Beaut.ie How To: McGyver a long-handled fake tan applicator

When it comes to applying fake tan, it's always handy to have a willing helper to do the bits of your back that you can't quite reach.

An unwilling helper will do in a pinch, of course. As long as they understand that there'll be hell to pay if they miss a spot.

Sometimes, though, there just isn't an extra pair of helping hands on, er, hand when you really need them. It's trying tanning times like these that call for a long-handled back applicator. Looking for all the world like a back scratcher with a foam pad on the end, these gizmos enables you to bronze up hard to reach areas on your tod.

Off the top of my head I know that St. Tropez and Soltan do versions of these, and one of them would have been very useful to me last week when I realised mid self tan that I was going to have a big white patch on my back that would be visible in the dress I was planning to wear.

I didn't even have one of those washing up dispenser thingys with a handle that long-time Beaut.ie reader Ams has recommended in the past as a DIY alternative to these shop-bought applicators.

There was nothing for it but to try and McGyver an applicator for myself. My initial efforts with a paperclip, an elastic band, and a stick of dynamite that some careless bad guy had left around the place weren't particularly successful, but I had better luck when I paired my Penneys tanning mitt with a very chunky coat hanger. Re-sult!

The big rounded shoulder of the hanger was able to put sufficient pressure on a decently large area of the mitt to ensure an even, controlled application, and the hanger I used had a sort of velvet material covering the ends of the shoulders which helped prevent the mitt from slipping off.

I'm happy to report that my tan turned out absolutely perfect. And I got to sing the McGyver theme tune to myself while putting it on. That's a win win if ever I saw one.