When sunless tanning cream first hit the market, it was seen as something of a farce. Not only was it viewed as bizarre and volatile, but the fact that many people did not know how to use it properly lead to results that were often less than perfect and sometimes down right comical. However, as the years have passed, so have the indoor lotions developed and people’s ability to use them safely and effectively. Today, indoor tanning lotions are a safe, quick and effective way to get a healthy looking tan.The key ingredient behind the vast majority of indoor tanning lotions is Dihydroxyacetone - or DHA. DHA utilizes the natural amino acids in your skin to produce melanoids, which are the substance responsible for turning your skin brown. Sunless tans are comparatively short lived lasting in most cases less than a week. This means it is actually quite easy to experiment with these lotions in order to figure how exactly they work best on your skin.

A common difficulty faced when applying indoor tan lotions is how to avoid getting bright orange hands. This occurs because the hands undergo prolonged exposure to the lotion due to the fact that it’s the hands that are used for rubbing the lotion into the rest of the body. One way around this is to use plastic gloves and then finally apply the lotion to the back of your hands once the rest of the body is done. The downside of this is that using plastic gloves doesn’t allow the same amount of control as using bear hands. What many people do to good effect is apply the lotion near a sink and make sure they wash their hands at least every five minutes. This prevents the hands from prolonged exposure and turning orange.

The problem of streaks is also a common one for many people experimenting with these indoor lotions. These streaks are unsightly marks of darker skin usually running down the length of ones leg or arm and are a direct result of misapplication. The key to applying any indoor lotion by hand is to do so in a circular motion and not a linear one. By applying the lotion in circles you are ensuring an even distribution on the body and eliminating the risk of linear streaks. Another thing to remember is that when it comes to even tans time is of the essence. You need to aim to get your whole body done as quickly as possible so that every part of your body is exposed to the active ingredients in the lotion for roughly the same amount of time which in turn will ensure an even tan. Otherwise if your legs are exposed to the lotion for a full 5-10 minutes longer than your arms you will end up with much darker legs than arms.

Before applying indoor tanning lotion to your skin it’s best to get in the shower and give your whole body a really good scrub. This will remove most of the dead skin cells from the surface of the skin which would have fallen off in the next couple of days anyways. What this does is ensure that the lotion gets to work on fresh skin cells which will in turn prolong the life of your tan. As it is these lotions only provide tans that remain for up to a week at the most so its important to maximize how long you can enjoy the fruits of one application if only by a few days. Exfoliating your skin before tanning could make the difference between a tan that lasts 2 days and one that lasts a week.

Caution is always advisable when using these lotions, especially if you don’t have much experience with them. If you are a first timer always opt for a mild lotion so that any unforeseen side effects are minimal. There are so many brands available today offering varying degrees of brownness for your skin. While it may be tempting to go far that deep bronzed look straight off the bat it’s not advisable to do so. Not only are your chances of messing up the tan higher with more visible results, but not everybody actually looks good with that deep bronze look. You should start out with a mild tan to see if it suits you then you can better judge whether or not you should try for a deeper bronze tan if you till want more.