The Best Tanning Lotion Builds Color Over a Few Days

The Best Tanning Lotion Builds Color Over a Few Days

The best tanning lotion builds color slowly, over a few days and without any sun, so streaks never get a chance. Here are the gradual tanners, the instant bronzers that wash off, and the body sunscreens to wear over all of it.

In 1929 Vogue wrote about a new "sunburn movement" and the industry it was creating. Tans had become fashionable through the 1920s, and for decades after, the way to get one was to lie in the sun. We know better now. The best tanning lotion is the one that builds color slowly, over a few days, without any sun at all, because slow color is also the most forgiving.

Gradual tanners are daily moisturizers with a little self tanner mixed in. Each use adds a touch of color, so streaks and missed patches barely show, and you can stop the day you like what you see. St. Tropez's Gradual Tan Classic lotion in Medium/Dark is the one I would start with. COOLA's Sunless Tan Firming Lotion and Clarins's Self-Tan Milky Lotion work for face and body, and Lux Unfiltered's Summer Skin cream is scented with santal, a nice change from the usual self tan smell.

Dr. Dennis Gross's Alpha Beta Glow Pad for Body is a large pre-soaked pad you swipe on, with exfoliating acids that help the color wear off evenly. m-61's Hydraboost Gradual Tan Serum is lighter, for anyone who dislikes the feel of lotion.

Use them once a day after a shower, like a body lotion, until you reach the color you want, then two or three times a week to keep it. Wash your hands right after, and go lightly on knees, elbows and ankles, which pick up color fastest.

Collage of gradual tanning lotions, body bronzers and body sunscreens beside a photo of a woman in sunglasses by the sea.
Gradual tanners, wash-off bronzers and body sunscreen for a tan without the sun.

Gradual tanners for everyday use

Instant bronzers for tonight

Gradual color takes a few days. For a party tonight or bare legs tomorrow, instant bronzers give you color straight away and wash off in the shower, which also makes them the safest way to test how a deeper shade looks on you.

Lux Unfiltered's Summer Nights is a skin tint with an instant tan effect. St. Tropez's Instant Glow mousse is a wash-off body bronzer, and Vacation's Instant Bronzing Lotion has SPF 30, so it offers some sun protection while it tints. tarte's Key Largo bronzing drops are for face and body, and Sol de Janeiro's Badalada is a daily glow lotion, more of a sheen than a tan.

Patrick Ta's Major Glow bronzing body oil and NARS's Monoi Body Glow I are the glowy ones, lovely on shoulders, collarbones and the fronts of legs for an evening out.

Apply instant products with a mitt or a dense brush, and blend well at wrists and ankles, where color collects. Let them dry for ten minutes before you dress, and choose darker clothes and sheets for the night, since wash-off bronzer can transfer. If it rains, or you plan to swim, expect some of it to run. The good news is that a wash-off product comes off completely in the shower, so a mistake lasts only until morning, and you can try a different shade the next night. Keep a pack of makeup wipes nearby for any spots you missed on the palms or between the fingers.

Instant bronzers that wash off

Sunscreen for the real sun

Here is the thing to remember about any faux tan: it does not protect you from the sun. The color from self tanner offers little or no protection, so on days outside you need body sunscreen over it, just as you would without it.

Supergoop's PLAY lotion is SPF 50 for face and body and easy to reapply. Shiseido's Ultimate Sun Protector is SPF 60+ for face and body. Ultra Violette's Vibrant Screen is SPF 50 and water resistant. For glow, Supergoop's Glow Oil is a dry body oil with SPF 50, and Sol de Janeiro's Rio Radiance is an SPF 50 body spray with niacinamide. Isle of Paradise's Daily Defense mist is SPF 30 and made to spray over the top.

Most of us use far less sunscreen than the label is tested with. The usual guide for the body is about a shot glass worth, so be generous, and reapply every two hours and after swimming or toweling off.

What I would skip: sprays as your only sunscreen on a windy beach, where much of it blows away before it lands. Spray, then rub it in, or use a lotion for the first layer and the mist for top ups. I would also skip exfoliating scrubs and long hot baths on the days right after a fresh tan, which fade it faster. Gentle body wash and plenty of moisturizer keep the color even for longer. And do not forget the tops of the feet, ears and the back of the neck, the spots that burn first.

Body sunscreen for time outside

Let it build

Slow color is the easiest to love. Give a gradual tanner three or four days before you judge it, and take a photo in daylight on day one so you can see the change. If it is too light, use it twice a day for a few days. If it is getting too deep, skip a day.

Exfoliate once a week so old color flakes away evenly, and moisturize the rest of the time. With a little patience you get a tan that looks like a long weekend away, and none of the sunburn. Keep the lotion by your body moisturizer so it becomes part of the same routine, and change to a lighter formula as the weather cools and your natural color fades.