Sunless tanning is a safer method of tanning your skin. You need not worry of the harmful effects of the UV radiation of sunlight in this method. Here, certain lotions, creams or sprays are used to change the color of the epidermis, the outer layer of your skin. However, the results of the sunless tanning are short lived, as the ingredients in the sunless tanning products act on the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of epidermis, while the sun light acts on the stratum basale, or the deepest layer to stimulate melanin pigmentation.
There are some other skin treatments which can be used in combination with sunless tanning in order to enhance the results obtained.
Air Brush Tanning
This is done in beauty salons with the help of an air brush connected to an air compressor. Tanning solution with DHA is kept in the air brush container, and when the compressed air reaches the solution, it gets mixed with the air and gets sprayed as a fine mist over the skin’s outer layers. Salons have numerous such air brushes which are either moving or fixed in a position. Such air brush tanning is becoming popular, as the tanning results are uniform and it's a safe way to get color.
UV Treatment
There are tanning booths or lamps which emit UV radiation, resulting in tan skin. A tanning bed is another piece of equipment which emits UV radiation (both UV-A and UV-B) in order to induce tanning artificially.
However, care has to be taken to control the duration of each session and interval between each session, in order to avoid the harmful effects of the UV radiation. As the radiation coming from this equipment is stronger than natural sunlight, it may prove dangerous if such tanning methods are followed on a regular basis.
Other Tanning Treatments
Apart from the above-mentioned ones, there are numerous other skin treatments that can be combined with the sunless tanning. Some of them include accelerators, bronzers, tanning pills, self-tan products and more. Bronzer application is the simplest method of getting a tan or improving a tan. It will just darken the color of your skin. Self-tan towelettes come with concentrated tanning formula, which when tied around the body, will produce a uniform and even tanning without any streaks or mess. It can produce results within 2 to 4 hours and can be repeated for darker tones of skin.
Tanning pills contain color additives like Cantaxanthin, which when taken will impart a color to your skin, and help you achieve a uniform tanning effect throughout your body. Accelerator medications have amino acid tyrosine. This will stimulate melanin pigment formation, as a result of which the skin appears tanned. However, caution should be taken when consuming tanning pills as they are not FDA approved and may cause side effects.
Word of Caution
Although these treatments can result in a tanning without exposing yourself to sun’s harmful radiations, these tans do not protect you from them. Hence, it is necessary to go out in sun only after wearing sunscreen lotions and creams, and other sun protection gear.
