Ashley Graham Uses Windex For This Beauty Purpose & My Skin Is Already Irritated
Even celebrities are no strangers to at-home tanner mishaps. DIY spray tan streaks are, apparently, the great equalizer. Ashley Graham's was the latest bronze blunder to hit Hollywood but the model was quick to come to her own rescue. Ashley Graham removes self-tan with Windex and this surprising cleaning aid seems to have righted her streak-filled wrong. I'm not so sure you should follow in her catwalk footsteps just yet, though.
I'm all for at-home beauty treatments and DIY shortcuts, but I did not see this one coming. Most people reserve Windex for a shiny, streak-free clean on windows, mirrors, and other glass surfaces. Applying the famous blue liquid to your skin has, until now, been reserved for a plot-line in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In the film, Toula Portokalos relays her dad's belief that "...any ailment from psoriasis to poison ivy could be cured with Windex." I don't know exactly what's in the spray, but I'd guess it's not exactly meant for that use.
Graham, however, has sided with the (fictional) Portokaloses and uses Windex on her skin to fix at-home tanning blunders. The supermodel shared her rollercoaster of a journey on Instagram over the weekend and, needless to say, I'm intrigued.
No matter how good your spray tan skills are, every guy or gal's self-tanner nemesis is the same: moisture. Water, sweat, what have you, even supermodels aren't immune to the pitfalls of unintentional zebra stripes. Graham was brave enough to share her struggle with the world, though, and let her fans know that they're not alone. So, how did this millionaire fix her two-toned legs?
Windex!
Graham followed Portokalos' advice and rummaged through her under-the-sink cabinet to try out the trick.
Et Voila! I must admit, Graham's quick thinking looks to have paid off. I see not one streak-o-tanner on those legs. If you want to try out the model's tip, a bottle of Windex Original Glass Cleaner Spray will set you back only $3 (target.com), but it may not be the healthiest option for your skin.
Tanning expert Fabiola Trujillo spoke to Allure and shed some light on the controversial beauty trick,
While I have heard that some people do use Windex to fix spray-tanning mistakes, it is not necessarily the best thing to put on your skin. Windex actually strips the outer layer of the skin, removing a portion of the spray tan (and the skin).
It removes a portion of your skin?? Nope. No thank you. Any Windex bottle itself will warn against using the product in anyway besides its intended purpose. Allure also spoke to dermatologist Deanne Robinson who put it succinctly, "No Windex on the skin!" That's all I needed, I'll stick to more official self-tanner touch up methods. Ulta's Sunless Tan Mistake Remover Sponge ($6; ulta.com) is a good place to start.
Twitter was divided over Graham's self-tan hack
One Twitter user really wanted to show her appreciation, "@ashleygraham Just to say thank you for sharing your streaky fake tan remedy... Windex! You have changed my life at the age of 43! No more dark brown knees for me! It's a revelation! ❤️ 😘 #lifehacks."
Another user pointed out that Windex may share some ingredients with cosmetics, "Most of the ingredients in Windex are also found in shampoos & also cosmetics & it's a lot cheaper & quicker than the scrub you advertised or the other methods." I'll have to look into this a bit more before I try it out.
I'm leaning slightly more towards the "chemicals on chemicals" side of things, TBH.
A tanning salon in Miami felt compelled to share alternative methods for the issue at hand: "If you want to remove streaks like this you can use lemon juice and a little baking soda and gently exfoliate the streaks out. No need for Windex!"
No matter which self-tanner fix you choose, make sure you read all of the instructions and warning labels on any product before you apply it. The only thing worse than a botched fake tan is an allergic or toxic reaction on top of it.
