Feeling Citrusy?

by WiredBerries Editors — May 21, 2008

If, by chance, you failed to properly exfoliate before applying any of the fabulous self-tanners listed in Monday's column, don't panic! You can easily remove the evidence and return to a less orangey state of being. First, realize that self-tanners don't last long, so a good shower and 24 hours will do wonders. If, however, you're in a hurry to become streak-free, try these tips from sunless.com:

• To get rid of blotchiness on the face and neck, get damp in the shower and massage dry baking soda onto your damp skin, rubbing in small, gentle circles. Usually just one baking soda scrub will leave everything looking even and less orange.
• If it is just the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet that are a problem, you can try body hair bleach, 2% BHA lotion, or ordinary hydrogen peroxide. Be aware that hydrogen peroxide can irritate skin, so test on a small area first.
• Another alternative is to use products such as Orange Goop, used by car mechanics to get stains off hands. Use only on your hands -- products like this are not recommended for use on large areas of the body. They are most effective on callused areas, such as hands and feet.
• For fingernails and toenails, try denture cleaner.
• If you're orange all over, the best thing you can do is soak in the tub. A single bath may do it for you; if not, take a bath every day until your tan is gone. Soaking in water works because your sunless tanner colored the outermost dead skin cells brown. These skin cells, when they get wet, soak up water like a sponge, and get tremendously huge, up to 30 times their original size. The bigger the skin cell gets, the lighter the "tan" gets.