Gradual tanning lotions and tanning creams are wonder products that can be applied as quickly and as easily as your regular moisturiser. Use one to subtly build up a healthy glow, with no damaging sunbeds or costly spray tans in sight!
In this article, we'll show you how to choose a tanning lotion that works - with tips on how to achieve a streak-free tan, and which lotions won't leave you with the dreaded 'fake tan' smell! Comparing top brands like Elemis, Garnier and Dior, read on for the 10 best gradual tanners in the UK. Moreover, we have partnered with Dermatologist Felipe Partarrieu for reviewing and fact-checking the article so that we can deliver you the best information.
Quick List - Top Gradual Tanning Lotions
Vita Liberata
Fragrance-Free Tanning Cream for Face and Body
ESPA
Deep Tan, Delicately Scented With Ylang-Ylang and Jasmine Oil
Felipe Partarrieu is a dermatologist, who is GMC registered with a full licence to practise in the UK. Specialising in cosmeceuticals, facial skin care, and hair disorders, we worked with Felipe to bring you top quality information to help you make informed buying decisions and understand more about what goes onto your skin.
A recommendation service that carefully researches each product and consults with experts across many disciplines. We are constantly creating new content to provide the best shopping experience from choosing ‘cosmetics’ to ‘food and drink’, ‘home appliances’ to ‘kids and baby’ products, reaching users all across the United Kingdom.
The expert oversees the Buying Guide only, and does not determine the products and services featured.
Table of Contents
Felipe Partarrieu is a final year dermatology resident, who is GMC registered with a full licence to practise in the UK. Specialising in cosmeceuticals, facial skin care, and hair disorders, we worked with Felipe to bring you top quality information to help you make informed buying decisions and understand more about what goes onto your skin.
A gradual tanning lotion is essentially a moisturiser containing a small amount of self-tanning ingredient. As you massage it in, it will not only hydrate your skin but it will subtly build to give the appearance of a natural sun-tan. The ingredient responsible, DHA, a colour additive that reacts with the top layer of your skin cells to temporarily alter (or, in other words, darken) the appearance of your skin.
DHA (or dihydroxyacetone) was added to most self-tanners in the 1970s to combat the streaking and blotching often associated with sunless tans, and is commonly derived from plant sugars. Some people choose to avoid this ingredient, but according to expert skin research, the levels in gradual tan lotions are low enough to be completely safe.
The key benefits of gradual tanning lotions are, of course, that they keep your skin super-soft, but also that they allow you to control the depth of your tan by building it up over several days or weeks, depending on your preference. Another advantage is its versatility - these products can be used on a wide variety of skin tones.
If you want a product that is exceptionally light and quick-absorbing, then lotions, milks and gels are your best bet. Lotions and milks, in particular, are a little runnier in their consistencies, so only a small drop is needed for good coverage – which also means they last longer.
Gels are superbly fast-absorbing and extremely light on the skin, adding a good amount of moisture to the skin while allowing you to evenly distribute colour, streak-free.
As for thicker formulations like creams, they have the potential to build deep, rich colour but require an experienced hand to avoid streaks. You could also try dry oils, which, it's important to note, are intended to be added to your favourite moisturiser and don't work alone. They leave skin luxurious and nourished, although they do tend to cost more.
We recommend picking up a self-tanner formulated specifically for the face, for a natural-looking, all over glow
Ask yourself: What is my aim with a gradual tanning lotion? For those seeking bronzed skin so subtle that people barely notice it developing, pick a slow-building tanner with a development time of between 1 and 2 weeks. This figure refers to the time it takes to achieve the deepest colour that each product can provide.
For a speedier tan, choose lotions with a development time of around 3-4 days. These start to work within a few hours and can be topped up each evening until your desired shade of sun-kissed is reached. Quicker-developing tan lotions tend to show streaks a little more easily if not thoroughly rubbed in, so be sure to exfoliate before the application and be fastidious during it!
To avoid streaks and orange hands, use a tanning mitt to apply your tanning lotion!
