We've all been there: driven mad with jealousy from your mates’ Ibiza pics on Facebook, you decide to recreate the sunkissed look of the Spanish isles with a tube of fake tan. Except you emerge on the other side of the bottle looking less like Kate Moss on a Balearic trip and more like an Oompa Loompa dipped in mahogany oil. Never fear – here are our best tips for salvaging your tan catastrophe.
Orange hands
It’s a classic rookie error, but we’ve all been there (those goddamn mitts are so easy to lose). Scrubbing your hands won’t take the day-glo tinge out, but citric acid will. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into a bowl and mix it with a few tablespoons of salt or bicarbonate of soda. Rub the mixture between your palms before washing off. For seriously dire stains, swap out the salt or bicarb for crushed dishwater tablets – tan maestro James Read swears by it.
One quick tip about trying to fix your tan mistakes: it’s more effective to gently scrub and repeat where necessary, as opposed to freaking out and trying to sandpaper your tan off – the latter will only lead to uneven fading.
Blotchy face
The key here is gentle exfoliation. If you want to go the chemical route, opt for a cleanser, scrub or cleansing wipes with glycolic acid (Nip + Fab do facial pads for under a tenner). The acid will safely slough off the outer layer of skin, taking your blotches with it. Remember to wear SPF after using products containing glycolic acid, because your skin will be more sensitive to sunlight.
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For a more DIY physical exfoliation, use the lemon recipe mentioned above. If you’re worried about your face reacting to the scrub, test it out on a small patch of skin. For a less lemon-y (and less astringent) scrub, mix bicarb with water to make an exfoliating paste. Do not use dishwasher tablets on your face – you don’t want a breakout of spots to compete with your facial tan disaster.
Streaky legs
You can blame uneven tan application for zebra-stripe legs. To fix this, massage a finely-grained, oil-based body scrub directly onto dry skin. Take about five minutes to work this into your legs – the oil will help break down the tan – and then hop into the shower. Shave your legs for some extra exfoliating power.
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If you don’t want to buy a body scrub, you can throw one together by mixing two parts sugar to one part oil. Soft, fine sugar like muscovado will provide the gentlest scrub. You can use any kind of oil – although for obvious reasons, coconut oil or olive oil will probably feel a lot more luxe than plain old vegetable oil.
Two shades too dark
The worst thing you can do is panic scrub, which will strip the tan off in streaks. Instead, rub a thick layer of baby oil over your body, let it soak in for 30 minutes and then hop into a hot bath. The oil will soften your skin, allowing you gently scrub the tan off with an exfoliating mitt in the bath.
Swimming in a chlorinated pool will also help to break down your tan. Head to the steam room or sauna afterwards – the heat and humidity will also help soften the tan.
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