There are few things that make you feel better than a good tan.
With a little extra glow, you’re more confident. You can’t help but feel like your clothes look better and your teeth seem a little whiter. You just look healthier.
But there’s a flip side. A good tan can do wonders for your vibe, but a bad tan? A bad tan can seriously bring down your mood and make you feel crummy — especially if you’ve paid for it. If you’re going to trust experts (or even a really great drugstore product) to give you that pretty glow, they better not let you down!
There are a few telltale signs that a tan has gone wrong. Keep scrolling to read more about them. If you experience any of these yourself, it may be time to change your tanning approach. Don’t forget that you’re always welcome at OBB! And if you spot any of these signs on a friend, co-worker, or acquaintance — or, hey, even a stranger on the mean streets of Lake Oswego — you may want to be a little kinder than usual. It’s a rough time for them.
A strange and unnatural color: The point of a spray tan is to look like you’ve been kissed gently by the sun, and if your skin has taken on a dark or orange color all over, something has gone horribly wrong. Generally speaking, a good spray tan should not look like a thick layer of color.
Splotchiness: A tanning expert will know how to make sure that your glow is equal from head to toe. If your skin is blotchy, it probably means that tanning formula has collected in certain areas more than others. This happens most frequently on hands, feet, elbows, and knees, and is a sign of a job done not-so-well.
Green armpits: One of the most basic rules of spray tanning and self tanning is that deodorant is a big, fat no. Tanning formula can react with deodorant, leaving an extremely not cute tint behind. If you’re treating yourself to a salon spray tan, the pros there should remind you to skip the deodorant… and if they don’t, you should find yourself some new pros (like us!).
Creasing: When tanning formula isn’t properly and evenly applied, it can gather in your body’s creases — we’ve all got ’em, people! — resulting in dark lines where they don’t belong. This is an amateur move.
Mismatched face and body: We’ve already covered general splotchiness and creasing, but this red flag deserves a special shoutout, because if you leave a spray tan with a face and body that are two different colors, it’s going to be impossible for others to ignore!
Bright red burn: You can get a bad tan from the sun, too… if you let it go a little too far, that is. A sunburn is not — we repeat not — a sign of healthy outside time. If you’re going to be outdoors, protect your pretty skin!
Do you have any nightmare tanning stories? We want all the dirt! Tell us on Facebook + Twitter!
Featured image: Yoann Boyer/Unsplash; Tanning image: Garett Mizunaka/Unsplash