Apart from the pigment, all gradual tanning lotions contain nourishing ingredients to keep skin soft. However, some specific ingredients have other appealing qualities alongside moisturising, such as vitamins C and E, fruit and seed oils, or shea butter.
Vitamin C is a well-known super-ingredient for keeping skin bright, smooth and youthful, while vitamin E helps support your cells in the reproduction process. Vitamin E is also an antioxidant, meaning it helps fight free radicals that can prematurely age skin.
The addition of anti-oxidants in tanning lotions is important as some studies have shown that skin is especially susceptible to free-radical damage from sunlight 24 hours after the application of DHA. Therefore, excessive sun exposure should be avoided for 1-2 days after application.
Natural oils such as elderberry seed, castor oil, magnolia, and apricot oil are also highly beneficial. They act as emollients, penetrating skin cells and plumping their natural volume for perky-looking skin. These options also help reduce patchiness and streaks and are advantageous to dehydrated skin, so make a beeline for gradual tan lotions containing them if that sounds like you!
Top Tip: exfoliate your skin using a body scrub before applying your tanning lotion for the best results!
Another quality to consider as you shop for a gradual tan lotion, is the fragrance. Some tanning products are affordable and look great but come with a slightly 'biscuity' smell that really gives the fake-tan game away.
The colour-building DHA that we mentioned previously is often the ingredient behind the unpleasant odours in your lotion. Choosing unscented products that are either fragrance-free, DHA-free, or that contain other, more potent ingredients mask its scent, so they're a good idea if you're not a fan.
Additionally, if you don't mind a fragrance but prefer something more deliberately perfumed, look for gradual self-tanning products containing plant and fruit oils like jasmine, ylang-ylang and other concentrated perfumes. Your skin will not only look golden and sun-blushed but will smell delicious, too.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vita Liberata Fabulous Self Tanning Gradual Lotion|200 ml | ![]() | Fragrance-Free Tanning Cream for Face and Body | |
2 | ESPA Gradual Tan Body Moisturiser|200 ml | ![]() | Deep Tan, Delicately Scented With Ylang-Ylang and Jasmine Oil | |
3 | Garnier Summer Body Dark Gradual Tan|400 ml | ![]() | Sunkissed Skin at an Affordable Price | |
4 | Elemis Total Glow Bronzing Body Lotion|200 ml | ![]() | Luxury Formula for Flawless Results in 2 - 3 Days | |
5 | Decleor Biodegradable Gradual Glow Lotion|400 ml | ![]() | Gradual Glow Lotion for Dry Skin | |
6 | Dior Bronze Self Tanning Jelly Gradual Glow - Face |50 ml | ![]() | Natural-Looking Tanning Jelly for Your Face and Neck | |
7 | Isle of Paradise Happy Tan Everyday Gradual Glow|200 ml | ![]() | Apply This Lotion Daily to Gradually Build Your Ideal Tan | |
8 | Balance Me Gradual Tanning Drops|30 ml | ![]() | Streak-Free Tanning Drops for the Winter Months | |
9 | Dove DermaSpa Summer Revived Body Lotion|200 ml | ![]() | Moisturise Deeply as You Tan | |
10 | Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Natural Bronze Body Lotion|400 ml | ![]() | Subtle Cocoa Butter Tanning Lotion With a Sumptuous Scent |
This super-moisturising, gradual tanning lotion comes out of the bottle transparent, and after only 4 to 8 hours, begins to develop into a remarkable caramel-golden tan.
With a high percentage of its ingredients certified as organic, you can hydrate and tan safely in the knowledge that you're not slathering on any chemical nasties. OdourRemove technology sounds far-fetched, but this product really is streak and fragrance-free.
This product builds a healthy-looking, sunkissed glow in a matter of days. Fragranced luxuriously with ylang-ylang and jasmine oil, it also softens the skin with its added shea butter.
Plant melanin and DHA are also included on the ingredients list to help produce a deep, luminous colour that gives you the appearance of having just hopped off a plane – when really you've been wrapped in 7 cardigans with the heating on.
