In the ongoing battle for the perfect summer tan before the season expires, we’ve all tried our hand at using tanning oil for a beautiful golden complexion. For the most part, it does its job flawlessly… but it’s hard to remove tanning oil from your skin… very hard. Never mind the fact that it’s a nightmare on your clothes and absolutely will stain them, it can have negative side effects on your skin.

How is Tanning Oil Messing Up Your Skin?

First and foremost, tanning oil can dry your skin out. This makes sense when you consider that its job is to both attract and amplify the UV rays to your skin to aid in melanin production. That very amplification of UV can also amplify their negative effects on your skin.

Aside from dryness, an excess amount of oil can lead to other issues such as acne, contact dermatitis, rashes, and irritation.

How Do You Remove Tanning Oil Properly?

Knowing all the issues that it can cause, and just how stubborn it can be to get off of your skin, how do you make sure you’ve properly removed tanning oil from skin?

We’ll begin as all things do – with your face. The added layer on your skin means it’s harder to wash off, some soaps and waters will bead right off you. So what do you do? Well, exfoliation is the best way to get it off your skin. Your most important ally in the shower is your face scrub. The abrasive elements (like natural amber) slough away the excess oil, cleaning your skin, and clearing your pores in the process.

We know the idea of using a face scrub on the rest of your body doesn’t sound too alluring. Lucky for you, we live in the age where men’s exfoliating shower tools have been normalized and are widely available. Just like that, voila! Your favorite body wash is now helping you exfoliate your skin and getting rid of that annoying tanning oil.