I Tried The Most Popular Fake Tan Back Applicators To See If Any Actually Work
We all know the common expression, “You tan my back, I’ll tan yours”, right? Maybe not. But if you routinely fake tan you’ll understand how important a self tan back applicator can be.
Back applicators are a fairly new invention, and most of us probably still just get a friend to bronze up our hard-to-reach spots. I know I commonly enlist my housemate to do the honours — he surprisingly doesn’t enjoy it very much, which is frankly rude.
But if you live alone or just happen to not have anyone to help, then a back applicator is crucial if you don’t want to end up looking like this…
So, do any of the currently available self tan back applicators actually work? There’s only one way to find out!
I trialled back applicators from three of the biggest tan brands in Australia:
- ModelCo, Self Tan Back Applicator
- Le Tan, 2 In 1 Application Mitt
- Bondi Sands, Back Applicator
Just to keep my experiment consistent, I used the same tan for every trial: ModelCo, Tan Mousse in Ultra Dark. I also show the results before and after a shower, as we all know how different tan looks after the first layer of bronzer is washed away.
Here are the results from trying three different self tan back applicators:
ModelCo
This self tan back applicator is pretty basic. It’s just a long sheet of fabric with handles at both ends. The material is nice enough and similar to a regular tanning mitt.
The application itself was pretty awkward and felt extremely unnatural.
Results:
Ugh. This was a bit of a mess. The issue is that the wrap thing doesn’t really work for all back shapes. If you’ve got a flat back, this might suffice but my back concaves a bit in the middle and this was impossible to reach with the strap, so the tan completely missed the middle of my back.
By the end of it, my back was not looking good AT ALL.
Thankfully after a shower, it evened out a bit but you could still notice a light patch in the centre — and in daylight it looked even worse!
It’s just a very cumbersome way to apply tan because you don’t have any real control over where the tan goes. I imagine with a bit more practice I might get the hang of it, but it’d still be impossible to reach the middle of my spine.
Le Tan
This self tan back applicator was similar to ModelCo, except it felt nicer and softer on my skin, plus it was black…which makes more sense to me, since the fabric is just going to get dyed brown after all.
The main difference between ModelCo and Le Tan is that this one had a mitten on one end, which was actually super helpful as I used it to blend in what was applied with the strap — giving me more control.
Results:
The result were slightly better than ModelCo but there was still no way to reach the middle of my back. You can see an obvious light patch below and it’s really not a vibe. Nobody wants to be walking around rocking uneven back tan!! What will my boyfriend* say?
(*I don’t actually have a boyfriend but maybe I would if my back was evenly bronzed?!)
I will say the mitt on one end was pretty genius and meant that I could blend the sides of my back into the tan on my front, so overall it looks much more even than ModelCo. But it was still extremely time-consuming and left my arms so tired I could barely bother tanning the rest of my body once I was done.
Why is it all so hard?!
Bondi Sands
Now THIS is where it’s at. With no weird wrap thing that I can’t control, the Bondi Sands self tan back applicator is different to most of the other back applicators on the Australian market. The applicator folds open so it can cover hard-to-reach areas.
Results:
This one wins. It’s just a much better method for applying tan than a long band you can’t really manoeuvre easily. With the Bondi Sands self tan back applicator, I could finally reach the middle of my back which was some kind of miracle. Overall, the tan coverage was even enough for me but far from perfect.
While Bondi Sands was by far the best, if you looked closely my tan was still patchy asf and I almost tore a muscle (I’m very unfit!) trying to reach the middle of my back.
I think there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done perfecting self tan back applicators, like actually creating the kind that does the job without injuring yourself in the process.
Until then, my housemate will keep his job as my part-time back applicator.
