Summer Glow

It's summer time and that means it's time to break out the shorts and bikinis. While fair skin is beautiful, it doesn't hurt one's confidence to have a nice summer glow. However, if you're like me, many self tanners have left you streaky and splotchy. I have had the most luck with gradual tanners. My favorite is Jergens natural glow lotion which you might remember from when I posted it as one of my essentials. This lotion is great because you won't wake up with streaks the next morning. The color is very natural, and the it even has a tiny bit of subtle shimmer that adds to skin's radiance. Before you apply self tanner there are a couple things you should do.

1. Moisturize
A couple days in advance you should use a moisturizer. Pay special attention to dry areas like the knees, elbows, and ankles. Moisturizing will help prevent those areas from darkening more than the rest of the body.

2. Shave
Shaving is also good for exfoliation because it removes the top layer of skin. Plus you don't want to lose your glow prematurely so shaving is a must for areas you plan to use the lotion on.

3. Exfoliate
I don't find that heavy duty exfoliation is needed with the Jergens lotion. I would recommend using a wash cloth with your normal cleanser and adding sugar to the cleanser if you feel like you need more exfoliation.

4. Application
With a gradual lotion, application is pretty easy. Make sure your skin is dry and apply the lotion everywhere like you would a regular lotion. You don't have to apply so much that the lotion is sitting on the skin and not absorbing. However, you want to use enough that the lotion covers all the skin without missing spots. A trick I read in Seventeen magazine really helps with the hard to reach back area. To get the mid back, bend over and reach arms behind you so your fingernails are facing towards the sky. I'm not sure if that makes the distance any shorter, but it helped for me.