15 Best Gradual Self-Tanners To Try: How To Safely Tan Year-Round

If you’re looking to capture that bronzed, beach-babe look, but don’t want to spend too much time outdoors, your best option is to choose a good self-tanner.

While best gradual self-tanners are not the only way to get a smooth, glowing tan, they are arguably the safest and easiest way to tan. You can find here more about how to get a dark tan in one day.

What Are Self-Tanners And How Do They Work?

If you use self-tanner to get a tan, you are not exposing your skin to harsh UV rays – unlike when you tan in the sun or spend time on tanning beds. While it’s UV rays that stimulate your skin’s production of melanin and cause your skin to darken and tan, you want to avoid too much UV exposure as this can also damage your skin.

By using a self-tanning product, you can achieve a bronzed gold tan without the risk of sunburn, premature aging, and skin cancer. You can also achieve and maintain a tan all-year-round as you can easily apply a self-tanner in the privacy of your home – no matter what the weather outside is like.

The active ingredient in most self-tanners is something known as dihydroxyacetone or DHA. When DHA is applied to the skin, it temporarily darkens or tans the outer layers. Aside from DHA, many self-tanners also contain other ingredients that benefit your skin, like moisturizers on antioxidants.

Why Choose To Use Self-Tanners?

By keeping your skin healthy and supple, and minimizing your exposure to UV rays, self-tanners can help you achieve a healthy glowing tan that goes beyond the surface. All you need to do is choose the right self-tanner for your lifestyle and budget.

To help start you off on your journey to achieving the healthiest glowing tan possible, here are some highly recommended self-tanners for you to try. Go through the list and pick out one or two that sound like they suit you. They’ll have you glowing and golden in no time — without the danger of sunburn or skin cancer.

1. Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer

This classic self-tanner is easily found in drug stores, but you can also order it on Amazon. It provides a gradual tan that works to enhance natural skin tones. It’s very hydrating, containing a lot of moisturizers like avocado oil and glycerin. It also contains Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that keeps skin nourished and soft.

It’s lightly scented, so it is suitable for those with sensitive skin. The gentle formula ensures that you can use it often without worrying about drying your skin. You even use it in place of your daily body lotion as the formula will provide your skin with the moisture you need. Daily use will help maintain the gradual, natural color of your tan.

Cons
• May stain clothing.
• Some people find the end results too light.

2. St. Moriz Self Tanning Mousse

One big advantage cited by fans of this self-tanner is the fact that it’s a mousse, this means its lightweight formula is easy to apply smoothly on your skin and doesn’t leave you feeling sticky. St. Moriz touts this as fast-acting, needing only 60 minutes of cure time to achieve a sun-kissed glow. If, however, you want something a little darker, leave it on for two to three hours.

This self-tanner contains aloe vera, olive milk, and vitamin E that is meant to keep your smooth moisturized and hydrated with each application. It is cruelty-free, vegan-friendly, and dermatologist tested. It is available on Amazon,

Con

• On the pricy side.

3. Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam

Available on Amazon, this self-tanner promises to leave you with natural, sun-kissed skin. It contains no harsh chemicals and its active ingredient is 100% natural DHA.

It’s a lightweight mouse that you can easily spread on your skin. The fast-drying formula will not leave you feeling sticky and it doesn’t smell chemical-ly as it has a delicious tropical mango and guava fragrance.

If you are vegan or prefer your beauty products to be cruelty-free and all-natural, this is a good option for a self-tan that won’t compromise your ethics. It contains raw virgin coconut oils, as well as botanicals and amino acids.
The Cellushape technology in this self-tanner utilizes natural antioxidants from fruits such as figs, bananas, and papayas for their anti-aging properties.

Each bottle of this self-tanner is said to have around 260 pumps available, or enough for about 10 to 20 full-body tanning sessions. It’s easy to apply this tanner to tricky areas such as the feet and hands. It’s also appropriate to use on your face and ears.

