If you’ve ever been frustrated by sunless tanners – uneven tan, blotchy dark knees, even the funny smell most have – chances are you’ve not been following the correct steps to apply sunless tanner effectively. There’s an art to self-tanners, and Dr. Cynthia Bailey Skin Care has broken it down in a useful infographic (below). In a nutshell, for best results you should remove dead skin first, apply when your skin is moist, use sparingly on areas where your skin is thickest and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize in the days and weeks to come!

Even though it’s a multi-step process, applying self-tanners is always preferable to the skin damage and skin cancer risks associated with sun tanning, so give it a try. For more information we recommend this in-depth post about making the most of sunless tanning products.