Tried & True Tips to Getting a Natural Sunny Glow

Hey friends!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  I am here to share some of my tried and true tips and tricks to getting a natural sunny glow today!  I think I talk about this every Spring, but I can’t help myself because I am a huge fan of a sunless tan, and I have been using JERGENS® Natural Glow products for years, and I consider myself an expert in the sunless tan just from my years of experience at wearing it.  I know that when it is time to bare my skin every Spring, I definitely look and feel better with some color on my skin, and I think mostly everyone does!  Below, you will see a before and after picture of my Natural Glow® tan, and it took me maybe four days to achieve it.  I hope you will stick around today and that you will be inspired to try some of my tips to get your own natural sunny glow, let’s go create our own sunshine!

I’m not gonna lie, I used to sunbathe with the best of them, for years and years.  Then as I entered my 30’s, I started having spots of basal cell carcinoma removed- several from my chest, one on my leg, and two on my face over the years.  And after the first few, my Dermatologist told me it was caused from all of the past years of tanning.  Ever since then, I have never baked in the sun the same way again.  I now wear 30-50 SPF whenever I am in the sun.  I do still enjoy a tan, but am much more responsible about it.  And being able to get a natural looking sunless tan helps me to have a natural sunny glow every Spring and Fall, until it is time to bundle up for winter again!

I always like to start out with smoothly shaved legs and a soak in a nice warm bath.  Some people are shower people, but I am a bath lover.  I do shower on days that I wash my hair, but I much prefer to shave my legs while sitting down.  Having a nice smooth shave also helps to exfoliate the skin, which is key to preparing to apply sunless tanner.

The next thing I always do is exfoliate.  You want to get all areas of your body as smooth as possible, taking care to scrub your ankles, knees and elbows.  I love to use the JERGENS® Natural Glow® Color Primer In-Shower Scrub to exfoliate in the bath or the shower.  Use an exfoliator once per week while using self tanner to keep your skinned prepped for the product you will be using.

After I’m out of the bath, it’s time to get my tan on!  I start with my favorite product of all, the JERGENS® Natural Glow® FACE Daily Moisturizer with Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 20.  I use the medium to tan shade.  I really love this stuff because not only does it give me the perfect sunny glow, but it is also a great moisturizer!  I like to use the glow face moisturizer in the mornings before applying my makeup.  I do give it several minutes to dry before applying any makeup to my face.  I have found no streaking or discoloration when using this glow moisturizer.  I don’t even really have to be careful with it.  I apply it the same exact way I do my other moisturizers, and it looks flawless every time!  I also do moisturize my neck with it as well.  I am being brave today in giving you a glimpse into my daily routine, and keeping it real by showing you what I look like after stepping out of the shower, and I don’t believe I have ever done that before on the blog.  As a matter of fact I may never again, so soak it in while you can, ha!

When my face and neck are finished, it’s time for my arms, chest, and the top of my back and my neck.  I usually don’t apply anything to my mid section until swim suit season starts to roll around.  And when it does, I employ the assistance of my husband to help out with my back.  But if you don’t have someone handy to help, you can wrap a tanning mitt around a back brush with a hair elastic and apply it yourself.  I have done this many times and it works!  I start applying the product to my back and mid section at least a week or two before swim suit season.  I started out this Spring using JERGENS® Natural Glow® +FIRMING Daily Moisturizer in light to medium, but when Summer approaches I will step it up to the JERGENS® Natural Glow® Daily Moisturizer in medium to tan.  I didn’t realize that the darker shade I bought was not the firming glow moisturizer, but it’s totally fine with me, because I love both of them!

I use my glow moisturizer in a little bit of a different way than it specifies, but I swear by it and it definitely works for me!   (I add a bit of my regular moisturizer to my glow moisturizer (probably 3 parts of the glow moisturizer and one part of regular moisturizer) and I mix it up in the palm of my hand before application.  I feel like that is the key for me to no streaking or discoloration.  You can also apply a regular lotion to your hands, knees, ankles, elbows, and feet before applying your glow moisturizer to assist it in going on more evenly.   I start with my forearms, then my upper arms, chest, and top of my back.  I take special care to apply evenly on my entire arms, and extra care around my elbows.  And I use less of the product on my elbows.  I usually use whatever is left over on my hands at the very end to apply to my elbows.  When applying the product to your hands, bend your fingers to make sure you are covering all of the creases in your knuckles.   I make sure to bend my elbows so that I can see them in the mirror, and make sure to blend blend blend.  That way I know I am getting into every little crease.

I then move on to my legs by applying the glow moisturizer to my calves first, and then my thighs.  Lastly, I concentrate on my knees, ankles and toes with what is leftover on my hands.  I make sure to bend my knees when applying to the front, and straighten them when applying to the back.  I am probably the most cautious when it comes to my ankles, heels and toes.  You need to make sure no product is getting caked up in any creases.  I usually take a wet washcloth and wrap it around my finger and rub in between each toe after I am finished.  That keeps your toe creases from looking too dark.  I also be sure to wash my toes with a washcloth or pouf when I shower and bathe.

After I am finished applying my gradual glow moisturizer, I take a warm, wet washcloth and scrub the palms of my hands and in between my fingers and around my nails.  I put a tiny dab of soap on the washcloth if needed.  And then I dry my hands and apply lotion.  I love that I discovered doing it this way because my hands and fingers never look streaky!  It’s also a good idea to take a Qtip, dip it in polish remover, and run it around and under your nails once or twice per week too. 

Of course, after you apply your gradual glow moisturizer, you need to wait a few minutes for it to dry before you get dressed, and if you are in a hurry, grab your hair dryer, and lightly blow it all over your skin to help it to dry much faster.  I have also done this many times when I am in a hurry!  And if you don’t want to build your way to a natural glow gradually, you can also purchase the JERGENS® Natural Glow® Instant Sun® Sunless Tanning Mousse for an instant natural glow! And the good news is that you can use the same tips and tricks in applying the sunless tanner as the gradual glow.  The only difference I would recommend is to really wash your hands thoroughly after using it, and then go back and carefully apply product to the tops of your hands with a sponge brush that you would use for painting purposes.  It works great!

To help maintain your natural glow in between applications, use a baby body wash and an oil free lotion. Oil based products will make your natural glow fade faster, so try not to use products that contain oil to preserve your color.  I really do love to use my JERGENS® Natural Glow® Daily Moisturizer and my JERGENS® Natural Glow® FACE Daily Moisturizer with Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 20! 

I usually purchase mine at Walmart, and as you can see in the collage below, the last time I was there, I certainly didn’t have a hard time finding it.  I found it in three different locations.  So you should not have a problem locating it at all.

If you are like me, and you want to get a natural sunny glow any time of the year without baking in the sun, give my tips and tricks a try!  I think you will be very pleased with the results!  Do you have any tips or tricks that I haven’t mentioned here today?  If so, please share away in the comments!  I love to hear from you and I read every single comment.

Are you ready to head to the store right this minute and get what you need to give yourself you very own natural sunny glow?  Right now, you can find a coupon attached to the products to save $3.00 off of any two full sized Jergens® Natural Glow® product.  So now is a great time to try this product if you haven’t tried it before!  Have a great Monday!

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