Cons
• Some people find the fragrance too strong.
• Rather pricy.

4. Australian Gold Instant Sunless Tanning Lotion

This self-tanning product is especially good for people with dry skin. Available on Amazon, this tanning lotion is specially formulated to contain a good balance of self-tanning and hydrating ingredients. The end result is a natural, all-over tan plus skin that is smooth and soft to the touch.

The DHA and Erythrulose provide you with a golden glowing tan, while a hydrating complex of vitamin C plus Kakadu plum and shea butter protects and smoothens skin and prevents your tan from fading.
This self-tanner also contains caffeine, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that soothe and energize your skin. It also helps enhance the richness of the color.

Cons
• Can be streaky if not applied properly.
• Some people don’t care for the fragrance.

5. St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse

This self-tanning mousse is available on Amazon. Users love the fact that it is lightweight and very easy to apply. It uses a 100% natural DHA blend to provide you with a rich and natural-looking tan.

This tanning mousse allows you to easily customize the depth of your glow, all you have to do is wait for a specific time period between applicating and showering. The tanning will begin in an hour and, if a light tan is what you need, you can shower it off and see the effects then and there. If you want a more golden bronze, wait two hours. For a deep, dark tan, wait three hours.

This product is quick-drying, non-sticky, and very lightly fragranced. You just need to apply it once and wait for the appropriate amount of time to get a tan that you’ll love.

Con
• Can be streaky if applied without a tanning mitt.
• Rather pricy.

6. B. Tan Self Tanner Mousse

This self-tanner is lightweight and easy to use. It promises that you’ll start to see results within one hour of application – though if you want to go darker, you should wait longer before showering.

If you’re looking for a “green” self-tanner, this is a good choice. It doesn’t just use naturally derived tanning ingredients, but also recycled and recyclable materials in its packaging. The product is also vegan-friendly, paraben-free, palm oil-free, and not tested on animals.

Cons
• Some people found it hard to control the depth of the tan.

7. SOL By Jergens

This sunless tanning deep water mousse is made by Jergens and can be found on Amazon at a reasonable price. It is a clear mousse that is easy to apply and is lightly tropically scented.

It offers a natural-looking tan using natural ingredients. Its tanning agents are derived from natural sugars that work with your skin tone to create an authentic-looking tan that can last for days.

No need to rinse off with this self-tanner, just make sure that your skin is dry before getting dressed and you can prevent streaking or getting the product on your clothes.

Con
• It can stain your surrounding.
• Some people don’t like the fragrance.

8. Vita Liberata Fabulous Self Tanning Gradual Lotion

This self-tanning lotion, found on Amazon, uses 100% natural ECOcert DHAs to provide you with a gradual but long-lasting natural glow.
This product is full of hydrating and moisturizing ingredients to protect your skin and leave it smooth and healthy. It uses natural moisturizers such as shea butter, marula oil, and hyaluronic acid, which also have antioxidant properties.

It is non-fragrant, which makes it great for users with sensitive skin. The lotion goes on clear, which means that there’s no transfer onto your clothing or the surrounding areas.

Con
• Some people felt it was a bit sticky on the skin.

9. Neutrogena MicroMist Airbrush Sunless Tan

People love this self-tanner, available on Amazon because it’s just so easy to apply. After spraying the sunless tan solution evenly all over your body – including hard-to-reach areas – you just wait for 5-minutes for it to dry. That’s it, you should see results almost instantly, without the need to shower it off or rub the solution in with a mitt.

The fine-mist spray of this product provides great coverage and doesn’t leave you feeling sticky or greasy. This self-tanner dries quickly upon hitting your skin, leaving no unpleasant residue. The resulting tan should be two shades darker than your natural skin tone.

This tanning mist also contains witch hazel, which is known for its ability to soothe the skin. Another advantage to this product is the fact that it is oil-free and non-comedogenic so it won’t clog your pores.

