Sunless Tanners – the Votes are in
Want a great tan? Duh! Then you want a great sunless tan. If you’ve been paying attention at all to what researchers say about the damaging effects of the sun on your skin, you know that lying out in the sun or in a tanning bed is out of the question. I guess you could choose alligator skin and a really good skin cancer scare it you really wanted to, but I have faith that people today are better informed and therefore “smarter†about the way they tan.
Fortunately for us, advances in research and development have provided us with some pretty good, fairly inexpensive alternatives to get that summer glow some of us absolutely crave…sunless tanners. Today you can get that golden glow from an aerosol can, foams, lotions, creams, gels, towelettes, sprays, and mousses. There are certainly plenty of sunless tanning products out there to choose from, but which ones really work, and which ones are duds? Great question. And here are some great answers.
Prevention magazine found more than 30 people willing to participate in a test of 30 sunless tanning products. The test was done in January, when people have that pasty winter look and are aching for the golden glow of summer. In the words of Prevention Magazine.com, “9 products (out of 30 tested)… made our volunteers look like they’d just jetted back from St. Barts (as opposed to looking like they’d just emerged from the spray chamber at Earl Scheib Auto Painting). Their fake tans compared favorably with a $50 spray-on tan one tester got in New York City.†So let’s take a look at these nine products with such favorable results so that you can get an ‘unbiased’ opinion about what really works and what doesn’t.
Here are the nine products and how they rated:
1. Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer got an A+ for price, scent, and streak-free coverage with a tan that lasts a day or two. Repeat daily for extended tan.
2. Banana Boat Summer Color Sunless Tinted Lotion was voted best deep, dark tan; it tanned even the darkest-skinned tester. Quick-drying but with a slight odor. You get 3 to 4 days of a streak-free bronze.
3. Coppertone Endless Summer Sunless Tanning Gradual Tan Moisturizing Lotion provided the most even, streak-free tan of the bunch; several applications gave a deeper tan. The tan lasted 2 days but is mild enough to use every day.
4. L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Dual Action Instant Bronzer & Self-Tanning Lotion is a tinted self-tanner/bronzer combo; tan deepens from initial instant bronze effect. One tester described her tan as “sunburn gone bronze.†The vitamin E formula was reported to leave skin feeling smooth and healthy with a tan that lasts about 4 days.
5. Neutrogena Build-a-Tan Lotion for Body and Lotion for Face with SPF 15 is gentle enough to use twice a day for faster tanning, or every other day for gradual darkening; tan lasts 3 day to a week, depending on skin tone.
6. Neutrogena MicroMist Tanning Sunless Spray provides a hands-free airbrush application from an aerosol can that will let you reach even hard-to-reach places without help. You get 4 to 5 days of a salon-like airbrush tan, but be careful with your strokes as spray is colorless.
7. Clinque Body Quick Bronze Tinted Self-Tanner Mousse for Body and Face Self-Tanner gives a beautiful, glowing tan that lasts 4 days or more, but the body mousse can be a little tricky because it’s sticky and can take up to 20 minutes to dry.
8. Estee Lauder Go Tan Sunless Towelettes are colorless towelettes that give you a natural glow with just a few swipes for a tan that for about 3 days. These can be great for traveling or for people always on the go.
9. SkinCeuticals Sans Soleil Sunless Tanner got kudos for how this tanner glides on just like a moisturizer with the most natural tan of the bunch and not a single streak; the downside is that this tan fades in 2 days.
There you have it. Nine sunless tanning products with great reviews from over 30 testers trying 30 different products. If you don’t already have a self-tanner or bronzer that you absolutely swear by, you might want to give one or all of these a try, and see if you find a new favorite. If you haven’t started your own research yet, this list of nine sunless tanners is a fantastic way to start. Prevention magazine has already done the work for you, taking out most of the guess work. Now you are better armed for that search to find just the right ‘golden summer tan in a bottle, can or tube.’
About the Author
Get great info, tips and reviews from a health nut who loves to wear the golden glow of summer all year long.
How exactly does Coppertone dry tanning oil work?
I’ve never used any of these tanning oil sprays before, so I’m completely clueless. I tried looking it up, but I couldn’t find the spray I bought for some reason.
I was wondering, what exactly does it do? What are the active ingredients? Does it even work? How do I use it?
Thank you in advance. 
-JayJay
It’s been my experience that you could put pretty much all of the tanning oil products in a bag, shake them, turn the bag over and they would all land at the same time. Seriously, there really isn’t much of a difference in any of them.
The dry oils (I’ve used several, Coppertone included) are only different in that they don’t leave your skin feeling as greasy, gooky, slick, or whatever other word can be used to describe it, when you apply them. I’m not sure exactly what the active ingredients are, but I would guess that there’s some type of “drying” agent like alcohol or something. I know I had a small cut when I used it once, and it burned a little when I sprayed it on, kind of like alcohol would. Anyhow, to use it, you just spray it on your exposed skin, then rub it in a little. The amount is up to you, just whatever amount makes you feel like your covered… pretty much like you would with skin lotion or creams.
Another difference among tanning oils/lotions is the amount of sunscreen, or lack thereof.
Most of the tanning oils/lotions that are formulated for use in tanning beds and outdoors are different in that they contain various “bronzing” agents. The bronzing agents are usually something like henna. You may see slightly better results with those, but you’re basically just dying your skin. I’ve seen some people turn an orange-ish color using them.
Ultimately, I’ve found that if I put Johnson’s Baby Oil Gel with aloe on my skin before going in the sun it works just as well as anything else, and keeps my skin from drying.
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