Alba Sunless Tanner Review
Alba Sunless Tanner – Botanica is a 100% vegetarian line that offers a wide variety of natural products for your face, hair, body, lips, and sun care. Alba is earth, people, and animal-friendly, and never uses parabens, sulfates, or phthalates. This is also true of their Emollient Sunless Tanner. Alba states that their self-tanner is “the safer way to bake” while being easy to use, quick-absorbing, and streak-free. They believe that their self-tanner will give you a natural and glowing fake tan within 3-hours, and we are putting that claim to the test. So let’s find out how it did!
Pros and Cons of Alba Very Emollient Sunless Tanner
Pros
- Water-based formula
- Contains natural oils and extracts
- Pleasant smell
- Dries quickly (within 15-minutes)
- Tan begins gradual and finishes into a nice, natural glow within hours
- No animal testing
- Free of parabens, and other toxins
Cons
- Comes in one shade, so if you are looking for an extra-dark tan immediately, this product is not for you.
Description of Alba Very Emollient Sunless Tanner
- Manufacturer: Alba Botanica / Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
- Made in the USA
- Paraben-free
- Cruelty-free
- 100% Vegetarian
- Size: 4 ounces
- Can be purchased online, at nationwide natural food markets, Giant Eagle Grocer, Kroger, The Anderson Store, and many more.
- Suggested Price: $10.99
Guide review of Alba Very Emollient Sunless Tanner
Lately, I was in the market for a new gradual self-tanner, and while I was at Giant Eagle Grocer one day, I noticed Alba’s Very Emollient Sunless Tanner. I had used various skincare products from Alba Botanica in the past, such as their 3-in-1 Clean Towelettes and Very Emollient Sunscreen lip balm. Since I knew that the brand was a natural and vegetarian line, I knew I could rest easy knowing that the self-tanner was more natural whether it worked well or not.
But working well has to be one of the musts, right? So let’s get into the details of whether the Alba Sunless Tanner was a good buy for a natural self-tanner or not.
As always I tested the product on multiple days, with a day of rest in-between in order to check for any kind of allergic reaction. The first thing I tested was the smell. There was a nice and fresh scent and no bad odor whatsoever, so this was a good start. Next, I tested the texture of the lotion to see the feel and consistency. It felt nice and slightly moisturizing, and not too thin or too thick. The perfect consistency of the lotion made it very easy to apply onto my freshly exfoliated legs. Yes, I made sure to exfoliate my skin beforehand in order to get a more truthful review of the product since you should always exfoliate before tanning. The lotion is not tinted so you cannot see where you apply it afterward, but if you apply it like regular lotion, I found that it blended in evenly and absorbed rather quickly. The product took less than 15-minutes to dry, but I waited the suggested time just in case of color transfer to my clothing. Within 2-hours the color had developed on my legs, and continued to develop over the next hour or so. There was no irritation or allergic reaction, which was a plus, and absolutely no streaking!
Technically you can apply the self-tanner again after 3-hours if you would like to achieve a darker tan. However, I waited a day in order to ensure there really were no reactions to the product. On the day of the second application, my fake tan was looking nice, natural, and glowing. I applied the second application just as with the first, but without exfoliating, because I did not want to remove any of the tans from earlier. The second application was built very well and looked really natural and a little deeper than before. Overall I was delighted with the outcome, including how great multiple applications looked, and have now decided to use it on the rest of my body.
The Bottom Line on Alba’s Very Emollient Sunless Tanner
I love self-tanner because I try to avoid the sun as much as possible. Knowing that I can get a natural-looking tan while using a natural product makes the job of self-tanning a lot easier. Alba’s Sunless Tanner is my new favorite self-tanner and will find a permanent place in my beauty collection.