Tips to Get Rid of Spray Tan Gone Bad

When I get a spray tan it looks great, except sometimes my hands and feet get really dark orange and look crazy. It's really embarrassing going to big events looking like a oompa loompa (minus the green hair). The day after a spray tan is scary.  It can  look like I  haven't washed my hands in weeks. It looks so gross.  I more than likely forgot to rinse my hands off after the spray tan or possibly the barrier cream didn't do it's job. Hard to tell.

Usually the barrier cream will prevent spray tan solution from collecting in unwanted areas but just in case this happens to you, here are some tips to help remove spray tan solution from those unwanted parts of your body.

It's winter but wearing winter gloves at work might be a little strange.  What do I do? So I looked online for hacks to get rid of any unwanted dark spots or blotchy spots.

Effective ways to treat light spots:

• Lemon juice
• Vinegar
• Baby oil (let the baby oil rest on your skin for a few minutes and then gently use an exfoliating glove or wash cloth)
• Mix baby oil with baking soda to form a paste, then rub the paste on the stained areas
• If you have just some small areas that are lighter than the surrounding areas, try using a small dab of self tanner to blend the spot
• Magic eraser - this is a tried and tested method for removing marks on your wall but it will also remove light to semi-dark spray tan stains

Effective ways to treat dark spray tan stains on your hands, knees or elbows:

• Hydrogen peroxide - this is a common household item that many people have in their medicine cabinets.  It has been used to lighten hair (so I'm told) but it can also be used to remove a spray tan stain.  Rub some hydrogen peroxide on the affected areas and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Then take a wash cloth or loofah and scrub the area.  Be very careful that you are using this only on the area of concern.  If you are too liberal with it you will remove the spray tan from surrounding areas.
• Tan remover (you can purchase tan remover product in most stores)
• Acetone or nail polish remover - another household item for most ladies.  Apply the nail polish remover to a cotton ball and wipe the affected area
• Heavy duty hand soap.  If your husband has some mechanics soap around the house to remove grease stains from his hands, you will find that a product such as Orange Goop will work as well.  Most of these products have little exfoliater balls in the soap that aid in exfoliating the area.
• Pumice bar - use a pumice bar such as Mr. Pumice.  You can use it wet or dry but a dry pumice bar may work better for our purpose but be careful because it could irritate your skin if you rub too hard.

Helpful tip:

If the stained area is not on your hands, remember to wear latex disposable gloves to apply any type of spray tan removal product to any other parts of your body.  You don't want the top of your hands, fingers, wrist or any parts of your arm to inadvertently get exposed to a removal product.

Hope this helps if you ever have a terrible spray tan or problem spots. It helped me when I thought I was beyond help. It's great going UV ray free but now this might make it look a little more believable.