The first time I put on shorts a few weeks ago, I couldn’t believe how white and washed out my skin had gotten. I think we forget about tanned legs when we are faced with snow and below zero temperatures! Well, the summer months are upon us and, if you’re like me, I prefer to have a bit of color on my legs vs. facing the world with these 2 white sticks! That is where self-tanners come in very handy.

Of course, I use Yonka’s sunless tanning products and my absolute favorite is AutoBronzant, their self tanner. Truly, I think it is the best one on the market. No matter what self tanning product you use, here are my guidelines to follow that will hopefully have you looking tan without the added sun damage from a real tan.

I like to apply the tanning product right after a shower. I always use lotion after baths and showers (to help keep my body skin soft), so I just substitute the self tanner for my normal lotion. When applying, you do need to be careful where you are applying and to get as even a coating as possible. Watch out for the bony areas, like ankles, elbows and wrists. These areas can appear darker if you apply too much product. After applying, it is best to not put clothing on for a little while. I like to give the product at least 10-15 minutes to soak in. Otherwise you run the risk of it coming off on your clothes and getting an uneven color.

I do this process 2 days in a row. Why? I have found one day is not enough and 3 days in a row is too much - the color starts to look self-tannery. I’ll wait 3-4 days before reapplying. This schedule seems to work best for me and my coloring. You may need different timing depending on your skin tone.

I never apply it to my face, but you absolutely can. For me, since I don’t wear any makeup, it feels - well, like I have put makeup on. So I just go with the natural coloring of my face. There really isn’t anywhere you can’t apply this type of product.

I’m including a funny story to show these sunless tanning products really do work. The following happened while I was living in Chicago a few years ago.

Being the eternal experimenter, I wanted to see how well the AutoBronzant worked, so I put it on one leg only over 2 days (two applications). It warmed up in Chicago and my now ex-boyfriend and I went to play golf. Of course I was wearing shorts.

While we were walking to the clubhouse, I got ahead of him. The next thing I heard was, “What is going on with your legs?! They are different colors!” Oppsie.

I had to laugh. I had completely forgotten about my self-tanner experiment! The good news is my “tan” leg looked great - very naturally tanned. The other leg got a tan right after my golf game - but beforehand it really did look lily white from a long Chicagoland winter!

Check out AutoBronzant on my website:

http://www.carolynash.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=auto&x=0&y=0

For all you blog readers, I will give you a 15% discount on this product! Please include the discount code BLOGTAN in the comments box during the ordering process to receive the discount. I will refund the difference once the charge has gone through. (I do not currently have a discount at checkout ability on my website.)