There are all sorts of tricks to ensure you get the perfect, professional spray tan, but have you ever tried to do your entire face for an appointment?
Earlier this month, YouTube content creator Meg DeAngelis, 29, shared a now-viral TikTok video where she showed herself in the car while putting on make-up all over her face for a tanning appointment.
“I do a full session before I get a spray tan so I get just the right amount of tan,” the Canadian actress, who now lives in Los Angeles, told her 1.1 million followers.
“It’s the only way I can keep myself from getting pimples from self-tanner!” Meg explained in her caption.
FEMAIL has since consulted tanning experts to find out if the trick really works. Here’s why they warn against the practice.
YouTube content creator Meg DeAngelis, 29, shared a now-viral TikTok video showing herself in a car putting on her entire face of makeup for a tanning appointment
FEMAIL consulted tanning experts to find out if the trick really works – and here’s why they warn against the practice (stock image)
Many people wondered why you would put on make-up before the treatment, as it is normally against the rules and would ruin the tan.
“Guys, the face tans much easier. So less tan on the face. The makeup is a barrier to some of the tanning,” one commenter explained.
‘If you do a spray tan with no makeup on your face, it always looks way too dark. If you put makeup on first, it’s just right,’ said someone else.
One woman shared her own trick: ‘I take the spray tan off my face immediately after I’m done and apply my foundation to my body.’
Someone said the secret is to ‘wear a hairnet over your face’.
But Natalia Radosz, the owner of a professional spray tanning salon Glow 2 Go In New York, FEMAIL warned that this hack could have disastrous consequences.
‘If you put on makeup all over your face before getting a spray tan, most of the tan will disappear after the first shower,’ Natalia told DailyMail.com.
“Your makeup creates a barrier, which can cause your tan to completely wash off or look uneven after your first shower,” Natalia advises.
There are all sorts of tricks to ensure you get the perfect, professional spray tan, but have you ever tried to do your entire face for an appointment?
Many commenters questioned why you would put on makeup before undergoing a treatment, as this is normally completely against the rules and would ruin the tan.
If you want to make sure your spray tan isn’t too dark on your face, Natalia says it’s best to ask your spray tan artist to choose a lighter color.
And for those with sensitive, acne-prone skin, it’s important to make sure the products your tanner uses are noncomedogenic, meaning they won’t clog pores.
Instead of putting on makeup, Natalia said it’s all about prepping in other ways, like exfoliating to make sure you don’t have dry, flaky skin for the spray to stick to. and apply a light layer of moisturizer five hours or more beforehand.
Lifestyle blogger and entrepreneur Bethany Menzel, co-founder and creative director of the viral tanning brand Salty facealso explained that this hack ‘may result in an uneven tan depending on how it is applied.’
“If you want to create a barrier so that your face doesn’t absorb too much tan, I recommend applying a thicker moisturizer all over your face or just on the areas where you want the tan to develop less deeply,” says Bethany from Vancouver, Canada.
Saltyface Co-Founder Bethany Menzel Explains Why This Viral TikTok Hack ‘Can Result in an Uneven Tan’
Of course, you can also choose to skip your face altogether and use a product like Saltyface. That is a good combination with clean ingredients that do not cause pimples.
However, it may take some time to find the right match, so it is best to work with a product that darkens over time.
‘“Finding the right shade for your face can be tricky because we wash and exfoliate our faces more often and use more products,” Bethany advises.
‘I recommend using a gradual self-tanner, like our tanning water, so you can control the depth of your tan as the spray tan fades.’