The New Tanning Rules: A Guide to Self-Tanners

3. Let it set

"You don't want to wipe away the cream before it has a chance to react with your skin," explains Stankiewicz. You'll need to wait a minimum of 15 minutes before getting dressed -- even if your skin doesn't feel tacky. "The bottom layers may still be drying," notes Stankiewicz. Speed up the process by fanning your body with a hair dryer on the cool setting. For even quicker results, use an aerosol formula instead of a cream. "Sprays have smaller color molecules, so they're absorbed faster," says Cindy Barshop, owner of the Complete Bare spas in New York City and Palm Beach.