Hi and welcome to my best fake tan site, I hope you enjoy your stay and manage to get some useful information out of it!



What goes into a fake tanning lotion?

A lot of us will happily use fake tan lotions and not really give much thought to what goes in them, the same goes for a lot of skin care products, I mean as long as they work then who cares right? Well I think it’s always nice to know the ingredients of a product I’m using, and the same goes for the spray tans and fake tans that I use. So just what exactly goes into them? Let’s have a look.

Dihydroxyacetone (The main ingredient) – Now there’s a scary looking word! This is the main ingredient of most self tanners and it is this that actually gives us the tan. It originates from raw sugar cane and was used to treat people who had glycogen storage disorders. When it was first used people noticed that it would create brown spots on their skin where it was applied. It wasn’t long before a special mixture was created especially for the skin to create a dark tan like pigmentation. Most fake tan products will have a solution of roughly 5% of this ingredient; the most there is the darker the tan will be! A lot of self tan bronzers will use a much smaller percentage to give a lesser tan. For the best fake tan five or six percent is probably ideal.

Oils – The other important ingredient in a lot of self tanner is the oil’s that go into the mixture. These are what give the lotion its texture and determine how well it will be absorbed into your skin, not only that but they are used to alter the consistency of the lotion and prevent it from going clumpy or hard. Some fake tan products will use natural oil’s that are good for the skin and help to moisture it. Others might use man made one’s that are not as good for the skin so it is always best to check the back of the pack before using it!

Fragrances – A lot of fake tan products will use these as the rest of the ingredients combined do not usually make for a particularly good smell! Because of this different natural plant extracts can be used as fragrances for self tanning products that give it a good smell. In all honesty there are very few fake tan products that I’ve used that have smelt good! Joliese sunless tanner was one of the exceptions that actually had a nice fragrance to it.
These are the key ingredients of a fake tanning product. Many will vary and may have additional ones, some people claim that self tanning and fake tan products can be harmful but I don’t believe this to be true, always check the label though to be sure that you are using a fake tan product that is made of fairly natural ingredients.