A tan is a sign of sun damage to the skin.
There are tanning beds, accelerators, and creams available on the market that can help you achieve a tan.
You should only get a slight tan if you apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15.
There are many products that will make your skin look like it has been tanned. These include Estee Lauder Tanning Cream and Lancome Tanning Cream.
Di-hydroxyacetone (DHA), which is found in tanning creams, chemically reacts to the surface of the skin and produces the appearance of an all-natural golden tan. It is an effective and safe way to get a summer glow. The color will change after a few hours and last for several days, until the upper layer of skin is slowly sloughed away. These products are far superior to the old skin dyes that tended streak the skin or stain clothes. Most tanning products contain both sunscreens and tanning acceleraters.
Oral tanning agents are available. These agents contain carotenoids, cousins of the carotene in carrots. They are deposited into the fat cells and then reach the epidermis via sweat pores. This gives a tanned look. Unfortunately, some of these agents can produce an unnaturally orange tan. These agents cause the color to be orange on the soles and palms of your feet because the skin there is thicker.
It takes a lot of time and practice to achieve a dark or medium sunless tanning. You need to know how to apply it and what suits your skin best. A special product is not necessary. The perfect product will give you the desired color in just two or three coats. Consider a darker product if you require more.
Tan accelerators are also known as tan promotors. They speed up tanning so that the amount of time you spend in the sun is reduced. The principle behind the pre-holiday tanning is similar: the earlier you tan the better you are protected against a sunburn. Tan accelerators do protect your dermis, but they don’t prevent the damage that is responsible for skin cancer and premature aging.
Psoralen, an active ingredient in tanning accelerators, is used to stimulate the production of melanin. When exposed to sunlight, it stimulates pigment cells to produce a greater amount of melanin. The result is a rapid tan, with less exposure to ultraviolet light. Psoralen can be extracted from citrus oils and other plant substances and is present in citrus fruits like limes. When applied to skin, the lime juice will produce a faster tan than the surrounding area.
The addition of tyrosine to tanning accelerators can stimulate the production of melanin. It is the building block for melanin, a pigment protein. The research on its usefulness in this regard is not as extensive as that of psoralen.
Some tanning accelerators contain sunscreens that protect against sunburn. The tan will be slower to develop because the sunscreen is blocking the ultraviolet light that interacts with stimulators to produce melanin. A tan accelerater is better than any other tanning product because it exposes you to less harmful ultraviolet light.
Tan accelerators can be used safely if they are used with caution. In reality, tanning is not a safe process. To tan the skin, it has to be exposed to UV radiation. This is harmful to the skin at any level.
For many years tanning beds were considered safer than sunlight. This is no longer the case. They emit more UVA rays with longer wavelengths than sunlight. 15 minutes in a tanning booth is the equivalent of three days in the sun. UVA rays penetrate the deeper layers of the skin, but they do not cause a superficial burn unless exposed for long periods. UVA rays can cause premature skin aging, skin cancer, immune system suppression, and eye damage. It is like setting off a bomb by lying in a tanning booth.
It is a myth that tanning in a suntan salon will protect you against the sun’s burning rays. A preliminary tan is equivalent to only an SPF 2. If you want to tan, start off with a broad spectrum high SPF sunscreen. Then reduce the number over time as your skin adjusts to the sun. Continue to use the broad spectrum high SPF sunscreen if you don’t want a tan.