Designer Skin Tanning Lotions: Are They Worth It?

When tanning indoors, you may be presented with designer skin tanning lotions such as Ecstasy or Fire. These lotions are invariably more expensive than more ordinary tanning lotions, like L'Oreal or Australian Sun. Often their texture is nice, and they smell great. But you have to ask the inevitable question: Are they really any better?

First, you should understand how ultraviolet light tans your skin. Ultraviolet light from the sun or a tanning booth activates melanin cells in your skin. The melanin cells, in turn, release a dye that darkens the melanin cells and the nearby skin cells. Ultraviolet light is divided into two kinds: UV-B, which darkens more quickly, but which is also likely to cause more damage and UV-A, which darkens slower but causes much less skin damage.

Now your answer: it depends. Designer lotions are more likely to be better for indoor tanning booths because of one crucial difference between sunlight and tanning beds: the lights have more UV-A and less UV-B, and they're milder on the skin. If you're trying to block the sun hitting your skin, you almost certainly want a good sunblock that works on both UV-B and UV-A.

You don't really need a heavy-duty sun block ingredient in a tanning bed. More important are the skin-preserving ingredients in your tanning lotion - oils, vitamins, and even exfoliants. Some indoor tanning lotions also include a dye that gives you a temporary tan and may include a tan accelerator.

If you're considering using a designer lotion for sun protection, ask the attendant at your tanning salon for a sample. Then you can better judge what condition it leaves your skin in, and if you like it, you can buy some.