A quick and dirt cheap way to create a gorgeous golden glow at any time of year, Garnier's Summer Body Tanning lotion is easy to apply for a double-take inducing tan, best suited to naturally darker skin tones.
Whether you have normal, dry or sensitive skin, this product is absorbed quickly and keeps skin feeling well-hydrated for up to 24 hours, thanks to the inclusion of apricot oil on its ingredients list.
Squeeze a drop of this lightly-whipped formula onto the palm of your hand and massage it heartily into your skin, and you'll soon notice that colour begins to develop after only a few hours.
Skin is left feeling touchably soft and smooth after just one use, and the light fragrance of this lotion means skin smells delectable, too. Not to mention glowing golden with a healthy radiance that can be left as it is or built on over 2 to 3 days.
This 400 ml bottle of light, liquid tanning milk creates a glorious glow on any skin type. You'll notice the first shades of tan developing in around 4 to 8 hours, and after that, you need only apply the smallest squeeze from the bottle to build a striking sunless tan.
The subtle fragrance is noted by several reviewers online and is described as 'light', 'pleasant' and 'gorgeous.' As a bonus, this hydrating lotion also makes skin feel revived and quenched after just one use, so would be beneficial for drier skin.
Choose this glorious product if you want a luxuriously smooth lotion that glides easily onto the skin, and builds up a head-turning, yet natural-looking sun tan on your face with no streaks in sight.
Use two to three times a week in order to maintain the level of tan you like. The jelly-like gel texture keeps skin plump and moist as it smooths over imperfections, and gently intensifies to a noticeably deep yet subtle brown.
After a product for building a dark brown tan that's convincing enough to have others asking if you've recently returned from the Caribbean? This is the bottle for you!
Smooth this pleasingly creamy lotion over well-exfoliated skin to correct blemishes and build a deep tan in a matter of days. Notice the first layer of colour after around 5 hours, and, if you so desire, keep building for a luminescent, healthy-looking complexion.
Suitable for both face and body, these gorgeous dry oil drops allow you to build yourself holiday-like colour from head to toe by adding 2 or 3 drops to your favourite moisturiser. Completely fragrance-free, the drops will enable you to bronze up without the troubling biscuit smell we all know so well.
If your skin is looking dull and lacking radiance during the winter months, check out this lovely, customisable product to create a stunning golden colour in just a few days.
As you'd expect, Dove's offering is a cheap, cheerful product that builds up a delightful bronzed glow. It is one of the most effective and popular products on our list for a good reason.
It can be built up over a few days to be as dark a shade as you please and is also suitable for the face. There is a certain risk of streaking with high-street gradual bronzers, so make sure you rub it in with plenty of gusto and properly prep the skin beforehand.
Palmer's have created a smooth, creamy lotion that builds tan exceptionally well. As well as slowly developing into a dreamy bronze glow, it also helps even out blemishes and imperfections and has added vitamin E to improve skin tone.
Many reviewers absolutely love this product's noticeable trademark smell, but it may be best to test it out in a store before you buy to confirm whether or not you love it too as it can be overpowering to those with sensitive noses.
Now, before you go slathering on your chosen gradual self-tanning lotion, you might want to read these few tips on how to get the best out of your product.
Written and researched by Annie Hopkins
No. 1: Vita Liberata|Fabulous Self Tanning Gradual Lotion|200 ml
No. 2: ESPA|Gradual Tan Body Moisturiser|200 ml
No. 3: Garnier|Summer Body Dark Gradual Tan|400 ml
No. 4: Elemis|Total Glow Bronzing Body Lotion|200 ml
No. 5: Decleor|Biodegradable Gradual Glow Lotion|400 ml
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
Automotive
Baby Products
Beauty
Books
Business, Industry & Science
Computers & Accessories
DIY, Garden & Tools
Electronics & Photo
Fashion
Grocery
Health & Personal Care
Home & Kitchen
Large Appliances
Musical Instruments & DJ
PC & Video Games
Pet Supplies
Sports & Outdoors
Stationery & Office Products
Toys & Games