come into contact with any fabrics for the first ten to fifteen minutes after application, as the product will still be wet on your skin and will stain surfaces easily. You can use a blow dryer to speed up the drying process. Wait an least an hour before putting on any clothing.

Take a shower after eight hours. Once that period has passed, take a regular shower to clean your skin of any excess product that may have been left behind. Once you’ve done this, your self-tanning process is complete.

Repeat the self-tanning procedure as necessary. Self-tanning products are temporary, and while some last longer than others, all will eventually fade away and reveal your fair skin again. Most products will have begun to fade within a week, so repeat the procedure whenever you feel you need to. Remember that if your tan has not faded completely, you don’t need to use as much product to get yourself back to your originally desired color.