I got an interesting email the other day from a lovely Love Vitamin reader.
In this email, she said something that I can safely say has never crossed my mind, probably because I have never considered getting a fake tan before. I have been turned off anything to do with the stuff since I experimented with the bottled kind in grade 5 and had my friend point out all the massive streaks all over my face! lol!
However, I admit, that I do love when summer comes around and I get a nice bit of glow on my face. It does make my skin look really nice and gives me a little boost of confidence (ps – doing the caveman no-wash regimen has an unexpected benefit – you aren’t constantly washing away the tan on your face! I always remember before the caveman, my face would always be a different, paler colour than the rest of my body).
She said that getting a fake spray tan done that used natural and organic ingredients not only looked very real and natural (I’m sure the technology has advanced since I was in Grade 5!), but completely covered up all the little pimples, marks, scars, blackheads, and other imperfections on her skin. As a result, her acne related stress went way downhill and she stopped constantly obsessing over it!
She even said that much needed break from obsessing about the little skin imperfections has actually broken the habit of obsessing about her skin in general. Her skin is now getting in tons of healing due to her not touching it.
Personally, I think that’s wonderful.
Thought I’d share her experience with you:
Hi Tracy,
I have been reading your blog for quite a long time now and follow you on Twitter. I also signed up to your Candida Cleanse a few months ago and assisted with your Vitex Agnus Castus article (hope it has helped people).
Doing the candida cleanse was amazing. The forum side of things really assisted with keeping loyal to the cleanse. Well done for setting all this up, please know your hard work is worth it and assisting people all over the world. Although I have not been as strict as I had been, I have been continuing to follow the principles of the candida cleanse and my skin has made a marked improvement.
I have also made my skin care routine super simple following your caveman principles to a point. I now leave my skin, occasionally allowing water to run over it in the shower and gentle wipe dry skin with a muslin cloth to “exfoliate” it.
The main reason for my email was to say that a couple of weeks ago I had my first ever whole body spray tan, as I had an event to go to and my dress would have shown some interesting white and naturally tanned patches without it!
I just wanted to drop you a line to say that I found an unexpected benefit in having my fake tan. Not only did having a “tan” really boost how I felt (relaxed and confident as if it was a real tan) it also covered up the tiny blemishes, marks, scars and tiny blackheads that I usually obsess about.
Although my “tan” was subtle and natural looking I found that, when looking in the mirror or at my skin, I could not see the flaws I usually saw that I become driven to resolve. The result was for a week or more I did not touch my skin. This allowed my skin to heal and gave my mind a break. I felt happier that I and others could not see the imperfections which normally stress me out!
I also found that the week or so break from obsessing about my skin has kind of broken a habit of obsessing about my skin.
I am keen these days to use more natural products on my skin. The tan I had used natural and organic ingredients and left my skin super soft and healthy looking pre and post tan. I live in the UK and found the “tan” on this website Organictantastic.co.uk. I am sure that around the country and across the world there are similar products and different brands. Having my skin darkened by the fake tan assisted me to relax about my skin as I could not see the imperfections and allowed it to heal … unexpected benefits 🙂
The tan has worn off now, but here in the UK we have had the odd sunny day to help me build a more gentle natural tan. However, keen to retain the benefits of the fake tan, whereby I could not see the imperfections, I have been topping up my natural tan with Johnson and Johnson Holiday Skin. I know that this goes against my desire to use more natural products on my skin, but at the moment by skin does not mind its application (I really think the candida cleanse has made a huge impact on my skin).
I am keen to find a more natural self tanner that I can use every day …. wonder if any of your readers has any experience or recommendations 🙂
I just wanted to drop this email to you as I found a fake tan helped me and the idea may benefit some of your other readers.
Keep up the good work Tracy 🙂
Please note that while I know tans can look pretty, I’m not an advocate of extensive real sun tanning or tanning beds due to the skin cancer risk (and increased chance of wrinkles!). Sun on bare skin is good in small doses (around 15 to 20 minutes per day), but don’t overdo it!
Also, check out this awesome series of articles about safe, natural sunscreens for the face and body 🙂
What do you think about fake tan to help you get your mind off little skin imperfections?
I love this post! I actually had a spray tan a few weeks back and discovered the same thing. I have a few red marks left over from acne and having a spray tan completely covered them up! It was the first time in a while that I could feel confident without foundation.
That’s awesome Sarah! 🙂
Hey girl,
Been following your blog for quite a while and I really love your posts…the low sugar approach is so amazing, not just for your skin…but how you feel!
