Use Self Tanning And Airbrush Tanning Techniques To Attain That Year Round Tan

>> Thursday, January 12, 2012

By Haywood Hunter


The practice of sunless tanning does not involve sun or UV light to crate color of the skin. Instead, a special formula of chemicals is applied to the skin to achieve a tanned skin color. This has made self tanning and airbrush tanning, the most rapidly expanding area of cosmetics.



Self tan can come in the form of gels, creams and sprays to name a few. It can be applied various ways too, but the process does not use any sun or UV light to give the tanned look, nor does it involve skin pigmentation. It is a reaction between amino acids on the skin surface and the ingredient Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) that colors the skin.

They can be used at home and should be applied to clean, dry skin. It is recommended to avoid bathing or swimming until the product has had time to fully absorb into the skin, which can take anything between 1-6 hours. First time users should always do a skin test before use. This involves applying to a small patch of skin, then waiting 24 hours in case of any allergic reactions, before applying to the rest of the body.



Not all sunless forms can be done at home. An airbrush tan is usually performed by qualified professionals, using special designed equipment made for the application of self tan.

In history, paler skin was preferred by a lot of people, as it represented a higher social standing. People in the upper classes would not allow themselves to be exposed to sun, so a tan was something only seen on the lower classes who would spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun due to work. This was the case in Victorian and Elizabethans societies, as well as Rome and Greece where people were known to whiten their faces with chalk. However, in the past century, the tan began to be linked with attractiveness and well being.

It was in the twenties that the tan started to become fashionable, after a well known designer returned with a tan after a holiday cruise. The tan began to reflect the laid back, luxurious life, not the sign of a life of labor that it once was. It was also at this time that women began to dress more freely, influenced by the Jazz Age. The fact that clothes no longer covered the whole body only gave the tan more appeal.

The first self tan came as a brown or cream dye in the fifties. The older self tan products were not as advanced and natural looking as many are today. The originals used to give a very orange color and patchy finish but new ingredient combinations have helped this.

Even after health officials in the sixties announced that thy had discovered a link between continuous sun or UV exposure and skin cancer, people still wanted to be tanned due to the positive connotations it implied. Therefore, sunless tanning methods were supported as a great alternative way to be tanned without risk.

Health experts do recommend the use of self tan as an alternative to a regular tan as there are not any known risks to the skin form using sunless tanning methods. Users should always consider that most self tans provide very low protection against UV, and remember this if leaving skin exposed.

Despite the popularity of the tan through the past decades, it may be finally starting to fade as recent fashion icons are once again gracing the catwalks and screens with paler skin on show.




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