1. Make sure you get your nails done or touch up your hair color before you start.
2. Exfoliate from head to toe. This is the golden rule of self-tanning. Pay extra attention to your elbows, knees, and ankles. Wait ten minutes after showering to make sure you’re completely dry.
3. Dab body lotion on your knees, elbows, and ankles to keep them from turning dark or orange.
4. Pick your potion. Mousses are the easiest to rub in but sprays are great for areas hard to reach. If you’re very pale, try a gradual self-tanner.
5. Before starting, pull on latex gloves to keep the tanner from soaking into your palms.
6. Start at the bottom and work up so you don’t get any marks when you bend over, finishing with your arms last. Dilute the tanner with moisturizer when working around your knees and elbows.
7. Give yourself extra time to dry, then brush on a talc-free baby powder to stop the tanner from transferring to your clothes.
8. If you end up with a few streaks, add a cup of milk to a bath. The lactic acid helps fade the color.

via Allure and Cosmopolitan magazine