SKIN SCHOOL: August 2016

August favourites

It's that time of year where we all (well, most of us) are obsessed with looking bronzed and beautiful. Living in the UK, we aren't lucky enough to have a natural tan all year round.

I don't know if it's just me, but I honestly think everyone looks better with a bit of colour. I feel so much more confident in myself when I have a tan. It makes you appear to be the epitome of health, gives you an inner 'glow', makes you look slimmer, and hides any imperfections.

There is a big difference between self tan applied well, and not well. You can tell instantly if someone is wearing false tan if it is applied badly.

The most common giveaways are tan stained palms and hands (seriously, who still applies tan with their bare hands? That's what tanning mitts and gloves are for! No amount of washing your hands will get that off) Lines and patchiness on the wrists, ankles, hands and feet.
Also, the shade of the tan. It's obvious if someone's tan isn't the colour they would normally go in the sun, if it's either too orange or too dark for your skin tone.
Trust me, I've made those mistakes! I look back on some pictures now and cringe.

Self tan applied well, is alot harder to spot. People assume it is real, and normally ask if you've been away.

Spray tan
One of my favourite ways to get bronze is to get a professional spray tan. If you've never had one before, give it a try. It's best to go somewhere that has been recommended to you, or if there's someone you know who's tan always looks nice, ask them. Some of my favourite spray tan brands are: St Tropez, Fake Bake, Kissed by Mii, Xen Tan and Sienna X.

Some tips for getting a spray tan:

Exfoliate your entire body 24 hours beforehand, this gets rid of dead skin cells and makes your tan more even, and makes it last longer.
Shave/wax at least 24 hours beforehand, this will stop your skin becoming irritated by the ingredients in the tan.
Don't have a shower or bath directly before the appointment, as your pores can remain open and it gives you black/brown dots all over your legs.
Go for the appointment wearing no make-up, deodorant or body moisturiser. This can make your tan turn out patchy, or make areas go green.
Wear loose fitting, preferably dark coloured clothing, incase you get any transfer.
It's up to you whether you choose to be topless whilst you are sprayed, or if you choose to wear underwear or a bikini. I always go topless so I don't have any tan lines.

What to expect?
Ideally, before you are sprayed, your therapist should apply moisturiser/barrier cream to your ankles, knees, elbows and wrists to prevent the tan clinging, and you should be provided with a shower cap or hair turban, and sticky feet to stop the tan staining the soles of your feet. At the end, the therapist should wipe any tan from your palms, your fingernails and toenails.

Spray tans are normally left on overnight to develop, you will become darker as the hours go by. Don't panic if you wake up looking very dark, once you shower the guide colour off you'll be left with a lovely colour.

Another option is to book for a lotion tan, where the therapist applies the lotion over your body using a tanning mitt or gloves, whilst you are on a treatment bed. Again, this is best left on overnight to develop.

Tanning at home

It's important to exfoliate before you apply tan, I like to use the St Tropez build up remover mitt, or just some exfoliating gloves.

I always apply tan using a mitt, to prevent stained palms and give a smooth application, I don't use any particular brand of mitt.

Here are some of my favourite self tanners:

St Tropez Express Bronzing Mousse, £33.00

This is one of my all time favourites, the consistency applies so quickly and easily, you really can't go wrong. It's called 'Express' because the developing time is so quick. You can choose whether you leave it on for 1 hour for a light tan, 2 hours for medium, or 3 hours for a dark tan, and then shower it off. This is great because you can shower before going to bed to avoid tan stained sheets. I'm naughty though, I always leave this on overnight!
It has a clean scent, and doesn't have that strong 'I'm wearing fake tan' smell, although you can detect a slight smell after a few hours of wear, before you shower. To be honest, I don't think any fake tan doesn't have that smell, it's the DHA that's included. I love the colour it gives me, and it lasts really well.

Fake Bake Flawless, £23.00

This is another of my absolute favourites, I literally love this one. This is the tan I have received the most compliments on, it really suits my skin tone. It has a lovely coconut-tropical scent, and it comes in a spray, so you can either spray it onto your mitt, or directly onto your skin before smoothing it out, I prefer to spray it on my skin. I apply this before bed, leave it on overnight to develop, and shower it off in the morning and I'm left with a lovely colour, and it lasts really well, too.

