What Sunless Tanning Lotions Do
Sunless tanning lotions work to try and deliver a darker tone of skin to mimic the effects of UV light from the sun or tanning beds. This has the advantage of avoiding the harmful effects associated with the increased exposure to potentially harmful UVA and UVB rays. While sunless tanning lotions provide an alternative to this, they are not without certain risks themselves. Some people are allergic to the active ingredient found in these lotions. They also don't provide any protection from the sun's harmful rays and since you're skin will actually be darker from the lotion itself, it will absorb more rays.
How They Do It
The main active ingredient in sunless tanning lotion is dihydroxyacetone (DHA). The chemical DHA causes coloring in the skin by providing it with a "browning reaction." When applied, the DHA changes into a sugar that then works with the natural amino acids in the skin to form chemical compounds known as melanoids which are brown in color. This chemical compound works in darkening the appearance of the epidermis's dead skin cells and gives the illusion of suntanned skin. This coloring of the skin does not come off with normal washing. The dead skin cells that had received that alteration in pigmentation shed off regularly. Generally, the pigmented dead skin cells stay in place for about a week.
Additional Methods
These tanning lotions generally consist of a clear moisturizer that goes on invisibly. The results will generally be noticed in about a day. There are some tanning lotions, however, that also include a dye to tint the product and consequently your skin, to achieve a tanner look more quickly. These chemical and tint combinations expedite the tanning process by influencing the darkening of the epidermis on two different levels, producing a more efficient sunless tanning experience.
