Fake tanning guide

Get a bronzed body without the orange streaks with our guide to UV-free fake tanning.

With the weather warming-up and the layers of woollies being stripped off at long last, it’s the time of year when most of us consider tackling our pasty complexions for the strappy vests and shorts the sunshine demands.

Whether you’re male or female, or paler than the Milky Bar Kid for that matter, faking your way to a golden brown tan couldn’t be easier – and there’s not a UV ray in sight.

Airbrush tanning

The British public spend a whopping £40million a year on fake baking and beauty salons and spas are unsurprisingly getting in on the act with a range of services to make you look sun-kissed without going out in the sun. One treatment Hollywood celebrities have kept secret for years is airbrush tanning. A trained technician armed with an airbrush (similar to those used for painting cars) sprays a fine mist of self-tanning product all over your body, ensuring you get an even coverage. The risk of streaks, smudges and smears are drastically reduced with this one-on-one attention to detail and some highly-skilled technicians can even use the air-brush to shade areas – making your hips look trimmer and defining your waist (for the ladies) or sculpting the pecs and abs areas (for the men). Getting the personal touch not only means that hard to reach areas get a beautiful glow, but an expert is on hand to advise what shade of sun-kissed you should aim for. Sunrise Tanning Studios offers airbrush tanning at a cost of £15-£20 for the 15-minute treatment.

Spray-on tan booths

If spray-on tan booths make you immediately think of Ross from Friends unhappy incident where he was coated in several layers of self-tan you are not alone. But fear not, in house experts always recommend the correct level of colour for your skin type and you will watch a video giving you basic instructions for this user-friendly technology. Typically you will get undressed in a changing room, step into a personal booth and push a button to start the session. A fine mist of tanning solution is then sprayed over the entire body giving a uniform coverage. The whole process takes about one minute and gives you an instant tan that develops throughout the day. The benefits of this kind of tanning application is that it is quick, you don't have to strip-off in front of anyone and there won't be any unsightly white lines spoiling the just stepped off the beach illusion. The Tanning Shop and Blasé offers tanning in spray-on booths for around £20 per session.

Do-it-yourself

Thankfully DIY self-tanning lotions have come a long way from the days where you could almost guarantee you’d look like something from a Tango advert. They are less orange, less messy and less likely to leave you with zebra-style streaks or smears that make you look like you don’t wash. Everyone from Ambre Solaire to Dior are storming the market with self-tanning lotions, sprays, foams and wipes appealing to a spectrum of individual tastes and budgets. While a certain element of trial and error is all part of the home applied experience, choosing a product such as the ever-popular (and blissfully inexpensive) Johnson’s Holiday Skin is great for bronzing beginners, as it includes a small amount of self-tanning solution within the body moisturiser – meaning you build up a natural looking tan gradually and your skin becomes hydrated and silky smooth. On the downside, you may need a bit of friendly help to reach those awkward places – such as your back. Boots.com currently sell Johnson’s Holiday Skin for £4.95, Dove Summer Glow for £4.99 and Nivea Body Sunkissed Skin for £5.65.

So wave the white legs goodbye and prepare to bare a little more this season and no-one will ever know that you’re a faker.

Michelle Byrne
23 July 2007