Different Tanning Lotions

Choosing a tanning lotion can be confusing and there are many factors that only work to make things more complicated for a first timer. The terminology could be confusing as well since tanning lotions sometimes refer to lotions used while tanning and in other context the same term is used for products that are designed to produce a fake tan. In the first instance there is a distinction between the top outdoor and the top indoor tanning lotion. These are lotions designed to help the tanner attain an even tan and usually at a faster rate than they normally would naturally. The second group of products produce the fake tans are similar to spray tans and other methods of staining the skin to provide some coloration. Many of these products are for short term tans because they either wear off or wash off faster than a real tan would wear off. In either case, most of these products in themselves are safe. It is the exposure to ultraviolet radiation that poses most of the serious health risks associated with tanning.

Tanning lotions that are designed to assist a person who will be exposing themselves to danger UV rays can cause a lot of harm if used improperly. This is especially true for beginners or those with particularly fair skin and is naturally sensitive to excessive exposure to sunlight. Most tanning lotions are for advanced tanners and should be avoided by most people. The products are designed to magnify the results of the UV rays and many of them offer no SPF to protect against the ultraviolet radiation. This is the same with tanning oils which use particular ingredients to really intensify the tanning process and will burn light skins and inexperienced tanners.

Accelerators are one type of lotion that, as its name suggests, speeds up the tanning process. The most basic formula relies simply on keeping the skin hydrated with a moisturizing solution. It works on the theory that moist skin produces melanin faster than dry skin. It is known that tanning dries skin so it is nice to have something that will protect the skin from becoming excessively dried and scaly. Most solutions will contain active ingredients and even melanin in some just to try and promote the tanning process.

Tingle lotion is another type of tanning lotion that should be strictly for advanced tanners. The difficult thing about tanning lotions and all the chemicals involved is that the results can be hard to estimate. Tingle lotion works by slightly irritating the area so blood flow is increased to the surface of the skin. The increased blood flow is believed to improve the production of melanin because of the additional oxygen and nutrients that the blood brings. This lotion usually causes most skins to feel sensitive and even swollen. Also, this method of promoting the tanning process is not conclusively proven to really produce the results intended.

For those who do not care to lie for hours in the sun since they have better things to do there are self tanners that can produce coloration in the skin which is different from indoor tanning lotions. Although it is a fake tan there are many benefits to using a self tanner. Most are DHA based which makes them safe because the chemicals do no penetrate past the outermost layer of the skin. In fact, the DHA is a sugar compound that simply reacts with the dead skin cells to produce the resulting color.

Bronzers are similar but instead of using chemicals to change the color of dead skin cells it simply stains the skin. It works much like makeup in that it is just a cover up for the duration of the day and washes off with a thorough shower.

Whatever the case, there are tanning lotions of all varieties and people can chose from a multitude of strategies to achieve the same result. That is the tint of color that some are denied because of their ancestral lines.