It’s swimsuit season. You’re rocking your cutest suit. You think you’ve applied enough sunscreen during a long day out in the sun, but then the unthinkable happens. A tan with uneven lines has appeared! It may be a surprise to you, but tan lines can quickly develop if you’re not paying attention. These unwanted sun stripes usually form on your arms, face and your neck, but also appear on skin areas that your swimsuit covers. What’s worse is that these tan lines can stay on you for weeks, even months after the initial appearance. Yikes!
Fixing these uneven tan lines is not the easiest thing, but is possible with the right products. You just need a nudge in the right direction and a few DIY tricks to help restore your skin to a more even tone.
Here are a few simple tips on how to even out tan lines very quickly and effectively.
Grab any exfoliator and simply scrub your skin and carefully exfoliate the parts where the uneven tan lines are a lot more prominent on your skin. The exfoliator can help speed up the process of lightening dark areas of your skin. How’s that possible you may ask? Get this: the more you scrub, the faster the fading process. In addition, make sure you use a moisturizer for your skin. Whish offers a Sugar Scrub that works like a charm. It is made with organic brown sugar, organic raspberry seed, organic bamboo powder, organic shea butter, organic raspberry butter, organic aloe, vitamin E extract, and avocado oil and comes in a few different amazing flavors including our best selling lavender.
Because exfoliators do a great job at scrubbing the top layer of the skin, we recommend that you exfoliate with caution and if redness or irritation occurs in the area that’s being exfoliated, stop what you’re doing and let your skin breathe.
Yes, you read that correctly. Baking soda can be used to fix an uneven tan line. Talk about the ultimate do-it-yourself option. Since baking soda is a basic household item, you may already have this at home for you to try. Why baking soda? Baking soda has properties that allows you to tone down your tan and is considered highly effective.
All you have to do is put some baking soda in a glass of water and stir until you make a paste-like mixture. Apple the paste on the tanned area of your skin and after 15 minutes have passed, remove said paste. Apply this paste for a few days and you should see visible results.
Another home remedy is aloe vera gel. If you happen to have an aloe vera plant, it’s time to put it to use! Like baking soda (weird comparison, right?), aloe vera is packed with helpful antioxidants and potent enzymes that’s great for your overall health. But most importantly, aloe vera can effectively tone down tan lines in a matter of days. Did you also know aloe vera also works for sun burns? Or you can use our Coconut Milk + Verbena Correcting Gel which not only has aloe vera, it also includes clinically proven compounds to repair damage caused by the sun. What a great natural remedy!
Using body products with either vitamin C or coconut oil (or both!) are good products to apply onto the skin.
All types of natural oils are extremely healthy for your skin. Simply take some coconut oil (mixing other natural oils is okay as well), apply it on the uneven tanned areas, and leave it on overnight. When you wake up in the morning, simply wash your skin. Repeat the process each day, and your tan lines should be barely visible after a while.
Our Coconut Milk + Verbena Correcting Gel also contains coconut oil, and while it's helping to even out those tan lines, it also soothes sun exposed skin and helps reduce the appearance of UV damage.
You can also try using skincare products containing ingredients like vitamin C, which can help with hyperpigmentation. These are ingredients commonly used in skincare products for the face aimed at reducing hyperpigmentation and just overall evening out skin tone. However, this method has slightly slower results—expect your tan lines to disappear after a few weeks. By that time, your tan lines should already start naturally disappearing.
This is actually not uncommon! One of the best ways to get a perfectly tanned look, a self tanner can help you achieve that without the use of sun or a tanning booth. Plus, your uneven tan that you hate? Kiss that goodbye with the self tanner.
Here’s what you do first. Apply a thin layer of moisturizer all over and let it absorb in your skin. Once the moisturizer is absorbed, apply self-tanner to the areas desired or needed. If you require multiple layers, remember to let the previous layer absorb fully before applying a layer.
Whish has a very popular Coconut Milk+Verbena Self Tanner Lotion , which is an all over body butter with self tanner and natural firming ingredients. This self tanner boasts amazing ingredients to keep you moisturized and your skin tightened, and because it already has seriously moisturizing ingredients, it isn’t necessary to apply a moisturizer before application. This paraben and sulfate free self tanner contains goji berry, soap bark extract, organic pomegranate extract, organic shea butter, mango butter, and organic aloe, among other ingredients.
Let’s be clear here. We know makeup traditionally goes on your face. But when you have an uneven tan line or just a tan line that you aren’t a fan of, then makeup could be the trick. First, make sure you get a good foundation that matches your skin tone. The last thing you need is foundation that doesn’t match. Then you’re left with several tones of color on your skin. Nobody wants to strut the zebra look. Just grab some foundation, a good makeup brush and get to applying. Kiss those tan lines goodbye.
One downfall to this tip is that you must apply new foundation frequently and consistently. But if you have the time and energy, go for it!
Evening out a tan that you weren’t expecting might seem like a nuisance, but it happens to the best of us. The best way, however, to prevent these annoying tan lines is to avoid getting an uneven tan at all. This means wearing broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30 anytime you’re being exposed to the sun. But this also means trying to stay in the shade as much as possible, and not spending an extended amount of time outside when summer temperatures are in the triple digits. While tan lines aren’t the worst thing in the world because they do eventually go away, they can be annoying and a sure sign that you need to be more cautious of your skin’s sun exposure.