While most self-tanners will develop within a few hours, some self-tanners take a few days to show up, and require multiple applications to become really noteworthy. Gradual self-tans are an excellent choice for anyone who is really nervous about their self-tan showing up too dark, and would rather slowly and carefully work their way up towards their tan. Gradual self-tanners should be applied the same way as any other self-tanning product.