In high school, going to tanning beds with the thing to do. As a hopeless follower, I started frequenting a seedy joint attached to a gas station (red flag!). I would overdo it under the bright bulbs and burn, only to try again a few weeks later. Smart, right? Fortunately, I was a was a broke teenager and couldn’t keep up the cancer-causing habit. If you’re ready to get your glow on for summer, skip the tanning beds and go for a self-tanner.
I’m still a Jergens fan (call me crazy, but I love the smell). Before you apply, you gotta exfoliate. By removing the layer of dead skin cells, you’ll self-tan more easily and evenly. And here’s an important tip – you need a scrub that’s not oil based before applying self tanner. Normally you want the extra moisture, but for self-tanning you don’t want a barrier between your skin and the tanner.
Oil- Free Pre-Tan Scrub
I found this recipe from the creator of Pur-Lisse skin care in an old issue of Real Simple. It’s a perfect pre-tan body polish and face scrub (plus it tastes amazing). The texture of the ground rice is nice and gentle, and next time I might switch out the brown sugar for fresh coffee grounds for a bit of cellulite reduction.
Store it in a closed jar and you can get 2 applications out of it. Refrigerate the leftovers and use once a week during self-tan season.
Pina Colada Pre-Tan Scrub
Materials
- 1/2 cup ground rice
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger
Instructions
- Grind the rice in a coffee grinder or food processor.
- Combine rice with coconut milk, brown sugar and ginger.
- Stir together until you get a thick paste.
- Apply over entire body, working in circular motions from the feet up.
- Rinse in the shower.
- Apply self-tanning moisturizer.
Pina Colada Age Spot Mask
If you’re a reformed tanning bed user like me, you probably have sun damage on your face. Pineapple is a tasty choice for battling age spots or red blotchiness. It’s high in vitamin C and the enzyme bromelain, which acts as an exfoliant. Combined with a bit of leftover coconut milk, pineapple makes a natural AHA face mask for reducing the appearance of lines and spots while giving your skin a nice glow (plus it feels really good and tingly).
Pineapple AHA mask
Combine 1/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple (you can also used canned pineapple) with 1 tablespoon of coconut milk. Apply evenly over your face, neck and chest and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Rinse, pat dry and slather on moisturizer.
Don’t over do it with a mask like this – once a week is plenty. And since you are removing a layer of dead skin cells you might be extra sensitive to sun so be sure to apply SPF.
Post by Stephanie Gerber, Photos by Lindsey Johnson
Just wanted to say that I made both of these this morning after searching for oil-free DIY scrubs, and LOVED them. I didn’t have any ginger on hand so omitted that and used white sugar, plus some leftover canned coconut milk I had in the fridge, and fresh pineapple. They are both keepers!! So nice to find a scrub recipe I can use for both face and body that doesn’t leave me (or my tub) all greasy, but definitely still leaves a hint of moisture from the coconut milk! And the mask was very nice. Thanks for sharing, and for the great mini spa morning I just had!
I was thinking of doing a coconut oil and sea salt scrub. Then the pineapple coconut milk bath adding raw honey and sea salt possibly a small amount of coconut oil. I will then apply my Jergens self Tanner. I would imagine my skin being so silky it shines
Sure!
I don’t think I could love your blog any more than I do.
Aww, Brittany, you totally made my day :) Thank you for the kind words!
Wow, this looks amazing! Pinned for later :) I’d love it if you shared this over at The Makers link party going on at my blog right now, UpcycledTreasures.com Hope to see you there!