Let’s get one thing straight. We have a zero-orange policy. It’s not our thing! You just need to take one look at our Insta to see the thousands of gorgeously bronzed beauties that love the Bella Bronze Tan difference.

Unfortunately, over the decades that beauty lovers have gotten their hands on self-tanners or gone hard on the spray tans, tans have gotten themselves a bit of an oompa loompa stigma.

If you’ve come across our site searching for a tanning brand that won’t leave you looking like you’ve rolled in a packet of Doritos, then you’ve come to the right place. We place large emphasis on education, which is why today, we’re going to share some of the reasons why you may have had a total tan fail in the past and how to avoid them from hereon.

You left your tan on for longer than advised

If you’re booked in for a professional spray tan, all reputable salons will be expertly trained in their products and techniques. Part of this is advising you how long your tan needs to stay on to achieve your desired result.

Now, we cannot stress this enough – listen to your spray tanner! They know the optimal times before showering and unfortunately, cheating the system and leaving your tan on for longer, is not going to increase the depth of your tan. In fact, overdevelopment of your tan is one of the ways it can turn orange.

Many brands, including ours, continue to develop once your solution has been rinsed off in the shower so, please don’t worry if your tan doesn’t appear as instantly dark as you’d hoped; it’s coming.

You’ve bought the wrong product for your skin

Just like many of your favourite beauty products, the better the quality, the better the result. Your self-tanner isn’t one of those products to cheap out on, especially when we’re talking formulations. Lower grade formulations can lead to an inconsistent tan that’s loaded with heavy bronzers. This isn’t going to give you the natural looking tan you’re hoping for.

Another sign you’ve purchased the wrong product is if the tan is far too dark for your skin type. If there’s a significant contrast between your natural skin tone and the tan, you could be on your way to orange town. The contrast is too extreme!

When choosing an at-home tanning option, it’s important to stick to shades that work with your skin tone, not against it. The goal is to look fresh, and sun kissed, not dipped in tanner.

We’ve made this at-home tanning experience much more stress-free by simplifying your choices. Not only are our at-home products formulated with the same professional ingredients, but we simply provide two colours to choose from – Mocha for pink undertones and Violet for warm and olive undertones!

You’ve mixed and matched your brands

A one-way ticket to an orange tan comes from mixing and matching different brands. If you’ve had a spray tan and are still chasing extra depth, the answer is not to add a layer of self-tanner to your skin. Mixing different products and formulations is not going to end in a bespoke shade of bronze but rather a hot mess that you’ll be wondering how to remove asap.

Instead, opt for a gradual tanner, ideally from the same brand as your spray tan or at-home tanner to increase the depth and longevity of your existing tan. Our Bella Bronze Tan 2-in-1 Gradual Tanner is one of our most popular products for this very reason. Whilst you’re maintaining optimal post-tan hydration, you can be adding a hint of depth to your tan with each application.

Your at-home routine needs some help

Do you find that areas such as your elbows, feet and knees end up looking more orange than the rest of your tan? These areas are prone to product build-up, especially if you haven’t paired your tan with some proper home care.

At least 24 hours prior to your tan, make sure you’ve thoroughly exfoliated and shaved if you’d like to. Doing this too close to your actual tanning session is going to leave you with a blotchy, uneven application.

When it comes to these tricky orange-prone areas, don’t be afraid to go lighter on these areas and apply some light moisturiser before application. Going lighter on these areas will help a more even overall result.

Another trick we love to avoid orange areas is using a tanning application brush, like our Luxe Tanning Brush. This buffing effect gives you much more control over the areas and allows you to apply lightly and effectively blend them.