How fair/pale is your skin, naturally? Don’t let the people who work at the salon scam you into something extremely expensive if you can’t really afford it, because it isn’t necessary. Some lotions will give you more of a brown color, others will give you a more golden color. If you’re not very pale to begin with, you may not need a lotion. Some people tan easily and so never buy them. One reason I would recommend a lotion though, is that tanning isn’t good for you in the first place, and without some kind of moisturizer, your skin can dry out and burn more easily. If you don’t tan that well or often or if you have naturally light skin, do not get an oil, get a lotion. If you get an oil, you will burn. Also, if you’re naturally pale and have not tanned before, do not start out at more than 12 minutes, because again, you’ll burn. The reason some lotions have bronzer in them is to cut back on the amount of times that you actually have to tan. Bronzers in lotions basically add to the “oomph” and speed up the process of looking tan.