in , ,

Natural Remedies: Fix a Botched Fake Tan

fix a bad fake tan

Now that the end of summer is fast approaching, some of us sun-worshippers may be looking for a way to hold on to these final glorious, vitamin D-drenched days of sun. Even if that means turning to a fake tan.

While I rarely promote sitting out in the sun, sunscreen-less, soaking up the rays, I definitely promote looking like you did. In fact, I may have even written a post on how to get the perfect bronzed glow using tea.

Occasionally, however, we ladies can overdo it and end up looking a little streaky, a little orange, or a little too dark. Thankfully, there are natural solutions to help erase your fake-bake so you aren’t walking around looking like Snooki.

And the best part? These two simple and easy fixes use ingredients you probably already have lying around your kitchen. I just like making your life easy.

1. Baking Soda

Nope, it’s not just for fifth grade science projects anymore. In fact, baking soda is a great natural fix for helping to remove a fake-tan-gone-wrong. This simple tan remover is a gradual solution and may not work the first time around, but if you repeat the process a few times it will help to fade your botched tan. Here’s how!

  1. Mix half a cup of baking soda with half a cup of fresh lemon juice in a bowl and stir until you have a paste that can be easily spread onto your skin without simply running off.
  2. Rub it into your skin in a soft, circular motion and leave it to soak in for up to five minutes before wiping it off with a clean cloth.

Make sure you are using a cloth you don’t mind staining as your self-tanner can stain anything light coloured.

Sugar

This recipe is for those green queens who like it, umm, well, a little bit harder. It’s important that you use raw sugar for this recipe, because the granules are larger and have a rougher texture to them, ensuring that you are effectively scrubbing away those horrendous streaks and Jersey Shore-like hue.

  1. Using natural, raw sugar, mix one cup of raw sugar with 3/4 of a cup of fresh lemon juice and stir until you have a good, rough paste.
  2. Spread it onto your skin and, again, rub it into your skin using soft circular motions and letting it sit on your skin for up to five minutes.

Not only will the sugar help to slough away the stain but it will help to remove any dead, dry skin that the dye might be clinging to. On top of that, lemon is a natural bleaching agent and will help to fade the colour from your skin if used consistently.

Once you have successfully erased any evidence of your tanning mishap you can start over again with a clean, streak-free canvas. It’s like the delete button but for your skin!

Genius, I know.

Of course, these can’t be the only natural solutions for getting rid of a bad fake tan. What’s your favourite DIY solution for a bad take tan? After all, we green queens love options!

Vanessa is a skincare blogging babe whose work can be found on websites all around cyberland, including this review on Finulite, as well as other popular skincare brands. The best part about her job? She gets to help her readers look and feel their very best.

Image Credit: Fake Tan photo via Shutterstock

Written by Guest Contributor

is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. :D

Johnson & Johnson Cleaning Up Its Ingredients by 2015

Are Tyvek shoes eco-friendly? You decide!