At Home Tanning Must Haves

Loving Tan | Mitt | Back Tanner

I’m no stranger to the at-home tan. I’ve been doing it since WAY before it was cool. And even before you could buy really good self tanning products in stores. Back in the day, Mom would order Pro-tan online (before online ordering was common) or through a pageant guru for us to use for special occasions. Pro-Tan was the OG of self tanning products. Stuff that body builder’s used. It was a liquid and we used to apply it with a sock. My, oh my, how things have changed.

Since those days, I’ve tried it ALL! St. Tropez was my first love. I raved about it for years. I still absolutely love the standard version (not the express) in the dark color. When they released the express version, I grabbed it and was a little disappointed. The color went on well and I liked it. But once it started to wear off, it looked patchy and splotchy. Not a good look. But since there were so many other 2 hour formula’s out there, I knew I could no longer settle for wearing my tanner for 8 hours before having to wash.

The real driving force was that I was having babies and breast feeding. The allure of being able to tan and wash it off all between feedings was alluring for sure.

So I decided to try several more things and have found my favorite. Loving Tan’s 2-hr Express is the best of the best in my opinion. The tone of the color is perfect and the tan is FAB and lasts me almost a week in most cases. So far, other than my own error, the tan as been streak free. But that may be due to the other product’s I’ve been using to help apply my tan. These are the MOST IMPORTANT in my opinion.

The first is a mitt. Both Loving tan and St. Tropez have their own mitts. In my experience they start to break down after a few uses and I ended up having to buy a new one with each new bottle and they cost around $6 a pop. So I decided to try a washable one from Amazon. Mom got me this set that has a mitt, a small mitt for your face, and an exfoliating glove for the shower. GAME CHANGER. I’ve had mine since Christmas and ZERO wear and tear. I typically rinse it between each tan and hang to dry. Then every few months, I pop it in the washing machine with my super dark colored towels and it’s good as new! Plus the whole set is only $8ish dollars. WORTH IT.

The last item is a Back Tanner and a new buy for me. I don’t know what I did without this thing. It’s a back tanner. WHAT! I’ve contorted into all kinds of shapes to tan my own back and have asked Keith to do it countless times. This contraption makes that easy. I think it takes a little practice, but it’s pretty fantastic. I just put a bit of tanner in the middle and start shimmying! I concave my back to make sure I get the center and work it at all the angles and it works like a charm. I’m SUPER impressed and I should be thanking whoever invented this.

And for those of you interested in my routine, I used to be much more regular before quarantine. I typically tanned on Thursday nights or afternoons so that I had a fresh tan for the weekend!

What are your favorite tanners or tanning equipment. I have a friend who has the at home sprayer from St. Tropez and loves it! That’s an adventure for another day. For now, this works super well.