Colour me brown
December 17, 2009
My friend tells me that self tanning lotions are just a dye that colour the skin, but I thought they penetrated the skin and made the skin react and turn brown - kind of like the sun. Which of us is correct? - Sarah by email.
We asked Amanda Foxon-Hill, Cosmetic Chemist and director of Realize Beauty (www.realizebeauty.com).
Fake tans usually contain a number of active ingredients:
1) Colour - These are added to give the skin an instant bronzed look (and they can also help you to know where it has been applied). Colours are found on label like this ”Red 40 Cl 16035″
2) DHA - This chemical actually reacts with the proteins in the Stratum Corneum (top layer of skin) which then turn on the melanoidins, turning them brown. The more DHA in the fake tan, the more brown the skin can go (up to a point). There are a few down sides with DHA - it smells (due to the chemical reaction taking place), it can be streaky (as the stratum corneum cells don’t tend to shed uniformly) and it can leave you a bit orange (due to reactions with your skin).
3) Erythrulose- This is a newer active for sunless tanning and is based on a natural sugar that reacts in the same way as DHA (with proteins in your skin). The key difference is this, Erythrulose takes longer than DHA to react (maximum tanning dose at 4-6 days as opposed to 2 days) which enables the development of a more even, longer lasting tan!
So, in a nutshell, both of you are correct. Fake tans do dye the skin as well as react with the skin to produce a natural looking tan! Varying the levels of active in the product enable the development of a more natural look.
Wow that Erythrulose ingredient sounds very interesting. What are some products that contain in Tamsin?
I think I may be allergic to DHA, I love a self tan but all that I have tried (from Holiday Skin through to St. Tropez) make me very very itchy - I literally itch it all off by day three, leaving me with patchy tan, rashes and hives - not glam. So this Erythrulose could be promising!
You may be better off with a sunless tanning solution such as Vani-t Liquid Sun if available to you.
Liquid Sun contains:
•Ecocert Approved DHA (certified organic)
•Certified Organic Aloe Vera Extract – moisturising
•Vitamins A & E – anti-oxidants
•Cehami – an indigenous Australian botanical which has been used for centuries, and is scientifically proven to contain unprecedented skin renewal, hydrating and anti-inflammatory properties, for younger, healthier looking skin
•Marine Collagen – stimulates collagen production and skin renewal
•Aromatic Therapy – Orange, Lemon and Bergamot essential oils revive, lighten, firm and improve skin tone
•No alcohol