Which Tanning Lotion Should I Use?

Whenever I check my email, I am frequently asked the question, “Which lotion would you recommend for me to tan with?” While I certainly have my favorites, it is really important to me to first identify your unique situation and tanning goals and what is most important to your skincare routine before I make a recommendation.

To me, skincare is always No. 1, which is why I recommend our top quality tanning products. They usually have the best anti-aging ingredients combined with the best tanning accelerators. Also, other factors such as the season, locality and where in your tanning journey you are right now.

For Beginning Tanners I recommend starting with a beginning tanning lotion that will give you intense acceleration but also intense moisturization. This category of tanning lotion will help you tan to your own natural abilities but up to 70% faster. I also recommend following our Tanning Checklist to make sure you have everything needed to develop your base tan.

More Advanced Tanners should look for a more advanced lotion that provides acceleration at your level. They also often have dark bronzers, ingredients like black walnut, and other extracts to give your skin an immediate glow after tanning. You may also want to step up to a tingle tanning lotion that will increase circulation to speed up the tanning process. You can even combine the two with a hot bronzer lotion. We have compiled a list of the Top 10 Best Tanning Lotions based on reviews and sales. You can find the best of the best on this list.

So let’s figure out what kind of lotion interests you at your current level:

• Beginner: The starting point. Beginning tanning lotions offer your skin high levels of moisturization, good acceleration, rich skin care ingredients and are designed to get you as dark as possible and quickly as possible.
• Intermediate: After you get as dark as you can with your beginning tanning lotion you may feel that you have plateaued. An intermediate tanning lotion is often called a plateau buster! These lotions will take you to the next level. My favorite is Ultra Dark Tanning Lotion from Hoss Sauce.
• Advanced: These are the lotions that take you to the top of your tanning game. They include the richest maximizers, intense skincare, dark tanning bronzers, and even tingle tanning if you are brave. It’s good to rotate your lotions at this level. Mix it up and try new things.
• Sensitive: Developed for those with sensitive skin. If you have sensitivities to any ingredients in tanning lotions or any lotions, one of these hypoallergenic products may work well for you.
• Outdoor: Most of our products work well both indoors and outdoors. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. Product with tingle may not be comfortable outdoors because of the warming effect. Also unless specified, our products do not contain SPF so they don’t protect you from the sun but rather accelerate your tan. It’s best to switch to an SPF after tanning for a time so that you don’t overexpose if you are outdoors.

By understanding what type of tanner you are and what you’re looking for in products, we can offer you the best product for you at every level!