Wedding Tanning Tips: The Best Fake Tan   

Famous Dave's Self Tanning Range -
Sunsafe Tanning For Men & Women & The Perfect Tan For Your Big Day!

Your wedding day is one of the biggest days of your life, so ensuring you look your absolute best is a must! A very popular choice these days is for the bride to have a lovely tan on her wedding day to really show off her wedding dress and add that final touch of beauty, but it is so important that you choose your self tanning product carefully, and that you prepare properly and apply the tanner well in advance (and correctly) to ensure the finished look is as you would expect - flawless and completely natural-looking. The very last thing you want on your wedding day is a streaky tan with a questionable colour, so for that reason Famous Dave has brought to you our very own top wedding tanning tips to help ensure you get that gorgeous natural-looking glow to your skin on your wedding day without any hiccups - and one that gets noticed for all the right reasons!

Here are our current top six wedding tanning tips:

Wedding Tanning Tip 1 - Get Scrubbing!
Exfoliate well before tanning to prepare the skin by getting rid of all the dead skin cells to reveal the soft glowing new layer of skin beneath.

Wedding Tanning Tip 2 - Test The Colour Before Your Big Day
If you’re having a professional spray tan applied, always test it fully well before your wedding day to ensure you’re happy with the colour and end result, and the skills of the person who applies it.

Wedding Tanning Tip 3 - Don't Leave it Until The Last Minute!
Don’t apply fake tan the night before your wedding, in case you miss anywhere. Always apply a few days before the wedding to achieve the most natural result on the big day. If you must apply the night before, or on the day of the wedding, choose a self tanner with no guide colour or fragrance (like Famous Dave’s Moisture Tan), to ensure it doesn’t rub off on your dress or clash with your perfume.

Wedding Tanning Tip 4 - Use Only a Quality Fake Tan Product
Choose a long-lasting tanner (such as Famous Dave’s Tanning Mousse) that will not go patchy, streaky, or wear off a couple of days after application. This will ensure your tan lasts not only through your wedding day but also well into your honeymoon.

Wedding Tanning Tip 5 - Watch Your Hands!
Take extra care and attention when applying the tanner to your hands - you don’t want any tell-tale marks on show whilst all your guests are wanting to see your wedding ring.

Wedding Tanning Tip 6 - Control Your Bridesmaids!
Don’t mix & match - Make sure your bridesmaids all use the same quality self tanner as you, after all you don’t want one of them standing out looking bright orange in your wedding photos!

Following these simple tips will help to ensure you achive the most natural-looking colour tan on your wedding day, and are not left running around at the last minute still trying to prepare.

Below you will find a short guide on how to apply fake tan to achieve a natural and long-lasting result. If you have any questions regarding application for your wedding, please feel free to contact us via our contact form.

Wedding Self Tan Application:

For best results, apply the self tanning product straight after a shower. Avoid washing with shower gels and soaps high in alkaline as your skin should be neutral when applying the products. Apply the self tanning product evenly all over the body, taking time to ensure you’re applying it evenly and not putting on too much – remember you can always apply another layer later if you want to go darker. It’s often advised to use tanning gloves when applying fake tan to help prevent your palms from getting tanned, but as long as you scrub your hands with soap and hot water very well after you’ve finished applying, this will help ensure your palms don’t end up tanned once the product develops in colour. Also, be careful when you’re washing your hands not to splash the water onto your freshly tanned body as this can end up in small splash marks being visible after the tan has developed (where the water has washed off the product). To tan the back of your hands, apply a small amount of self tanner with cotton wool, sponge or a tissue onto the back of your hands after you have washed them; also wipe around your wrists to avoid any marks. Alternatively, apply a small amount of fake tan to the back of one hand and rub the back of both hands together. Then use a tissue to remove any fake tan from the palms and fingernails.

Depending on what fake tan product you’ve used, you’ll either have to wait to get dressed for 10-15 minutes whilst the product dries, or in some cases there are products that dry instantly and allow you to get dressed straight away. Some self tanning products give you an instant colour - this is something you need to allow to dry well in advance of putting on your wedding dress though, as you don't want the colour rubbing off on your dress. However some self tanning products don’t have a guide colour (such as Famous Dave's Moisture Tan) and instead go on like a moisturiser and develop naturally over 4-6 hours, which you need to allow for in advance - this type of product may well be more suited for your wedding day as it will not rub off on your dress.

The colour that develops from self tanning products can vary massively. Typically with self tanning you get what you pay for, therefore don’t go for the cheap products as there will be a strong chance you’ll end up with an undesirable end colour and tarnish your impression of what a good fake tan should look like. Instead you should be looking to spend £20+ on a bottle of self tanning lotion, as these products will have excellent ingredients and result in a very natural tanned colour being achieved. The better and more expensive products will often last you longer because you won’t need to apply as much, therefore becoming more cost-effective over the long-term. You’ll also end up with a tan that you’ll never want to lose!

Prepare and practice your colour well before the wedding day - apply one coat of self tan at a time, let that develop and then if you want to go darker re-apply in 12-24 hours. Don’t re-apply too soon as this can affect the final result and the tan is more likely to flake off. Don’t shower too soon after applying the tanning product either, it needs time to develop and by showering within a few hours after application could result in some of the product being washed off and not giving you a colour. The same can be said of physical activity too soon after application, perspiration can also end up in the product coming off prior to developing in colour affecting the overall result. If you still don’t get the colour you were hoping, you may have applied too much moisturiser prior to tanning, not used enough of the product, or even used too much of the product. It’s very often trial and error to begin with, but once you’ve applied a fake tan product a couple of times you’ll know exactly what you’re doing and perfect the colour you’re looking for.

Maintaining your colour well into your honeymoon:

To maximise the length of time your tan lasts after your wedding day, you should use a high quality moisturiser daily to keep your skin moisturised and less likely to flake prematurely. You should also exfoliate lightly several days after applying the self tanning product to naturally remove the dead skin cells evenly instead of them flaking off unevenly. Prolong your tan further by applying a tan extender or gradual tanner in between full applications.

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