If ultra-rich body moisturizers tend to leave you feeling sticky and gross, you don’t have to resort to dry and flaky skin. No one wants to feel like their legs, arms, and torso have been drenched in slimy cream either, which means you’ll need a summer body lotion that’s ultra lightweight.
This is especially important if you plan on dabbling in the world of at-home self-tanning to feign a sunkissed glow. As a side note, failing to adequately moisturize your body post-self-tan (after you wait the 6-12 hours for the pigment to develop, that is) is one of the biggest culprits of the dreaded streaky look and uneven fading.
In fact, moisturizing daily can help extend the life of your tan significantly — not to mention preventing the orange-tinged lizard-skin effect from kicking in. Finding a lotion that’s hydrating enough to keep your skin supple and flake-free without being too emollient is key for preserving a faux tan, as too much oil can also help accelerate the fading process.
It’s surprisingly tricky to find a body moisturizer that strikes the perfect balance of offering enough hydration to keep skin supple without feeling heavy and just downright gross. Hence, we’ve done the work for you and rounded up a few of our favorite body lotions, mousses, oils, and creams that will deliver the surge of hydration your skin needs to feel polished without the excess grease.
