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Self-tan 101
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How does self-tan work?
It is very simple: all self-tans use the same ingredient - dihydroxyacetone (DHA) - to chemically turn your skin brown. DHA browns skin through its interaction with the amino acid arginine found in surface skin cells. Some self-tans contain more DHA than others; and the more a product contains, the faster self-tan browns your skin. DHA is what gives self-tan that - er - distinctive smell. But some companies have found better ways of masking this than others. Find out which in the results of our road test.
Do tanning pills work?
It depends which ones you take and what you classify as a tan. There are two types of tanning pill (also called pre-tan accelerators): those that contain an ingredient called tyrosine that is needed by your body to produce melanin (which is what tans your skin). But, no matter how much tyrosine you take orally you won't tan unless your skin is exposed to UV rays. In other words, tyrosine-based pre-sun tanning pills are a waste of money. Other tanning pills contain beta carotene, the property that makes carrots orange and if you take enough of it (or eat enough carrots), it changes the colour of your skin. To orange. If this is the colour you want to be, fine. But our advice would be to give them both a miss and get yourself a decent self-tan.
Temporary tans
No matter how good self-tanning formulas have got, lots of our testers said they still didn't want to use them - mostly for fear of turning themselves orange. Bronzing powders make good substitutes if you still want to give your face a bit of healthy colour. Sweep them over completely dry skin (i.e. with all traces of moisturiser absorbed) with a big, fat, soft brush to give skin an instant pick-me-up.
Shopping for self-tans
Before you head for the shops or flash your cash:
How does self-tan work?
It is very simple: all self-tans use the same ingredient - dihydroxyacetone (DHA) - to chemically turn your skin brown. DHA browns skin through its interaction with the amino acid arginine found in surface skin cells. Some self-tans contain more DHA than others; and the more a product contains, the faster self-tan browns your skin. DHA is what gives self-tan that - er - distinctive smell. But some companies have found better ways of masking this than others. Find out which in the results of our road test.
Do tanning pills work?
It depends which ones you take and what you classify as a tan. There are two types of tanning pill (also called pre-tan accelerators): those that contain an ingredient called tyrosine that is needed by your body to produce melanin (which is what tans your skin). But, no matter how much tyrosine you take orally you won't tan unless your skin is exposed to UV rays. In other words, tyrosine-based pre-sun tanning pills are a waste of money. Other tanning pills contain beta carotene, the property that makes carrots orange and if you take enough of it (or eat enough carrots), it changes the colour of your skin. To orange. If this is the colour you want to be, fine. But our advice would be to give them both a miss and get yourself a decent self-tan.
Temporary tans
No matter how good self-tanning formulas have got, lots of our testers said they still didn't want to use them - mostly for fear of turning themselves orange. Bronzing powders make good substitutes if you still want to give your face a bit of healthy colour. Sweep them over completely dry skin (i.e. with all traces of moisturiser absorbed) with a big, fat, soft brush to give skin an instant pick-me-up.
Shopping for self-tans
Before you head for the shops or flash your cash:
1. Decide where you are going to use self-tan: some people (ourselves included) only use it on their legs and faces, others put it all over, and you can buy different formulations for your face and body.
2. Decide how much you want to spend: our testers found that you can find effective conventional self-tans in each of the different price brackets from competitive to premium, but that you need to pay a bit more for a good wash-off (temporary) face tint.
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