Sunless Tanning Products – Your Options

Sunless tanning products have been with us since the 1960s when Coppertone introduced QT a product which promptly turned you orange. Many of us remember those days. But boy have we come a long way!

Not only have we improved from the Quick Tanning Lotion orange days we’ve added an entire new repertoire of products to choose from. Today’s self tanning products leave you a beautiful bronzed color and there are also bronzers, tanning pills, and tanning blankets to choose from.

Bronzers are a popular choice because they leave the skin with anywhere from a subtle bronze glow to a deep golden tan depending on the application. The results for most are instant although there are a few products that need around 30 minutes to take full effect.

Don’t be fooled by that golden bronze tan you do not require any protection from the UV rays of the sun like you would with a real tan so remember to use your sunscreen before you head outdoors.

So what are your options?

1. Tanning Lotions
These give the best effect and are very affordable. The active ingredient dihydroxyacetone also known as DHA a colorless sugar which interacts with your dead skin cells causing your skin to change to a deep brown color. It takes a couple of hours for the change to occur. This interaction lasts about a week from when you apply it.
2. Tanning Sprays
They work exactly like the lotions with the exception that you spray them on rather than applying a lotion. They last 5 to 7 days from application.
3. Bronzers
These take affect immediately because they are basically the same as a foundation powder. They are available in creams, lotions, and powders. They wash off wish soap and water.
4. Tanning Pills
These pills include an ingredient called pigment canthaxanthin which is approved by the FDA as a color additive in food. However when used in tanning pills the amount that needs to be taken for your skin to change color is quite a bit larger.

You consume Canthaxanthin and then it then becomes deposited throughout the body. It’s not just deposited on the skin but rather on your liver, brain, heart, and other internal organs. And that’s where the problem comes in.

Studies have shown that the amounts needed to turn the skin brown can actually be dangerous to your health causing inflammation of the liver and retinopathy. Use with caution!
5. Tanning Accelerators
These are products that contain tyrosine an amino acid that stimulates the production of melanin in the skin which then increases the rate of natural tanning.

Other than a natural tan or using a tanning bed these are your options. All tans fade no mater what type. That’s because your outer skin takes a great deal of wear and tear so every 35 days or so it is completely replaced. So your tan will fade as this skin is sloughed away which means more time in the sun to maintain it or another application of self tanners.

Why not buy your sunless tanning products online? You’ll save plenty, have plenty of choices, and you’ll have that safe sexy tan in no time.