A golden tan is beautiful, but for those of us that don’t naturally have a tan skin tone, it can be dangerous to achieve. UV rays from the sun or tanning beds may cause skin cancer and lead to premature aging. A healthier alternative to get a tan is to use a self tanning product. Unfortunately, many of them are made with questionable ingredients. I don’t use self tanner often, but when I do it’s Beauty by Earth Self Tanner which is made with all natural ingredients!
What makes for a good self tanner? In my opinion, it should be buildable, streak-free, contain skin-loving ingredients, and last more than a couple of days. Keep reading to find out if Beauty by Earth’s Self Tanner fits the bill.
Please note that Beauty by Earth recently launched Self Tanner Mousse. I have not yet tried that product. In this review, I’ll be discussing the original Self Tanner lotion.
Beauty by Earth Self Tanner product claims directly from BeautybyEarth.com
Want that sun-kissed glow but don’t want to spend hours baking in the sun? Our natural self tanner is the solution you’re looking for! You’ll get the beautiful, healthy tan you want without exposing your skin to harsh UV rays or the potentially dangerous chemicals used in conventional self tanners. Perfect for hiding stretch marks, scars, and veins. Color doesn’t transfer to clothing and sheets. Won’t leave you orange tomorrow.
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Other product details
- Price: $30.99 (save 10% with subscribe and save)
- Net weight: 7.5 oz. | 222 ml
- Made in the USA
- Cruelty-free (Leaping Bunny certified)
- Vegan
- Made with natural ingredients (many are organic)
- Free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and artificial fragrance
- Perfect for all skin types, including sensitive skin
- Subtle coconut scent
- Formulated primarily for use on the body, but can also be used on the face
- Where to buy Beauty by Earth Self Tanner: BeautybyEarth.com or Amazon.com
- Where to buy Beauty by Earth Self Tanner Bundle (includes exfoliating mitt, body applicator mitt, face applicator mitt, and self tanner): BeautybyEarth.com or Amazon.com
- BeautybyEarth.com ships internationally for a flat fee of $28.00. (U.S. orders of $50+ ship free)
- Amazon.com ships internationally to over 100 countries, but not all items will ship to every country. Update your default shipping address to see items that will ship to your location.
- Overall rating: 9.0/10
- Packaging/ease of application: 9/10
- Hydration: 10/10
- Longevity: 10/10
- Ingredients: 8/10
- Price: 8/10
Packaging/ease of application
Like most self tanning lotions, Beauty by Earth Self Tanner is packaged in a squeeze tube. Squeeze tubes are simple, but easy to use, which is especially good if you are working with an applicator mitt on one hand! The tube is also made of recyclable plastic, which is a plus.
A lot of self tanners can make skin look orange or streaky. I was so nervous to try this one because I was skeptical of the natural ingredients’ efficacy in providing a natural-looking tan. Well, let me tell you, I did not need to worry! The tan I get from this product never looks orange, but instead it gives my skin the perfect golden glow. I also haven’t experienced any streaking with this self tanner.
To get the best results, follow the instructions provided by Beauty by Earth:
- Paint nails to avoid orangey nails (I’ve never remembered to follow this advice, myself, but it’s a great tip!)
- Exfoliate to gently remove dead skin cells, especially on very dry areas of the body (you can use an exfoliating mitt or a body scrub like Beauty by Earth Vanilla Coconut Body Scrub)
- Apply a thin layer of self tanner, with gloves or an applicator mitt, evenly over the body and face (if desired), being careful to apply a bit less to loose areas of skin (i.e. elbows and knees) since they are more absorbent and could end up too dark
- If you don’t wear gloves or use an applicator mitt, wash hands immediately after application to keep the color off of your palms
- Wait six hours for tan to develop
- Reapply the following day(s) as needed to achieve the desired color
- From there, reapply every 4-7 days or as needed
It’s also recommended to wait 1-2 days after shaving to apply self tanner. If self tanner is applied to freshly shaved skin, pores will show up as little orange dots.
I can honestly say that I have not always followed these directions and I can speak from experience that it makes a big difference! When I applied this self tanner last week, I didn’t give myself enough time. It was just before bedtime so I was in a hurry and I didn’t properly exfoliate even though I have the exfoliating mitt from the Self Tanner Bundle. I also didn’t paint my nails beforehand. As a result, I had dark brown/orange spots on my toes where I had some dry patches of skin, and a couple of toenails turned a bit orange. It was entirely my fault for not following the directions.
Other than the problems with my feet, the self tanner looked very natural on the rest of my body. As you can see in this “after” photo, the tan from this self tanner is gradual, which I like (this means that if you make a mistake, it won’t be so obvious!). I think my legs definitely looked more tan in person than they did in the photo, but my phone’s camera doesn’t always seem to pick up on color accurately.
Would I say Beauty by Earth Self Tanner is easy to apply? No, not really…but I don’t think any self tanner is exactly easy to use. Compared to other self tanners, I think this one is probably much easier because there’s no concern about streaking. Also, some other self tanners are tinted and rub off on clothing, sheets, and furniture. This one is white and doesn’t change the color of anything except skin!
Hydration
Hydration might not be something that many people think about with self tanners, but I think it’s actually really important for a couple of reasons. First of all, unless you’re applying a moisturizer before self tanner, the self tanner must also act as moisturizer. Second, self tanner looks best on hydrated skin, so added hydration in the self tanner itself can only help!
I find that Beauty by Earth Self Tanner feels very similar to a hydrating body lotion. My skin always feels great after it’s applied. I’ll go into detail about ingredients later on, but there are several that go a long way in keeping skin hydrated!
