Does fake tan make you go blotchy or streaky?

by H Noble
(Buckinghamshire UK)

Question: Does a spray tan go blotchy or streaky? i have tried home fake tans before but first i go orange and then after about 2-3 days it fade but all blotchy. i know you need to keep topping ti up but it just makes me too orage and it looks so fake. I am very pale is this the reason why i go orange? also, i was going to have a spray tan for my prom.. so i want to look my best.. e.g NOT orage streak or blotchy.. will a spray tan do this to me.?
thanks

Answer: To avoid going orange, streaky or blotchy you have to do two things:
1. Make sure that your pre-spray tan exfoliating is good enough. Not every product will do the same job, as a lot of exfoliating products have oils or moisturizers added, but that stops the spray tanning solution getting through and as a result you can go patchy. The best exfoliating product on the market by far that I have only recently found is Baiden Mitten as it exfoliates totally by a mechanical means without putting any oils onto the skin. Also watch out what soaps or body washes you use, the ones that have a lot of moisturizers like Dove soap can also form a barrier.

2. You have to match the solution to your skin. If you are very pale you can ONLY get a very light tan without a significant danger of going orange. There are a lot of solutions that will not be suitable for you if they have a larger content of DHA.
A good spray tanning salon will have a range of different solutions and will be able to match the solution to your own individual skin.

I would suggest a trial run to make sure that you do have a good match and don't get your prom ruined. If in doubt though, you can always use Safe Tan which I have never seen go orange.