Xen-Tan
I have two favourite tans from this brand:

Xen-Tan Dark Lotion, £19.99

Xen-Tan Moroccan Tan, £24.99

The Xen-Tan range gives a gorgeous olive tone to the skin, so it's best if you tan easily or have a slightly tanned skin naturally. I don't think it'd look the best if you are very pale. This is the range I reach for when I want a deep, dark tan. The consistency is thick, almost treacle-like, and is really moisturising. I apply this with a mitt, and leave it on overnight to develop. After showering, the colour is just beautiful, it looks like you've been away to an exotic island.

Kissed by Mii Effortlessly Easy Tanning Lotion, £23.95

There are 3 different shades to choose from with this particular lotion, light, medium and dark. My favourites are medium and dark. The consistency of the lotion glides on effortlessly, I absolutely love it. It always turns out perfectly even and flawless, I've never noticed a streak after I've showered this off. I like the fact that this range contains marine minerals, so it's actually good for your skin, as well as giving you a great colour.

Maintaining your Tan
Your tan will last much, much longer if you keep your skin moisturised, and when you have a shower or bath, pat your skin dry rather than rubbing it.

Garnier Summer Body, £5.49

This is something I like to use after I've had my tan on for about 3 days, it really helps make my tan last longer and gives it a boost. It's a gradual tan so gives your skin a hint of colour, and it smells amazing! It doesn't smell of false tan at all, just a lovely fresh apricot smell, even my boyfriend notices when I use this as he loves the smell. This would be a great start if you've never tried a self tan before, and it's a great price too!

I'd love to know your favourite self tans? Let me know in the comments! x

ingredients

Ingredients

Thursday, August 11, 2016

A lot of people just buy products based on the way they are advertised, but don't actually look at the ingredients listed on the bottle - that's what matters, and is the most important thing to take into account when you spend your money.

I'm often asked what ingredients are bad in products, so I thought I'd do a breakdown of ingredients to avoid.

Sulphates - sodium laureth sulfate/ammonium lauryl sulfate/SLS
Typically found in hand/body washes, shampoo, washing up liquid and often found in face washes, this ingredient makes the product lather. They are stripping to the skin, and give you that 'tight' feeling after cleansing. Switch to a non foaming, cream/oil/balm based cleanser instead.

Alcohol - SD alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, alcohol denat
Some types of alcohol used in skincare products aren't irritating to the skin, mainly fatty alcohols. The ones listed above are ones to avoid, as they are stripping and can cause sensitivity and redness.
Parabens - methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben (pretty much any word on the ingredients list ending in 'paraben')
Parabens are used as preservatives, and have quickly become something that people have been choosing to avoid in their products. It is believed that there is a link between cosmetics (particularly deodorants) containing parabens and breast cancer, due to parabens being found in cancerous tumours. However, there is no definite evidence of this, so at the moment, it's personal preference as to whether you choose to avoid this ingredient.

Mineral oil - petroleum, petrolatum, paraffinum liquidum
This is a distilled version of petroleum (Vaseline, basically). It is used in low quality moisturisers, serums, etc to make the product feel like it's moisturising...when it's actually not. It basically just sits on the skin and doesn't absorb, giving no benefit to the skin, apart from coating it and blocking pores. Have you ever noticed that Vaseline doesn't absorb, it just sits there? Yeah, you don't want to be spreading that all over your face.

Silicone - dimethicone, trimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane (basically anything ending in 'cone' or 'ane')
This is used in hair conditioners, moisturisers, serums, to give a product slip, and to give a 'silky' feeling. Silicones remain on the surface of the skin, coating it, as mineral oil does above. This, along with mineral oil, is such a cheap ingredient to use in products, which is why so many companies use them, and is the reason why these products are so cheap.

*Tip - the higher up the ingredients list, the higher the content of the ingredient. For example; if you are looking at the back of a toner, and the top ingredient is alcohol denat, you'll know that the product has an extremely high alcohol content, and is mostly made up of that.

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