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Oops I forgot to wash my hands after apply self-tanner! I have orange hands, now what do I do?

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IS IT A FAKE TAN?

No matter what tanning product you use, dark, splotchy, orange palms are a telltale sign that you have fake tanned. We are now in an era of owning it, which means some of us would rather look like we used sunless tanner than expose ourselves to harmful sun rays or go out looking pale. Most people won't look at your palms and judge - those days are over.

But we get it! You want a self-tanner that is easy to apply and looks natural. CLEANTAN has you covered there with a natural golden tan with natural olive hues coming from the perfect mixture of plant-based colorants. This best ever color is pretty impressive, considering CLEANTAN is free from all dyes!

A DARK TAN COMES FROM A POWERFULL SELF-TANNER

CLEANTAN concentrate is also the most potent tanner on the market so washing hands is a must! Because it is so concentrated, we have gotten a few emails about these stained hands - don't worry, we've got the tips to help!

PRO TIP 1: We recommend washing your hands in between application areas. For example, apply to the upper body and wash, then apply to the lower body and wash. 

PRO TIP 2: Most professional spray tanners will use a balm or cream and apply it to your palms and cuticles before spraying you. When you apply yourself, it's not that easy to use a thick barrier cream. Instead, use a thick occlusive cream that can absorb into the skin so it won't affect your application of the tanner. 

OOPSIES!

If you already let the tanner develop and your body looks great, but you are freaking out about brown/orange stained hands, here are the facts to know: 

1.) The skin on your palms turns over faster than the skin on your body, meaning that you won't be stuck with dark palms for all that long compared to how long your actual tan will last. 

2.) Palms will turn more orange and darker compared to the rest of your body. You might have woken up to orange splotchy hands and freaked. All tanners will penetrate the palms like this due to the nature of the skin.

3.) There are some tricks to remove tanner after it has developed.

• Dish Soap: replace your daily hand washings with dish soap. They have harsher surfactants, which we normally wouldn't recommend, but under the circumstances, it can help. 

• Apply Urea and or lactic acid lotion to the palms only. Usually, strong acid or urea lotion is a no-no because it increases cell turnover and will decrease the length of your tan. In this case, it is exactly what you want! 

SHOULD I GET A SPECIALTY SELF-TANNING REMOVER?

The consensus among professional spray tanners is no; it's not necessary. If you look at the reviews of these products, you'll see that people aren't too happy with them, and they don't work better than lactic acid or urea lotions you can find at a drug store or have around the house. Don't rush out to buy tan remover, as it usually just relies on these ingredients anyway. 

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...

Self-Tanning is an art just like applying make-up that you can get better at each time. Often people give-up tanning with the littlest fail. Don't give up on tanning; instead, become a pro with these tips from our in-house tanning experts:

PRO TANNING TIPS TO AVOID ORANGE HANDS:

1. Moisturize your hands and cuticles before applying self-tanners. Even if the directions say no need to moisturize first, know that this excludes really dry parts of your skin. If you have dry feet or elbows, hit them with moisturizer too! 

2. Wash hands with your strongest hand or dish soap immediately after application of self-tanner. Don't rush application, but if you apply slowly, wash your hands between sections. 

3. Apply with a mitt. We made CLEANTAN easy to apply with no mitt necessary. All you need to do is wash your hands right after application. Note: even if you use a mitt, wash your hands because some can seep through most cloth types.

4. Lemon Juice can help. If you start to see dark hands early on, cut a lemon in half and rub it onto the oops areas. Acidic lemon can work for more than just the palms - places like ankles and elbows too.

5. We also love baby wipes to help remove tanner if you happen to have them around. Some ingredients in the baby wipes help to lift skin cells and remove self-tanners. 

BE YOUR CONFIDENT SELF!

We hope this helps you achieve a flawless finish next time you apply a self-tanner. A great tan is a huge confidence booster, but always remember: laugh at yourself when you make any tanning mistakes. Let's all agree we should learn from them instead! You can rock any look with a confident attitude!