The practice of sunless tanning does not involve sun or UV light to crate color of the skin. Instead, a special formula of chemicals is applied to the skin to achieve a tanned skin color. This has made self tanning and airbrush tanning, the most rapidly expanding area of cosmetics.
Self tan can be applied in a number of ways, and can come in the form of sprays and lotions, amongst others. The change in skin color is not a result of sun or UV exposure, but rather a result of a reaction between amino acids on the surface of the skin, and Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) which is the active ingredient in the formula.
Most self tans are designed for home use, with the best results when used on clean, dry skin. If you have not used self tan products before than you should always carry out a skin test first to ensure you do not have an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients. Please allow 24 hours after testing a small patch of skin, before putting on the rest of the body and allow it to completely dry into the skin before getting the skin wet.
An airbrush tan is also a sunless tan product but is usually applied by professional technicians using specialized airbrushing equipment, made especially for applying fake tan formula.
Bronzed skin tends to be linked to health and physical attractiveness, but in previous centuries, most preferred fair skin. In the Elizabethan and Victorian eras, the upper classes would protect their skin from sun exposure. A tan was seen as something for the working classes, who spent a lot of time doing outside labor. The Greeks and Romans were also known make their faces whiter using chalk.
In was not until the twenties, when a famous designer returned from a cruise vacation with a tan that it became fashionable. The tan no longer represented a life of outside labor, but a life of leisure and luxury. Also at this time, the looser fashions inspired by the Jazz age meant that women were no longer wearing clothes that completely covered their bodies, which gave even more reason to tan.
When self tan first became available in the fifties, it came in the form of a brown or creamy dye that was applied to skin to give the appearance of a tan. The first self tan products gave an orange and patchy result which did not look natural but now technologies have developed and new ingredient combinations have improved the finished effect.
A lot of people believe that beauty, health and wellness are associated with tanned skin, so therefore feel better with a tan themselves. Health authorities then found a link between sun or UV exposure and skin cancer, which did not completely deter people from wanting a tan, but did support the idea of sunless ways.
Health experts do recommend the use of self tan as an alternative to a regular tan as there are not any known risks to the skin form using sunless tanning methods. Users should always consider that most self tans provide very low protection against UV, and remember this if leaving skin exposed.
Despite the popularity of the tan through the past decades, it may be finally starting to fade as recent fashion icons are once again gracing the catwalks and screens with paler skin on show.
Self tan can be applied in a number of ways, and can come in the form of sprays and lotions, amongst others. The change in skin color is not a result of sun or UV exposure, but rather a result of a reaction between amino acids on the surface of the skin, and Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) which is the active ingredient in the formula.
Most self tans are designed for home use, with the best results when used on clean, dry skin. If you have not used self tan products before than you should always carry out a skin test first to ensure you do not have an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients. Please allow 24 hours after testing a small patch of skin, before putting on the rest of the body and allow it to completely dry into the skin before getting the skin wet.
An airbrush tan is also a sunless tan product but is usually applied by professional technicians using specialized airbrushing equipment, made especially for applying fake tan formula.
Bronzed skin tends to be linked to health and physical attractiveness, but in previous centuries, most preferred fair skin. In the Elizabethan and Victorian eras, the upper classes would protect their skin from sun exposure. A tan was seen as something for the working classes, who spent a lot of time doing outside labor. The Greeks and Romans were also known make their faces whiter using chalk.
In was not until the twenties, when a famous designer returned from a cruise vacation with a tan that it became fashionable. The tan no longer represented a life of outside labor, but a life of leisure and luxury. Also at this time, the looser fashions inspired by the Jazz age meant that women were no longer wearing clothes that completely covered their bodies, which gave even more reason to tan.
When self tan first became available in the fifties, it came in the form of a brown or creamy dye that was applied to skin to give the appearance of a tan. The first self tan products gave an orange and patchy result which did not look natural but now technologies have developed and new ingredient combinations have improved the finished effect.
A lot of people believe that beauty, health and wellness are associated with tanned skin, so therefore feel better with a tan themselves. Health authorities then found a link between sun or UV exposure and skin cancer, which did not completely deter people from wanting a tan, but did support the idea of sunless ways.
Health experts do recommend the use of self tan as an alternative to a regular tan as there are not any known risks to the skin form using sunless tanning methods. Users should always consider that most self tans provide very low protection against UV, and remember this if leaving skin exposed.
Despite the popularity of the tan through the past decades, it may be finally starting to fade as recent fashion icons are once again gracing the catwalks and screens with paler skin on show.
About the Author:
Get that summer glow all year round with self tanning and airbrush tanning! Get the exclusive low down now in our guide to all you need to know about Sun Laboratories Dark Sunsation .