Fake Tan: The Good, Bad, And The Ugly
Tanning is a controversial subject among skin experts, yet it remains a widely pursued pastime, particularly for tourists.
Many prioritise the aesthetic appeal of having a sun-kissed, darker skin tone over their health, and this makes no sense. No one would willingly choose skin cancer from a menu of potential health complications, just because it came with a side of tan, but this is essentially what happens every time someone chooses to sit on a sun lounger in the open sun, or worse, a sun bed emitting artificial UV rays.
You really cannot disentangle the effects of sun damage; every time you are exposed, you dramatically increase your risk of skin cancer, especially if you are burnt or have been burnt before.
Some love the tanned look so much that they apply fake tanning creams to enhance their skin tone temporarily, especially in the winter months. But how safe are these products?
Opulent Aesthetics believes that looking beautiful shouldn’t cost you your health. This article explains the benefits and risks of using fake tanning creams and shares a little-known tanning secret that is entirely natural and healthy.
What is tanning cream?
Also known as ‘fake tan’, tanning creams are topical lotions, much like moisturisers, that temporarily alter the appearance of your skin tone and colour.
The active ingredient responsible for this seemingly magical effect is dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which reacts with the amino acids found on dead skin cells on the outer layer of the skin. The reaction, known as the ‘Maillard reaction’, produces pigments called melanoidins, which have a similar colour to the melanin your body produces in response to sun exposure, giving that sun-kissed effect.
Fake tan products exist in several forms, including:
- Tanning lotions and creams
- Mouses and foams
- Mist sprays
- Serums
Are fake tanning products safe to use?
The short answer is yes. Fake tanning products don’t pose a direct risk of harm; however, the misconceptions around them often do.
Let’s start with the benefits. Firstly, using fake tanning products is considerably safer than sun exposure, and certainly more so than using artificial UV light from tanning beds. Of those three options, tanning cream should be selected every time, without question.
Tanning creams also provide beneficial moisture to your skin, compared to sun exposure, which dries it out. Lotions and creams work relatively quickly, and you can use them in the colder months, ensuring that you still have that summer glow during winter.
If applied correctly, and perhaps with some help, you can ensure an even tan, which can be difficult to achieve when sunbathing, unless you are prepared to take all your clothes off, and ensure your skin is exposed for an even amount of time, which is not recommended because of the health risks.
With a little practice, you can control the depth of your colour by selecting specific shades and layering the application in stages until you achieve the desired result.
How long does it last?
Fake tanning products generally last between 3-10 days. The precise time depends on several factors, including:
- The quality of the product you use
- How much is applied
- Your age and skin shedding cycle
- Your lifestyle
Not all products are made equally, and it stands to reason that better quality products will produce better effects that last longer. The duration of your tan will also depend on the depth of colour you are going for and how much lotion you apply.
Your skin is constantly turning over new cells and shedding older, dead ones. The rate at which this occurs changes with age. Here is a rough guide on cell turnover rates at various life stages:
- Babies and young children – around 14 days
- Teenagers – 21-28 days
- Adults in their 20s-30s – approximately 28 days
- Adults in their 40s – 45-60 days
- Adults in their 50+ -60-90 days or even longer
As you can see, cell turnover is very fast in our younger years and slows with age. The result is that younger people will need to top up their fake tan far more frequently than older people.
A bio-hack to make your fake tan last longer is to exfoliate thoroughly the night before applying your tanning solution. This will remove many of the dead skin cells that are about to be shed, leaving behind skin cells that will hang around for a while longer.
Exfoliating and moisturising create a blank canvas for the fake tan solution to work with.
Lifestyle choices will also affect the duration of your tan. For example, if you swim regularly, particularly in chlorine-maintained pools, this will naturally strip away your dead skin cells and your fake tan along with it. This is also true of showering frequently, especially if you towel down rather aggressively.
Must read: Pollution, Chlorine, and Smoking; How They Affect Your Skin
The downside of using fake tanning products
While not unsafe, using fake tanning products is not without its hazards. Firstly, if applied unevenly, it can look streaky and unnatural, and that is never attractive. It can also fade unevenly, even if applied correctly, causing the same effect.
Unfortunately, fake tanning products often leave residue on textile products like bedsheets, towels, and even your clothes, which can cause stains and blotches. Remember to pat rather than wipe yourself dry to minimise this.
Using the gym frequently can also cause blotchiness, particularly if your clothes and activities cause a lot of friction on the skin, or you sweat a lot.
There is also a common misconception that fake tan creams provide protection from the sun, but unless the product you are using specifies a ‘sun protection factor’ (SPF), this is simply not the case. In fact, tanning creams can dramatically increase your skin’s sensitivity to sunlight, making you more vulnerable to sunburn.
This is particularly important to remember if you are planning beauty treatments like microneedling, facial peels, dermaplaning, or laser treatment, as these treatments also increase your sensitivity to the sun, risking inflammation.
If you are planning microneedling, dermaplaning, laser or facial peels, it is best to avoid fake tanning creams 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after your treatment.
A healthier alternative to UV and fake tanning
Your diet hugely influences your skin quality, including your pigmentation and glow. There is much scientific evidence supporting that a diet rich in colourful fruit and vegetables can give you a tan-like glow.
The active ingredients are compounds known as carotenoids, which give fruit and vegetables their vibrant colours. The most common and well-researched is beta-carotene, but lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin also contribute.
When you consume enough of these carotenoid-rich foods, the pigments are absorbed into your bloodstream and eventually stored in the fat layer beneath your skin. As they accumulate, they impart a subtle golden or yellowish-orange tint to your skin.
To achieve this, you would need to eat between 20-50 mg of beta-carotene each day. This is the equivalent of:
- 5-10 carrots
- 1-2 sweet potatoes
- A cup or two of spinach or pumpkin
- 3-4 red or yellow peppers
You can supplement beta-carotene to make it easier, but remember that you miss out on all of the vitamin, mineral, and fibre benefits that come with eating fresh fruit and vegetables.
Final thoughts
Applying fake tan won’t do you any harm in the long run if you are sensible about your sun exposure and ensure sufficient gaps before and after beauty treatments like microneedling, dermaplaning, and facial peels.
Fake tan is far more preferable than sunbathing or using sun beds, but Opulent Aesthetics believes that true beauty comes from within and that means taking a holistic approach to enhance your beauty naturally and safely over time, rather than taking risky shortcuts.
We recommend increasing your intake of colourful fruit and vegetables to get your natural carotene glow. You can fast-track the process with quality supplementation. With no downsides and improved health, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. It is cheaper, and studies show that people perceive carotene tans as more attractive than regular sun tans, and this is unsurprising as it is evolution’s way of signalling a healthy immune system to prospective dates and mates.
A carotene tan also lets you enjoy your favourite beauty treatments like microneedling, facial peels, and dermaplaning, without interference, which improve your skin quality naturally over time.
If you are ready to take your skincare to the next level, consider skin booster and polynucleotide injections, which provide the deeper layers of your skin with the natural compounds they need to stimulate collagen and elastin, making your skin look beautiful and radiant.
Book your appointment with Sadie at Opulent Aesthetics today; your skin will thank you for it.
