Sunset Sunless Tanning

A safe and effective alternative to tanning beds and sun exposure is the sunless spray tan. Here at Sunset Sunless Tanning, this is one of our favorite methods to achieve a natural warm glow. We are long past the days of fake-looking orange tans. The industry has refined the formula to a degree where proper application leads to natural-looking tans on a consistent basis.

Sunless spray tans won’t cause the sagging skin and premature wrinkles you’ll suffer if you tan with tanning beds or with the blazing rays of the sun. And most importantly, a sunless spray tan won’t increase your risk for deadly skin cancer. While 25 years ago manufacturers were still refining their formulas to achieve a truly natural looking glow, today you can find very natural-looking and high quality sunless spray tan products at any drugstore or department store (and even most grocery stores now) across the country. Just head to the body care section, usually near either soaps or cosmetics.

The most effective sunless tanning or self tanning products, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, are products which contain dihydroxyacetone (often labeled as DHA). This is the most common ingredient in most sunless spray tan systems. DHA is not a skin dye. Rather, DHA reacts with the amino acids in the top layer of dead skin cells on your skin. Thus it does not require sun exposure nor does it cause any permanent skin pigmentation. As this top layer of cells naturally sloughs away, the tan will fade.

Two primary methods to obtain a tan through a sunless spray are by visiting a salon and using the spray tan booth, or by simply purchasing a sunless spray tanner on the shelf from your local grocery, drug or department store. The tanning booth is optimum for individuals wanting a full body, even tan without worrying about making a mess at home. The store-bought tanning products are much cheaper and usually provide for multiple applications with a single purchase.

To achieve the best results for your sunless tan, be sure to shave, wash, exfoliate & moisturize any skin area before applying the sunless spray tan. Any hair on the surface could lead to uneven tanning. Not exfoliating will lead to less even tanning and it will reduce the life of the tan.

The exfoliation process is particularly important to achieving an even, long-lasting sunless tan. When you exfoliate, you’re wiping away old, excess dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. This allows the DHA to be applied directly to a fresh, even layer of surface skin cells, making the tan more even and encouraging it to last longer. Proper exfoliation is one of the beauty care essentials“>beauty care essentials anyways.

Please note that using DHA-based tanning products for self-tanning is not the same as applying sun protection. You still need to apply a sunscreen after applying your sunless spray tan. While some DHA-based self-tanning products include sunscreen, not all of them do, so be sure to check the label. Again: sunless spray tans do not protect you from the UV onslaught of the sun and tanning beds.

I encourage you to exploit the health and beauty benefits of a sunless spray tan. It is a proven, safe, easy, and inexpensive way to achieve great tanning results and it is a vastly superior alternative to courting cancer on your skin with the sun or tanning beds.

Tags: dha, dihydroxyacetone, self tanning products, skin cancer, skin pigmentation, spray tan booth, sunless spray tan, sunless tanning, sunscreen, tanning beds