Longevity
You may be concerned about the longevity of the tan that develops from Beauty by Earth Self Tanner since it’s a natural product. I’m happy to tell you that it lasts very well! A tan from any self tanner will vary from person to person, but Beauty by Earth states that this one usually lasts 4-6 days. For me, I think my tan from last week lasted 6-7 days.
Since self tanners, including this one, are a bit fussy, I want the resulting tan to last a good long while no matter what kind of activities I might be doing. I appreciate that this one lasts well through swimming, showering, sweating, etc. Now that I remember how well the results of this self tanner last, I may start using it once a week through summer!
Ingredients
This is the first self tanner I’ve ever reviewed, so I was excited to check out the ingredients! I was surprised to find that there is one single ingredient responsible for the tanning property of this product, but there are many other ingredients of interest as well. Beauty by Earth Self Tanner contains only 17 ingredients, can you believe it?! Here they are:
Water, Organic Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Organic Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Dihydroxyacetone (Sugar Beet Derived DHA), Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Glycerin (Vegetable), Organic Camellia Oleifera (Japanese Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Organic Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract, Organic Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Organic Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract, Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Organic Argania Spinosa Kernel (Argan) Oil, Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Pulp Extract, Vanilla Tahitensis (Vanilla) Fruit Extract
I usually start with the skincare ingredients, but this time I’m going to start with dihydroxyacetone (DHA). This is the ingredient that gives skin that lovely sun-kissed tan! It is completely safe and works by reacting with amino acids in the skin to build color. Science was never my strong subject, but I think that’s so cool!
As for the rest of the ingredients, I break them down into three categories: good, neutral, and bad. Good ingredients provide skincare benefits, neutral ingredients don’t directly benefit or harm the skin, while bad ingredients have the potential to irritate skin. Beauty by Earth Self Tanner contains a whopping ten good ingredients, four neutral ingredients, and unfortunately there are two bad ingredients. Let’s start with the good ones (please note that my primary resources for ingredient information are INCI Decoder and Paula’s Choice Ingredient Dictionary):
- Aloe Vera Leaf Juice
- Moisturizer
- Anti-inflammatory
- Shea Butter
- Emollient moisturizer
- Skin-soothing
- Antioxidant-rich
- Coconut Oil
- Moisturizes and seals in moisture
- Glycerin
- Natural moisturizer
- Green Tea Leaf Extract
- Anti-inflammatory
- Contains antioxidants
- Pomegranate Extract
- Skin-soothing
- Antioxidant
- Cranberry fruit extract
- Skin-soothing
- Antioxidant
- Jojoba Seed Oil
- Wax ester that stays on the skin surface to moisturize
- Softens skin
- Argan Oil
- Contains fatty acids and vitamin E
- Moisturizes
- Coconut Pulp Extract
- Rich in fatty acids, proteins, and vitamins
- Skin-conditioning
Those are really excellent ingredients that are, frankly, surprising to find in a self tanner! Because of these ingredients, Beauty by Earth Self Tanner can be considered a very well-rounded body care product.
Moving on to the “neutral” ingredients, there isn’t anything very interesting. These ingredients are water, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, and radish root ferment filtrate. They act as solvent, emollients, and preservative, respectively. The two alcohols are non-drying, so there’s nothing to be concerned about with these ingredients.
Lastly, the “bad” ingredients. I never thought of witch hazel as a bad ingredient until I started researching skincare ingredients. It has antioxidant and soothing properties, but there is an antioxidant component called “tannin” that can make it sensitizing. Witch hazel also contains a fragrance called “eugenol” which may be sensitizing for some. The other ingredient that could cause irritation is vanilla fruit extract. It is a skin conditioner, but this particular type of vanilla extract is a common irritant. I’ve been fortunate that neither of these ingredients seem to disagree with my skin, but they could be problematic for someone with very sensitive skin.
Overall, I am thrilled with the ingredients in Beauty by Earth Self Tanner. They definitely didn’t have to include so many skin-loving ingredients, but I’m really glad they did!
Price
Beauty by Earth Self Tanner is definitely one of the pricier self tanning products I’ve seen. It’s $30.99 for a 7.5 ounce bottle, which means it’s $4.13/ounce. In general, I tend to go for more affordable products, but when it came time to look for a good self tanner, this one really stood out to me even though it is expensive.
I was concerned about the ingredients used in traditional self tanners, but I was really impressed by the ingredients in this one from Beauty by Earth. The “no streaking” claim also caught my eye because I know how careless I can sometimes be when applying products. In addition to those things, this self tanner is cruelty-free, and many of the others on the market sadly are not.
I wish this product was a little less expensive, but considering it’s something I won’t need to use year-round I think it’s worth the price!
I am the most fair-skinned person in my family and my pasty white legs have always bothered me. For years, I resisted self tanners because I didn’t want to look orange. I looked at a lot of self tanners before trying Beauty by Earth Self Tanner in 2019.
I remember the year easily because I bought this product in preparation for vacation in Hawaii! I didn’t want to be the palest person on the beach. 🙂 I’m so glad I found this product because it makes me much more confident in my skin.
Does Beauty by Earth Self Tanner live up to the product claims? Beauty by Earth promises a beautiful healthy-looking tan without dangerous chemicals, that won’t turn you orange or stain fabric. I agree with these claims, except I would like to note again that there are a couple of ingredients that could be irritating for some. If you don’t have especially sensitive skin, this product should be safe for you!
Once I use up this bottle of Beauty by Earth Self Tanner, I’d really like to try their new Self Tanner Mousse. I tend to enjoy moussey products, but I have to wonder if I might run through that product more quickly than the lotion formula. If I do try that product, I’ll definitely write a review!
Have you tried the regular Self Tanner or Self Tanner Mousse from Beauty by Earth? If you haven’t, I absolutely recommend the original formula (and the mousse is probably great, too!).
Lauren
