Are Gradual Self Tanners False Economy?

In recent years many brands have diversified into offering a new type of fake tan – the gradual tan. This is a fake tan that doesn’t give you an instant tan but instead lets you build up the colour over several days gradually, but are gradual self tanners actually good value or a false economy?

Firstly you need to ask yourself do you want a tan? If so, perhaps you should consider a good quality self tanner – one that does give you a natural colour without going too dark straight away. Are you only considering a graudal self tan because you’re worried you may go too dark? Don’t be fooled, by going for a gradual tanner very often you will get such a light colour you won’t even notice the difference. There are plenty of self tans on the market that will work just great for you and give you the perfect colour with just one application that will then last for 5-7 days. Unlike a gradual tanner that will take daily application for probably 5-7 days before you might even see the slightest colour change on your skin!

There’s also the time element you need to consider – gradual tanners need applying every day to build up some colour, whereas a good quality self tanner will only need that one application, leaving you free to spend time on other things each day instead of applying self tan.

Also a lot of gradual self tanners don’t smell particularly great, which is not really what you want when you’re expected to apply it every day. You wouldn’t spray yourself with a perfume you didn’t like every day would you, so why do it with a gradual tan?

Then there’s the price. Yes Gradual Tanners tend to be cheaper than a good quality self tan lotion, but you’re applying it every day instead of once a week. So where a typical gradual tanner may retail at £5-£7 and a self tan lotion of similar size retails at £20, you’re going to get through the gradual tan in record time applying it every day and quickly need to buy more to keep building the tan up compared to a normal self tanner that only needs one application per week. So really, you’re better off getting a self tan lotion that costs more but only needs to be applied once a week. Whilst it may be more expensive to buy initially, the product will outlast the gradual tanner in terms of time, and also outperform the gradual tanner by delivering better results. 

In summary, whilst gradual self tanners do have their place in the market, in reality you are better off sticking with traditional self tanners that give colour after a single application. They are more convenient, perform better, last longer, and work out cheaper in the long run than a gradual self tanner.