Tanning Beds Plainville CT

By Sally Wadyka

Hard to imagine, but there was a time when a suntan was the opposite of chic. Back then, fashionable women kept their skin as pale as possible—and not from a fear of skin cancer. Ironically, now that we know how much damage the sun can do, the fashion police have deemed a tan de rigeur. They call it a “healthy glow” or a “sun-kissed” look, and thankfully, beauty companies have devised dozens of ways to bronze without ever having to expose your skin to the damage of ultraviolet (UV) rays.

But chemical tans may be a slippery slope—controversy abounds over whether the popularity of fake tans keeps people out of the sun, or actually encourages them to seek out the real thing. A study published last year in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that fair-skinned individuals who used sunless tanning lotions in the previous 12 months were also more likely to have gotten a sunburn or used a tanning bed in that same time period.

Still, fake tanning lotions and bronzing powders are a safe substitute for the sun. “Tanning was popularized decades ago, and you can’t change cultural ideals overnight,” reasons Sue Ellen Cox, MD, a dermatologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “Topical self-tanners provide a safe way to give the appearance of a tan without the UV radiation.”
Whichever method you choose—self-tanners, bronzing powders, or glow lotions, the trick to making your “tan” look real, according to New York-based makeup artist Bret Miedel is “to key the shade you use to your natural skin tone.”

Here’s how faux glow products work:

Self-tanners. Slather on one of these lotions (gels, mousses, or sprays) and within a few hours your skin will start to develop a “tan.” Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), an ingredient common to all self tanners (including those by natural beauty companies), causes this reaction. Basically a simple sugar, DHA combines with the outer layer of skin to make it turn brown. “It temporarily stains the skin and then fades—just like a suntan—as the dead skin cells are shed,” explains Cox. The color (and the chemical) doesn’t penetrate beneath the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of skin). The ingredients watchdogs at the Environmental Working Group consider DHA nontoxic and safe as long as it isn’t used near the eyes.

Bronzing powders. Designed mostly for use on the face (and possibly down to the neck and chest), bronzing powder offers a low-commitment method for giving the skin a sun-kissed boost. Many of the versions from natural beauty companies will contain mineral pigments to impart a glow to the skin.

Glow lotions. Somewhere between self-tanners and body makeup, these lotions can give bare arms, legs, and décolletage a temporary tan (sometimes with a hint of shimmer) that washes right off. A perfect solution for times when you don’t want to wait for self tanner to take effect, or when you want to experiment with color.

And of course, remember that none of these types of “tans” pro...

Author: Sally Wadyka

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