I’ve been on the search for natural tanners too and I’ve found one that really works for me. I did a blog post about it http://www.colourfulpalate.com/2012/06/01/to-tan-or-not-to-tan/ and I wasn’t paid or anything to review it…but I wanted to share a really natural brand that works for me. Hope it helps!
Nice, that’s great – thanks for the suggestion Charissa
Seen that you’re looking for a self tan lotion containing mainly natural ingredients, I’d suggest you to try an organic one from Green People or Lavera. The ingredients look okay to me.
Nonetheless, make sure to avoid plain sunshine within the 24 hours following application: although dihydroxyacetone (the coloring agent) is generally considered to be nontoxic and safe for topical use (it is a simple carbohydrate, derived from sugar beets or sugar cane and glycerin), it will still make you skin a little more sensitive and susceptible to sun damage.
There is an even more natural alternative that pops into my mind right now: Martina Gebhardt Rose Bronzing Fluid. Natural oils (rosehip + seabuckthorn fruit oil) and carrot extract are the only coloring agents in it. It’s a quite rich lotion though (+ shea butter and olive oil…), so it’s ideal for normal-dry skin. Apply at night, let it sink in well (if not it’ll probably stain your pillow) and you won’t have to be afraid of sun sensitivity issues the next day!!! 😉
If anyone finds one in toronto, let me know!
I completely agree with this theory. Who doesn’t feel prettier with a bit of a tan? On that note I think natural makeup can be beneficial as well. It keeps me from looking too closely at my skin.
I try to get a little sun on my body (not face!) regularly for that natural glow. If I don’t do it for a while I may use self tanner- they’ve gotten a lot better, Tracy! I enjoyed the added glow on my face as well until I realized it did contribute to some small bumps I was getting.
Even though I got fairly natural stuff it still had dimethicone in it. No bueno, I know. Hard to find one without it that is affordable. So now I just have a tan body and slightly lighter face. Nothing a little bronzer won’t fix 🙂 And better than having wrinkles and sunspots.
I am extremely interested in this. The scars on my back and occasional blackheads really bother me and if anyone has any more suggestions for entirely natural tanning spray or lotion that is somewhat affordale and easy to get in Canada (or shipped here) I am all ears! I might finally be able to wear something with thin straps or backless out in public…
Hi Tracy,
Ive been just wondering,are you still on gluten-free and dairy-free diet? I gave up gluten few weeks ago and I started seeing good results which surprised me and now Im not sure if I can make food exceptions without getting the breakouts again. Its actually making me a bit anxious. Ive heard you gotta keep the diet strict just for some time and then the gut heals and you wont get acne easily back, not sure if this is true though..What do you think?
Thanks for answer, XO
No I’m not. I still try to be mostly gluten free, and dairy – well I try to stick to mostly good dairy (raw milk, making my own yogurt), but I do definitely eat a fair bit of it now with no ill effects. So.. I can’t say what your experience will be exactly, but hopefully that gives you some hope for not having to be so strict forever 🙂 I do think the gut can go through healing… I also think thought that stress has a huge part to play in how your body reacts to foods and how it digests them, something to think about
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for this article! I think I am gonna do this!! I also wanted to ask what can I use on my skin to help make it smooth? I use the manuka honey and it’s helping, but my skin is rough. Please help!! Thank you!
Hi Debbie,
Well, when I had trouble with clogged pores/bumpy skin on my forehead, what seemed to work for me was using jojoba oil, and I think Estroblock also had a lot to do with it smoothing out:
https://thelovevitamin.com/5643/how-i-cleared-all-my-clogged-pores-in-less-than-three-weeks/
https://thelovevitamin.com/6855/treat-female-hormonal-acne/
But.. You can do the same with a BB cream right? I bought one yesterday because I was tired at looking at my red marks on my forehead. And you know it helped a bit regarding with not looking at my skin too much.
Oh yes, definitely makeup will help a lot, but I’d say it’s a bit different since you generally wash makeup off at the end of the day which gives you a chance to obsess over your skin
This is a bit off topic, but speaking of summer skin stuff – I’d be grateful if anyone could recommend a natural insect repellent that would be safe on the face. (Whether homemade or store-bought) I turned up numerous search results but don’t know what to believe. I’m hoping for something that won’t break me out and that I can use on my toddler too… every time he gets a bite near an eye, it puffs up to the point that he looks like he got punched in the face!