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Best Tan Accelerator for Holiday: What to Pack and How to Use It

Best Tan Accelerator for Holiday: What to Pack and How to Use It - Delux Tanners
Holiday buying guide

Best tan accelerator for holiday.
What to pack, how to use it.

Seven days of sun is the best tanning opportunity most of us get all year, and the one most people waste on a burn by Tuesday. Here is which accelerator to pack, why, and the routine that has you coming home with colour rather than peeling.

2Delux formulas built for the lounger
2-3weeks before you fly is when to start
2layers every day: accelerator, then SPF
0bronzer, so no tan lines from a tube
1What holiday asks of it2Cream or jelly3The daily routine4Packing list5Coming home
Start before you fly. A base built two to three weeks out develops faster and more evenly in the sun.
Water-based, no bronzer. Nothing to streak in the pool, nothing to stain the white shirt.
Sunscreen on top, every time. No accelerator contains SPF.
Moisturise every evening. It is the difference between a tan you fly home with and one you leave in the shower.

Part one

What a holiday asks of an accelerator

Heat, humidity, pool water, sea water, sweat, sunscreen over the top and towelling off three times a day. A formula that is greasy at home is unbearable at 32 degrees. A formula with bronzer streaks the second you swim. And anything oil-based sits on the surface fighting your sunscreen instead of sinking in underneath it. So the shortlist is short: water-based, fast-absorbing, no tint, actives that are actually doing something, and a texture you will happily put on every morning for a week.

Part two

Cream or jelly?

The holiday cream

Island Coconut
Full melanin stackAloe, coconut, sheaSits under SPFSmells like the holiday

The one most people pack. Silky, absorbs clean, and the conditioning core keeps sun-exposed skin comfortable all week.

or

The holiday jelly

Sun Sauce
Water-based jellyAcetyl tyrosine, niacinamideFast absorbingLounger gloss

For real heat and anyone who finds a cream too much by the pool. Same colour, lighter feel.

Honest steer: if in doubt, take Island Coconut. If you know you hate cream in the heat, take Sun Sauce. Plenty of people take both and use the cream in the morning and the jelly after the pool. Our cream or jelly guide goes deeper.

Part three

The daily routine

Morning: accelerator on clean, dry skin. Let it absorb. Sunscreen over the top, generously.
Through the day: reapply sunscreen every two hours and after every swim. Reapply accelerator after towelling if you have been in the water a lot.
Peak hours: shade or a shorter stint. A higher UV index means burn faster, not tan better.
Evening: warm shower, moisturise everywhere. Do not scrub.
The tan you fly home with is built in the mornings and kept in the evenings.

Part four

The packing list

One tube of accelerator per person per week of sun. A broad-spectrum sunscreen you will actually reapply, in a bottle big enough to. A plain moisturiser for the evenings. That is it. If you take our gummies, start them a couple of weeks before rather than in the departure lounge, since they work from within over weeks.

Part five

Coming home

The colour lives in your skin's surface and that surface renews itself over about four weeks, so the clock starts the day you land. Moisturise daily, keep showers warm, skip the exfoliating mitt, and top up with a short session and your accelerator when it dips. Our guide on how long a tan lasts covers keeping it.

Quick answers

Frequently asked

Which is the best tan accelerator for holiday?
For most people, Island Coconut: water-based, no bronzer, a full melanin stack and a conditioning core that keeps sun-exposed skin comfortable. Sun Sauce if you want something lighter in the heat.
Do I still need sunscreen with a tan accelerator?
Yes, always. No accelerator contains SPF. Accelerator first, sunscreen over the top, reapplied every two hours and after swimming.
When should I start using an accelerator before holiday?
Two to three weeks before you fly, alongside sunbed sessions or any sun you get. A base built early develops faster and more evenly on holiday.
Can I take a tan accelerator in hand luggage?
A 200ml tube is over the 100ml liquid limit for hand luggage, so pack it in the hold or decant into a travel bottle.

Land golden.

Start now, pack Island Coconut, wear your sunscreen, and come home with colour that is still there in October.

Shop Island Coconut
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Island Coconut · Built for the holiday routineShop now
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