Summertime Glow: My DIY Guide
We all feel a little prettier with that summer time glow...
HAPPY SUMMER NINETEEN BABES!
I always feel prettier in the summer time; I think it has to do with the absence of school stress and the atmosphere around me. Plus, don't we all feel a little cuter with a summer glow?
When addressing tanning I believe that two topics must be touched on, first being safety, and second, being crossing into cultural appropriation.
Before ANYTHING ELSE, go put on your SPF! It doesn't matter if its raining, you're inside, you don't burn, you want a tan, etc etc etc. You need to protect your skin no excuses.
"No matter what you may hear at tanning salons, the cumulative damage caused by UV radiation can lead to premature skin aging (wrinkles, lax skin, brown spots, and more), as well as skin cancer. In fact, people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent."
Your skin and your body should be protected as first priority, because beauty should never come before your health.
Cultural appropriation and the 2019 term, "Blackfishing", has become more and more common in recent years, coming to the forefront of the media with white influencers presenting with dominantly black cultural appearances. This can mean appropriating hairstyles, makeup, and excessive tanning to appear as if they are people of colour.
"it’s perfectly acceptable —even desirable— to look Black as long as you can wash it off; but being Black is an entirely different experience. This does beg the question, though, when it comes to spray tanning, at what point does your tan become offensive?"
Maybe the opinion of a white woman is not the most relevant opinion to go off of, but I believe that altering your skin tone with spray tans and self tans are fine to participate in, as long as you are not darkening your skin excessively, to an unnatural point for your own body. Every single person is different, everyone's skin is different and we must act responsibly in order to err on the side of caution when dealing with subject of cultural appropriation. It's important to pay respect in all aspects of beauty. Please feel free . to share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to hear more people's opinions.
Now lets get into self tanning...
I've been using various self tanners for a while because of cheerleading and dance I did in high school, and trust me, I've been through my share of horrors...
My self tanning routine starts off with a shower in which I exfoliate my whole body and remove hair so everything will go on smoothly, and moisturizing right after scrubbing down to repair any dead skin. Make sure that your moisturizer has soaked into your skin everywhere so . your tan is even. Then I apply self tan with a mitt all over. My favourite self tanning product is the Jergens Self Tanning Foam, but L'Oreal Sublime Bronze was my go-to in high school. I never saw the need to go to a high end brand when the <$15 products work great! Plus, I love the little gold shimmer in these products!
Some tanning lotion/foam etc doesn't appear right away, so make sure to cover everywhere. I usually start at my feet and go up from there. To do my face, I either use a separate tanner such as this one from Tarte, or I just use whatever is left on my mitt over my face, ears, and neck. Finally, I use a little bit of moisturizer to blend areas that may crease or get too dark, like the armpits, knees, knee pits, elbow, elbow pits, and neck. Finally, it's time to wait for it all to dry, you don't want to sit, or you'll stain whatever you touch and make creases and splotches over your body, so give it a second, and then don't wear white.... If you wake up and you look like you just rolled around in mud, or you're extra dark in some places, you can use baking soda and lemon juice or just some exfoliating to blend it out.
Finally, I like to look shiny and glittery when going out in the summer so before going out I apply either a slick sunscreen all over (daytime) or a glittery body glow product to enchance that glow!
Happy summer babes!
xoxo
Alysha Autumn