Exfoliate prior to spray tanning; I use the baby's hair brush method over the whole body prior to spray tanning.

I also use mineral oil in the shower prior to spray tanning and rinse much of it off; enough remains to keep the skin soft and flakeless. Dry completely. Then spray tan. I repeat the tanning spray throughout the day, up to three times and get a deeper natural color that way.

I use Sally Hansen Airbrush sun. If you're a lady or a gentleman who likes shimmer, Sally Hansen has an Airbrush 'after spray tanning' glow thingy that imparts a shimmer with minute specks of mica-shimmer (I don't know if it's mica or not, but the effect is GORGEOUS on tanned looking skin.) Oh, I've got to go do that sometime this week!

PS: I did not spray tan while on Accutane, so I don't know if the above tips will be helpful enough for the flaking that people experience with Accutane. I had almost no flaking as I moisturized from day one, plus I'm an oil factory!!

Good advice--thanks! I'm kind of worried about ex foliating the face because I don't want to aggravate the acne. Would be using apricot scrub be ok?

You said you apply it throughout the day; do you exfoliate prior to each spray?

dont forget to moisterise your ankles and knees REALLY REALLY well or put some vaseline on them, or they WILL go orange.

Consider yourself warned...

Before tanning that is.

Exfoliating before tanning is to clear dead skin so that they tan goes on evenly. The moisteriser is used beforehand to get rid of dry patches so that the tan doesn't soak up different amounts in different areas making it "patchy".

If you want to layer the spray tan I would advise to exfoliate and moisterise before every spray to ensure eveness, but bear in mind that by exfoliating you are effectively fading your tan by scrubbing away the tanned skin on top. But if you dont do it you run the risk of patchy tan, which is far far worse.

You can moisterise with fake tan when you have applied it, just make sure that it is completley dry first or you risk smearing it around.

Dont forget that often you should be using a different fake tan on your face than on your body.

Good advice--thanks! I'm kind of worried about ex foliating the face because I don't want to aggravate the acne. Would be using apricot scrub be ok?

 

You said you apply it throughout the day; do you exfoliate prior to each spray?

I only exfoliated the once. I would not recommend an apricot scrub for the face; it's fine for the body. I used a baby's hair brush for face and body and that worked quite well. It might be good to soak in a bath for a while and pay careful attention to the elbows, knees, and ankles for exfoliating as those are usually considerably more dry that other areas and will pick up the color unevenly.

I used the Sally Hansen airbrush sun for the face, and another one formulated for the body and they worked quite well for me.

I'm considering using a spray tan to help cover up the redness and red marks left by large lesions. Has anyone done this on accutane? Does it have any effect on your skin?

 

My main question: Should I put moisturizer on before spray tanning or after? Can you still moisturize with a fake tan? I'm considering using Bio Oil to treat the redmarks, can I use this with a spray tan on? What about spot treatment?

 

Any other comments about how to spray tan on tane or suggestions of tanning products are welcome!

i did this on accutane and oh god did it look awful it will come out all spotty i would just wait till i wus off of accutane to spray tan. but you might get better results then me. idk just try it but there is a big chance that it will look strange because your skin is so dry right now.

Here are a few tips for spray tanning, to make sure the application goes smoothly.

1. Exfoliate - All the self-tanner in the world will do you no good if it attaches itself to dead skin that is about to come off your body! Use a loofah sponge in the bath the night before you self-tan to remove these dead skin cells.

2. Moisturize - Applying a good moisturizer a few hours before you self tan is a great way to make sure your skin is ready to accept the self-tanner.

3. Choose your clothes carefully - You should pick clothes that cover all the parts you do not wish to tan. Self-tanning nude is not recommended for newcomers, because the results can be unpredictable. Make sure you select tight fitting clothes so that the self-tanner cannot go under your sleeves. You should also choose dark colored clothes, since spray tanners will stain light clothes.

4. Use gloves - Nobody looks good with orange palms, so when you spray tanner on your hands in order to tan your face, don a pair of latex gloves to prevent stains.

5. If you are going to a tanning salon, follow the instructions! Self-tanning booths typically have a handout, so read up, and make sure you know what to do!

6. BLOT - After applying your spray tan, you will need to blot your skin with a towel to catch any drips.

7. Stand still - Standing still for about 30 seconds after a self-tanning booth application will ensure that your tan dries evenly. While it may take a lot longer to dry completely, the first minute or more is when you run a real risk of rubbing off the self-tanner before it has a chance to work.

8. Protect your feet - Because they typically get less sun than the rest of you, your feet are paler and may get dark faster. If you are spraying yourself, go lightly on the feet. If you are using a booth, use the paper booties (usually offered by staff) to protect your feet and apply a self-tanner later on to ensure you get the right shade.

Okay so I know you posted this a long time ago but I'm on Accutane (round 2) and did a spray tan 8 days ago. I did the spray tan in the booth where a human sprays you. I look crazy. Obviously the day I got it I looked super dark, like way too dark. Once I showered it looked much better. It actually looked great for the 2 days after I got it. By day 4, yeah not so much. It's day 8 and I'm literally watching my skin waiting for this to come off. The horrible part is it's totally gone in some places and still heavy in others. My chest, totally gone. My legs, super splotchy . The color on my face didn't last long at all, maybe 48 hours, but that was to be expected. I wasn't expecting to be so splotchy. Oh, and my elbows are peeling. Literally brown dry skin is peeling off my elbows and when the skin peels off it's white underneath. I'm sure it will be back to normal in a matter of 3-4 days. When I would spray tan in the past it would totally be gone by now but it seems to be sticking for a long time.