How Do I Use Self-Tanning Drops?

The idea of tanning drops pleases me to no end. You get a kiss of sunny color — a soupçon, nothing overdone! — without the usual self-tanning rigamarole. Just drizzle them in your regular moisturizer and apply. I think of them as baby-stepping my way toward a faux tan. “They give you the ability to customize the level of color you get,” says cosmetic chemist Ramón Pagán. “The formulas are super-concentrated, so you have to mix them with another medium.” And there are still opportunities for user error. Read on for the key differences between drops and self-tanners you may have tried in the past — and the best tanning drops to get started with.

First of all, do self-tanning drops work?

Yes. Don’t let the clear formulas and tiny bottles fool you: The drops can add significant warmth and depth to your skin tone, just like regular self-tanner.

What are self-tanning drops?

They’re topical gels or serums containing self-tanning ingredients that cause any skin tone to develop a warmer, darker hue in anywhere from an hour to a day, depending on the formula and how much you apply. “What’s beautiful about these clear formulas is that they don’t contain bronzers or dyes, making them less likely to stain clothing and bedding,” says celebrity spray-tan artist Isabel Alysa Vita, the founder and CEO of Dolce Glow and Sunnee BAESkin.

The active ingredients are the same ones you’d find in regular self-tanning mousses, sprays, and lotions: dihydroxyacetone and erythrulose. “They react with proteins in your skin via the Maillard reaction — the same browning that happens in cooking,” Pagán explains. He says that DHA tends to create an orangey color, so most companies blend it with erythrulose, which works similarly and synergistically with the DHA to give skin a more natural, brownish tone.

What are the best self-tanning drops?

Here are some of our favorites:

Dolce Glow Goccia di Sole Hydrating Self-Tanning Serum Drops

$48 at Nordstrom

$48 at Ulta Beauty

$48 at Dolce Glow

I like to be really subtle when I’m doing self-tanner, so one drop of Dolce Glow Hydrating Self-Tanning Serum Drops, mixed with my face moisturizer, is enough for me. The formula has a nice slip to it and no added fragrance. (Side rant: Why do so many brands give their self-tanners a strong floral or coconut scent? I want to look like I went to the tropics, not smell like I’m still there!)

Pagán’s favorite brands are Isle of Paradise and Bondi Sands. “They both have their formulations down,” he says. “Their undertones look really natural.”

Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Drops

$29 at Amazon

$15 at Sephora

If you’re a newbie or the idea of customizing your color makes you nervous, go with the Isle of Paradise Self-Tan Face Drops. It’s available in three levels — light, medium, and dark — and the directions are specific: Use three drops per application. If you do that, you’ll get the level of tan promised on the label.

Bondi Sands Hydrating Self Tan Drops for Face and Body

$45 at Amazon

$25 at Bondi Sands

The Bondi Sands Hydrating Self Tan Drops for Face and Body comes in two versions — light/medium and medium/dark — and the brand recommends using 4 to 12 drops per application.

But no matter what type of self-tanner you use, apply sunscreen as the final step in your routine. “Back in the day, DHA was mistakenly classified as a sunscreen. And a lot of people don’t realize that it doesn’t even increase melanin in your skin — that’s not how it works,” Pagán says. “It doesn’t protect you, so please wear sunscreen.”

How do you apply tanning drops?

Mix the clear tanning drops with a moisturizer or lotion to apply them; most of these formulas aren’t designed to spread evenly across skin. The good thing about the blend-it-yourself approach is that you can experiment with the amount you use to customize the resulting color. Most brands suggest mixing one to four drops with the amount of moisturizer you typically apply to your face. If you use the drops on your body, the ratio should remain the same. Let’s say you decide to use three drops with a nickel-size blob of moisturizer for your face. If you’re doing your body, you’ll want to mix three drops into a nickel-size blob of body lotion, which may only cover the lower part of one leg.

Are there any products you shouldn’t mix with tanning drops?

Don’t add the drops to any product that contains sunscreen. Pagán says if you mix self-tanners and sunscreens at home, you risk altering the protection level of the sunscreen. (In a lab, chemists can tweak their formulas to create products with both sunscreen and self-tanners that are able to deliver the SPF indicated on the label.) For the best results, it’s also best not to mix tanning drops with products that contain alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), retinoids, or benzoyl peroxide. “Those can interfere with the tanning reaction and lead to patchiness,” says Vita.

So, does that mean I can’t use exfoliators when I’m using tanning drops?

Sloughing off dead, dry skin with a manual or chemical exfoliant before you apply self-tanning drops mixed with moisturizer is actually a good idea. “That Maillard reaction actually happens quicker on the drier areas of skin that haven’t been exfoliated recently,” Pagán explains. You want to exfoliate so you have a smooth surface to start and get a more even-looking tan.

I know what you’re thinking: If I exfoliate before applying the drops, what happens the next day? If I use anything exfoliating, aren’t I scrubbing away the tan I just created? And, if you’re someone who uses a retinoid, does that mean whenever you use self-tanner, you can’t use retinoids? “You want to be strategic, since the exfoliators — like retinol and AHAs — speed up cell turnover, which can fade your tan more quickly,” Vita says. “I like to space them out. For example, use your exfoliants at night, and apply your drops the next morning on clean, dry skin. Or take a couple of days off retinol when you reapply your self-tanner, so it has time to develop and settle. It’s all about balance and listening to your skin.”

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