Cons
• Some people found it difficult to control the spray.
• Can end up staining your environment.
• Can be splotchy.

10. L’Oréal Paris Self-Tanning Water Mousse

Another lightweight self-tanning Mousse, this time from trusted makeup giant L’Oréal, this product promises a natural-looking tan in just four to eight hours after application.

This self-tanner is infused with coconut water and vitamin E to keep your skin hydrated and feeling supple and plump to the touch. There’s also a light scent of coconut to this self-tanner, that many find pleasant and contribute to a spa-like feel and experience.
The tanner goes on clear, without leaving any unpleasant residue and it is also transfer resistant so you don’t have to worry about getting it on your clothes.

Con
• Some people felt it was streaky.

11. Beauty by Earth Self Tanner

If you are looking for a product that uses natural ingredients to give you a glowing healthy tan, you should check this one out. This self-tanner uses all-natural ingredients to ensure that you get a safe and healthy tan that you’ll love. You can find it on Amazon.

This self-tanner hydrates your skin as it gradually darkens your skin tone to provide you with a glowing, natural tan. It also contains an array of botanical extracts, such as aloe vera and shea butter, that work to nourish your skin, leaving it feeling soft and supple as well as looking golden and glowing.

Con
• Some people felt the end effect was too light.
• Kind of pricey.

12. James Read Tan Coconut Melting Tanning Balm

This self-tanning product promises a natural-looking tan that matches with your skin tone. It’s easy to apply and the color is supposed to last up to five days.

The tanning balm is enriched with organic coconut oil that nourishes the skin and keeps it hydrated and feeling silky soft. The coconut oil also gives it a nice “beachy” tropical scent.

The balm starts off as a thick paste but it quickly becomes an absorbent oil when you rub it into your skin. You should start to see results in about six hours.

Cons
• Can feel and look oily or greasy. You may need to blot your skin after applying.
• You will need to wait six hours before you see the effects.
• Pricey.

13. Coola Sunless Tan Dry Body Oil Mist

This self-tanning product is available on Amazon and is quite popular there because it’s easy to use. The oil is actually very absorbable and quick drying so you don’t end up feeling greasy or with a residue.

This is a spray-on self-tanner, but the spray only comes out in short bursts, so you’re going to have to blend it into your skin. This results in a natural-looking if short-lived tan that will last for three days.

This product contains argan oil, aloe vera extracts, and hibiscus flower extracts which hydrate and nourish your skin for a better all-over glow.

It uses natural, sugar-beet-derived DHAs and is paraben-free, gluten-free, cruelty-free, and reef friendly.

Con
• Lasts for about three days.

14. Bondi Sands Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk

This self-tanning product is available on Amazon. Users love the fact that, aside from gradually giving them a natural, glowing tan, it also hydrates and nourishes the skin. This combination of tanning action and skin nourishment provides a smoother, longer-lasting tan.

It’s quite easy to apply and has a soft, cocoa buttery fragrance that many found pleasant. It contains aloe vera and vitamin E and promises 24-hours of hydration for your skin. You can also use it as a daily body moisturizer to ensure that your tanned glow lasts longer.

Con
• It May require multiple applications before you really see an effect.

15. Body Drench Quick Tan Gradual Self Tanning Lotion

This self-tanning product promises a “fresh from the beach tan” that can last year-round. It’s packed with moisturizers that protect and nourish your skin, so you can actually use it as a daily moisturizer that keeps your skin healthy and soft while maintaining its soft bronze glow.

Its gentle formula is paraben-free and dermatologists recommend this self-tanner for those with easily irritated or sensitive skin. It blends in well with different skin tones, ensuring a natural-looking tan for everyone.

This self-tanning lotion is lightweight, so it goes on easy, and fast-drying, so it leaves no unpleasant residue. We have answered here how to get rid off self tanner.

Con
• Some people feel it’s too light.