Do we really need to fake it?

For many it has become a regular beauty ritual, for others it may be less regular but is now a pre-occasion ritual. Many won’t go out for a night out without it. Others tint their legs all the time. Yes, I’m talking about fake tan. And it comes in many forms – lotion, cream, mousse, spray. It alters the colour of your natural skin tone and you appear to have been in the sun without risking sun damaged skin. What’s not to like I hear you ask?

Isn’t it odd though that while many of us are darkening our skin, trends elsewhere mean that others are lightening theirs? For the same reason that curly haired people use hair straighteners and straight haired people put their hair up in rollers, we are often not content to enhance what is naturally there. There is a constant need to change the way we look; reduce or increase, straighten or curl, lighten or darken.

When you undergo colour analysis at House of colour we cannot analyse anyone sporting a fake tan. Natural skin tones are determined by genetics which is why we analyse both in natural light and with bare skin – no make-up and no fake tans. When you tan naturally (and safely) however, your particular tan is related to your colouring so that your season colours won’t shift. Your best colours within your season can, and you may find that you can wear more of the paler/lighter or stronger/brighter colours than you might normally choose.

Does a fake tan make you look healthier?

Many think it does. However, if you have cool skin tones often you are putting warm tones on top which then contradicts your natural skin colouring. If you then match the tan to your clothes rather than your natural tones you are going to look mismatched from the start.

This client is matching her clothes to her fake tan on the left but on the right after a session at House of Colour she looks infinitely better in her best colours with a minimal amount of makeup.

When you have your colour analysis done and you begin wearing your best colours, you will notice that your skin will look better, younger and more alive. Any blemishes that are there will appear less pronounced or may disappear altogether. The need for fake tan will go and with it all that expense, all those chemicals and all the work having to wash the sheets regularly! Perhaps now is the time to use that time and money to enhance our natural selves instead?

Guest blog by Maria Macklin stylist for Monaghan/Louth, ROI - 00353 87278 9547 - visit Maria's web page for more information.