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Self-tan products
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:
Beauty Scoop highly commends:
- Pupa Bronzing Powder (£12 for 11ml): 'just the right amount of sparkle', said Helena (15), 'very easy to put on - you just whisk it all over your face and chest with a brush. And the silvery packaging is supremely cool'.
- Lancôme Star Bronzer Compact Bronzing Powder for Face & Body SPF8 (£25 for 50ml): gives skin a sun-kissed look and is foolproof - you can't overdo it no matter how hard you try. Comes in 2 shades so works on all skin tones: Nourdjan (37) said it gave her Asian skin 'a beautiful discreet gold shimmer that didn't disappear'.
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.
... self-tans we rate:
Julia: Lancôme Flash Bronzer Instant Self-Tanning Body Spritz (£17 for 150ml): 'I only use self-tan on my face and legs - and even then only occasionally. I can't fault this product. It's so easy to use and you don't have to pfaff around waiting too long for it to dry.'
Kate: Clarins Radiance & Self Tanning Cream Gel (£21.50 for 50ml): 'I'm a face and legs only girl for self-tan. I wear this on my face from May to September; I just top it up. It's idiot-proof - it still works even when you put it on in a hurry.'
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Created: 10/05/2004 Updated: 10/05/2004
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