Sun & Skin News 18.3: As Sun Safety Grows, So Do The Benefits of Sunless Tanning

The popularity of self-tanning products is surging, showing that Americans are wising up about sun safety. They're putting their money where their skin is.

Self-tanning products, also called ''sunless'' tanning lotions, contain dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a colorless sugar that interacts with dead surface cells in the epidermis, staining the skin darker. The effect is temporary, because as the dead cells naturally slough off, the color fades, disappearing within a week unless the lotion has been reapplied.

That's a lot more healthful than a suntan, however, because while suntans also start fading after a few days, the harm done to the skin is permanent. Getting a suntan breaks down the DNA in skin cells, but using self-tanners causes no such damage. At worst, sunless tanning products present a minimal risk of irritant or allergic reactions.

Bigger and Better
Recent improvements in these sunless products have made the demand skyrocket. "They're easier to use than ever, the color appears more natural, and some lotions even contain sunscreen with a high sun protection factor (SPF)," says Stanley B. Levy, MD, adjunct clinical professor of dermatology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.

Recent research shows, furthermore, that while DHA provides only minimal SPF protection against the sun's shorter-wave, UVB rays, higher DHA concentrations that turn the skin darker may provide extra protection against the sun's longer-wave, UVA rays. Like UVB, UVA is linked to premature skin aging (photoaging) and skin cancer.

But you can't assume you're adequately UV-protected just because your skin turns darker. At best, the DHA in self-tanning lotions offers protection equivalent to an SPF of only 2 to 4. The Skin Cancer Foundation maintains that SPFs of 15 or higher are required for adequate protection. So even if a product has a high concentration of DHA, it must also contain an SPF 15+ sunscreen if you want to be properly protected. "And remember, even if the lotion contains such a sunscreen, the protection lasts only a couple of hours, not for the duration of the color change," notes Dr. Levy. "After two hours in the sun at most, you should put on more sunscreen."

Different Strokes
Sunless tanning lotions now come in light, medium, and dark tones. People with dry skin can buy brands with emollients or humectants added for softness and moisture, while people with oily skin may find that gel or alcohol-based products work better. And recently, ingredients such as vitamins, herbal extracts, antioxidants, and alpha-hydroxy acids are being added to some products in an effort to expand their benefits.

Buyer Beware
A last caution from The Skin Cancer Foundation: Don't be misled when products sound like self-tanning lotions - "tanning amplifiers," "tan accelerators," "bronzers," "tanning promoters," "tanning enhancers," and worst of all, "tanning pills." Bronzers are merely a form of coloring, like tinted makeup, and offer little or no protection. Many of the other products interact with the sun to create the tan, so they actually end up accentuating the damage done to the skin. The pills - which are commercially banned in the U.S. -contain the carotenoid chemical canthaxanthin (the same pigment found in carrots), and have been associated with hepatitis and urticaria, a condition that involves relentless itching and skin eruptions.

"Read the ingredients on the label of all these products carefully," says Dr. Levy. "Unless their active ingredient is DHA, they're not bona fide sunless tanners, and they could very well be harmful for your skin."

Also check out Sun & Skin News 18.4: Regulations Don't Make Tanning Salons Safe