Tan From A Bottle

Formulas That Provide Tans Without Exposure To Harmful Rays

(CBS)  With the sunny days of summer ahead, you may be thinking about the perfect tan.

But getting that look doesn't mean you have to go into the sun. Beauty and wellness contributor Dayle Haddon visited The Early Show with tips on how to fake a suntan without baking yourself.

Haddon says there is only one healthy tan, and it's a fake one. There are many safe tanning products for the skin on the market, such as bronzers, powders, creams and self-tanning formulas.

Today's self-tanning formulas are so sophisticated that with a little know-how, she says, no one will know whether you got your tan the old-fashioned way, or from a bottle.

Self-tanning products are FDA approved, says Haddon.

"Sure, there will be some concern about what is penetrating in your skin," she says. "It's tanning the top layer [of skin]. If you don't like it, in a couple of days you can exfoliate it off."

Before using self-tanning products that are packaged as sprays, creams and foams, Haddon recommends exfoliating first.

"You've got to take a glove or cream and get the rough layers of skin off because the color tends to collect on dry areas," she explains.

Haddon says to be careful about the fingers, elbow and knees when using self-tanning products. So, put moisturize and less self-tanners in these areas.

Use of a body cream that contains alpha hydroxy acids (AHA) for a few days before applying a self-tanner will achieve the same result as a manual exfoliate. Manually exfoliating, however, will be much quicker.

Skin should be free of soap and moisturizer residue because soap, which is alkaline, can mix with DHA (the active ingredient in all self-tanners) and turn skin orange.

Also be careful of about getting orange palms from applying the self-tanners on your skin. Haddon says sometimes even the most thorough washing will leave your palms orange. So, self-tanning mavens suggest using surgical gloves (purchased at your local drugstore) to the orange-palm problem. If you don't choose to use gloves, use a manicure/hand brush, warm water and soap to cleanse the hands.

If you do make a mistake self-tanning, it may not be a huge problem. Haddon says to simply layer self-tanners to create the color you desire. But if the self-tan color is something you find undesirable, the worst thing you'll have is a bad look for a couple of days.

Haddon warns that people should be aware that some self-tanners do not have sun protection. Experts advice to buy self-tanners that contain a sun protection factor (SPF), or wait one hour after application of a self-tanner and apply a separate cream, or lotion that contains SPF 20 or higher.

If you don't want to dye your skin, Haddon advises using a bronzer.
She says many of today's bronzers contain a mix of light and dark tones, which create a more natural looking color than the single-toned products. So using a powder brush, sweep the color where your face would tan naturally, which is usually across the nose, high on the cheekbones, across the forehead, and the tip of the chin.

Here are some self-tanner options:

Lotion
Clarins Self Tanning Milk

Spray
Clinique Self Sun Tanning Body Mist

Tinted Tanners
Estee Lauder Go Bronze Tinted Self Tanner
Neutrogena Sunless Tanner and Bronzer in One

Tanners with SPF
L'Oreal Ombrelle Self Tanner Cream with SPF 15

Bronzers
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess
Yves Saint Laurent Bronzing Powder
Laura Mercier Bronzing Gel
Origins Sunny Disposition Bronzing Stick