Sunless Tan - The New Way To Get Tanned

It has been quite some time since the sun was discovered to be an enemy of the skin. Over exposure to the sun has been found to cause a lot of side effects including dark spots, blemishes, burns and even skin cancer. With this discovery, sun tanning is gradually being replaced by sunless tanning.

Early History

Sunless tanning first began with the use of tanning beds. These are electronic equipment which uses fluorescent lamps to give the skin a tan. However, the problem with these tanning beds was that they were no different from being exposed to the sun. The lamps emitted ultraviolet rays. These are the same rays that the sun emits which cause all those problems to the skin. They can also cause problems in the eye if proper protection is not used. So, people started to think of better alte
atives to tanning beds.

This led to the introduction of self tanning products. In the beginning, the products were designed with a special dye that gave the skin more of an orange color than a beautiful bronze. It was much later, perhaps in the late 1990s, that the ingredients were perfected to get a beautiful tan. Over the years, the products have been improved even further. Nowadays, many kinds of sunless tanning products are available to give the skin different variations of tan from light to ultra dark. Sunless tanners also give the skin a glow which does make the skin look truly remarkable.

Ingredients used

Currently, the ingredients used in these products are safe for the skin. In the beginning, they were filled with chemicals which led to allergies in many people. Later, a sugar called dihydroxyacetone (DHA) was discovered that was completely harmless and gave the best tan. It only reacted with the uppermost layer of the skin and had no harmful effect at all. More and more companies are now using this ingredient in their product.

Sunless tanning has caught on with such frenzy that manufacturers are coming out with products that help the tanned skin look better. These products include exfoliating agents, moisturizers for use after tanning and sunscreen lotions. The exfoliating product helps cleanse the skin before the tan. The moisturizer helps keep the tanned skin more supple and also gives protection to the tan making it last longer. The sun screen protects the tanned skin from the sun.

A tanned skin does not mean it is immune to the heat of the sun. It needs continuous protection from the sun even when it is tanned brown. Companies are also coming out with different grades of tanning products. There are tans which wash off with one shower and others that last as long as twenty days. Other variations include the light tans, the dark tans and the ultra dark tans. According to their skin type and preferences, customers can choose from the wide variety available. They need not pay big bucks to get these tans. It can all be done from home using sunless tanning products.

Today, from celebrities to the middle class, everyone prefers sunless tanning. They flaunt beautifully tanned bodies and the best part is that the sun has absolutely nothing to do with it.