Fake tan making brown spots worse
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:51 am

Hi, I am 44 and very pale skinned. I've got some brown spots and blotches on my cheeks from sun damage and they are very noticeable. I've tried natural remedies with no success but last year I used hydroquinone for 3mths which helped to reduce them a lot. In fact I can now cover them with makeup Smile

But the blotches are still there and the skin seems dry. I'm looking for some advice as I'd like to get rid of the dry blotches completely if possible.

The main reason is that I use fake tan a lot (otherwise I look ill) but the fake tan sticks to the blotches and makes them far more noticeable. It completely undoes all my hydroquinone treatments. I use non tinted fake tan by the way. I've tried to apply moisturiser, petroleum jelly etc to prevent the blotches from turning darker with the fake tan but nothing works. I'm dreading the summer looking like a ghost. So I guess what I am asking for is either some advice on how to treat the dry blotches (do I continue with the hydroquinone? or would something else help?) or is there a way of masking them successfully when applying fake tan?

free skin care · Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:34 pm

Well, I can help you with one things but not the other. I also hate my paleness and was on the verge of coming on here for advice about self tanners.

As far as hydroquinone; I just don't care for it. For one thing it's not that great for you or your skin and the other thing is that it just didn't work that well for me.
After a whole lot of other things I have found great success with sunspots using a serum combination of N-acetyl glucosamine and niacinamide. They are both also very good for your skin. And, yes, they should also help with the dry patches.
The downside is that they both, just as Vit c and RA and all this exfoliating we do, will just make you somewhat paler if you use it all over.

So back to the self tanners;...are your sunspots consolidated enough to just treat the spots themselves and avoid them with the self tanners?
Have you tried treating the spots both before and after you've applied the self tanner?

Also, if there's anyone out there with a good suggestion of a decent, natural looking self tanner I'd love to hear about it.
Any advice would be welcome.

Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:28 am

Hi Tigerlily. Thanks so much for your reply. I can recommend a fake tan. Its called Self Tanning and the brand is Lavera. Its organic with less nasty chemicals as far as I can tell. It smells ok (in my opinion). It builds a natural colour which is great for pale people like me. Its won a lot of awards here in the UK. It is not tinted so you need to blend well. I get the best colour if I use it overnight. I'm prone to blocked pores but this doesn't block them Smile

I love this stuff.

My hated brown spots are now blotches so its hard to treat them before and after as they dont have distinct edges. But thank you so much for the serum recommendation. I only used hydroquinone as a last resort after years of trying other treatments. I'd gladly use something else. Do you make your own serum or buy it?

Thu May 26, 2016 4:24 am

jen00 wrote:

Hi, I am 44 and very pale skinned. I've got some brown spots and blotches on my cheeks from sun damage and they are very noticeable. I've tried natural remedies with no success but last year I used hydroquinone for 3mths which helped to reduce them a lot. In fact I can now cover them with makeup Smile

But the blotches are still there and the skin seems dry. I'm looking for some advice as I'd like to get rid of the dry blotches completely if possible.

The main reason is that I use fake tan a lot (otherwise I look ill) but the fake tan sticks to the blotches and makes them far more noticeable. It completely undoes all my hydroquinone treatments. I use non tinted fake tan by the way. I've tried to apply moisturiser, petroleum jelly etc to prevent the blotches from turning darker with the fake tan but nothing works. I'm dreading the summer looking like a ghost. So I guess what I am asking for is either some advice on how to treat the dry blotches (do I continue with the hydroquinone? or would something else help?) or is there a way of masking them successfully when applying fake tan?

Yes, it's right that f you're using any old or bad brand tanning injections then it may be cause of cancer. you know any tanning product are also harmful if you're not using this in a proper doses or guidelines.

Mon Jun 06, 2016 12:16 am

I'm 52 and fair skinned with sun spots pretty much everywhere due to over tanning in the 70s!
Instead of self tanner which certainly darkens the skin but also the spots, I use products like Sally Hansen airbrush legs which is more like a tinted spray concealer that evens out discoloration.
There are many other options at department stores but Sally Hansen is reasonably priced and available at drug store

free skin care · Fri Sep 07, 2018 10:13 pm

I have the same worries, but I often ignore this problem. I think maybe sunscreen should be chosen in summer. I never used sunscreen before because I didn't like greasy feeling. So it's easy to spot. As long as I don't care, I don't think this is a big problem. I am 37 years old.

free skin care · Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:59 pm

I have had the same reaction when I use fake tan on my legs and arms. Wherever there are freckles, they certainly do STAND OUT after using the overnight tanning lotions. I had to quit using them. I agree that Sally Hansen's spray on legs or a true booth spray on tan (like Mystic Tan) are the only ones that don't emphasize the freckles. I guess those areas are damaged and maybe soak up more of the coloring agent than other areas? Anyhow, sadly no more overnight tanning lotions for me.

free skin care · Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:40 am

I used to use self tanner back in the day...honestly I stopped because I couldn't stand the smell they left behind on my skin. You couldn't get away from it! Lol. About a year ago I tried the Rodin Fields sunless tanner. It got rave reviews & was supposed to not have that smell (not true!) but anyway it brought out my sunspots & freckles and made them all darker. I gave it to my sister & it took me a few months of using vitamin c serum & BHA Solution 5% to lighten them back up & get back to an even skin tone. I'm done with self tanner! Just not worth the trouble IMO!

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