Friday 16 September 2011

He Shi Gradual Self Tanner Review

This is a review I have been meaning to do for a while now. Since summer is over now :( and we are done with our mini Hawaiian heat wave, it seems an appropriate time to be writing about a product which potentially helps to hold on to summer skin for a little longer.
The product in question is He Shi's Gradual Self Tanner, which is from a brand that has been circulating the blogosphere for some time now. I was rather intrigued about this brand and was happy to try out the self-tanner. Ordinarily, I am not one for tanning, naturally or otherwise. I can't spend hours basking in the sun without thinking of those staying safe in the sun adverts and honestly do not want to damage my skin for the sake of a bit of colour. Don't get me wrong, I love laying on a beach as much as the next person, but believe in doing it safely. That's why I'm not opposed to fake tanners, if it's done tastefully, in other words you haven't made yourself orange. Personally I don't have the time or patience for fake tan, but I was curious to try a gradual tanner as they work slightly differently to your standard fake tan.

The sciencey bit: basically, the active ingredient that makes any self tanner work is dihydroxyacetone or DHA for short. It's essentially a type of sugar and when applied to your skin, reacts with the top layer to brown it in a similar way that food browns when it's left exposed to air. Since it is just the top layer of skin that the DHA reacts with, it lasts for just a couple of days until that layer of skin has been washed away. Gradual tanners have a much lower concentration of this ingredient than regular fake-tan which makes the effect more subtle and allows you to build up the tan gradually.
I tried the product over a few days to see how well the colour built up and was really pleased with the result. Day one, the tanner did not immediately seem to make much of a change to my skin tone. I would say it took a few hours before I noticed any change.
Day two, after being on my skin for a few hours now, I could definitely see a difference. The result was a very evenly distributed amount of colour over my skin, the only giveaway was my back area which I had not managed to apply very successfully! I would recommend getting someone to help you so you don't end up with a streaky back like I did. Applying the product anywhere else wasn't a problem, I found it rubbed quite easily into the skin, pretty much as simple as applying a moisturiser. Excuse the bra flash, apologies.
The picture below is day 3 which is when I think I had reached as brown as this would make me, or at least as brown as I was willing to go. I like a sun kissed glow, rather than an obvious tan. As far as self tanners go, and I don't have a lot to compare it to as I don't ordinarily buy this type of product, but I believe this to be good quality, reasonably priced for the size as you would get a few applications from the bottle (£14.50 for 200ml). It has quite a thick consistency but a little amount does stretch quite far. Comparing this to another gradual tanner I used (Johnsons I believe) where the consistency was very runny and I needed to use quite a lot to achieve any sort of results this is miles better.
If you're a little scared or completely uninterested with using fake tan but wouldn't mind giving your skin a bit of a boost now that summer's over then I would recommend this for that. I'm a bit indifferent to skin tone myself, so would not be too fussed about buying any more, but I did enjoy trying this out and can see that this would appeal to tan lovers.
The product was sent to me to try but as usual this does not affect my opinion in any way.

15 comments:

Lydia said...

I love the He Shi Gradual Tanner! It gives such a natural colour in my opinion. I'm not really in to fake tanning either but like you said, a gradual tanner is nice to add a subtle bit of colour :)

Anonymous said...

Great review, I totally agree with you, self tanning is always a safe alternative to the real things :) xx

Onah said...

What's the name of your nail polish?
Onah

Airs and Graces said...

Great blog, definitely recommend self tanners over the harmful sun!

http://gracesandairs.blogspot.com/

Onyx said...

@ Onah, the light pink nail polish is by GOSH and it's called Light Rose.

Anonymous said...

I'm considering trying self tanning for the first time in a good few years and this sounds like a great product to try!

Being Rebecca Hooper said...

I love your blog, I followed!

Check out my blog and follow me back?

:)

http://beingrebeccahooper.blogspot.com/

Voucher code information UK said...

Use code CJCASH to save 20% on your loan fee. The Cash You Need Sent in Just 1 Hour. Get up to £1500 by calling 020 3106 5575

Phoebe Limanta said...

Thanks for the review! If I wore fake tanner I'd totally give this a try :)

Add A Website said...

great blog thanks

Chelsea said...

I've been really considering using a self tanner for a long time now. I just haven't seen to of found a product that interests me. Thanks to your post I am now going to try this band of self tanner out.



http://thebeautymarkings.blogspot.com/

easyV said...

Looks super natural!

Anonymous said...

Hi! Could I ask how you applied this? As in with a mitt or bare hands? It went a bit streaky on me, and I was thinking maybe I should have thoroughly moisturiser before...
Thanks!

A.V.blogger said...

Support the fight against cancer by going to www.denaroenterprises.com and buy our all natural lip balm that donates to cancer. Even if you don't feel like buying go and read our about page I'm sure you will be pleased by what we are doing for the cancer community, and to promote world health.

Onyx said...

To the person asking how I applied this...I used my bare hands. I made sure my skin was clean and thoroughly dry before applying. I didn't moisturise with this product because it is quite moisturising in itself. If you were to moisturise prior to applying though, I would recommend allowing plenty of time for it to sink into your skin.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin