Self Tanners

Fancy that tanned, healthy, sun kissed look you see on the models in the ads all year round?

Before you start baking in the sun, think twice. That healthy tan may not be so healthy after all.

The same rays that give you a tan create free radicals. These free radicals can damage the DNA in your skin cells. If the damage is not repaired, it can lead to skin cancer later on in life. At very least it will lead to leathery, wrinkled skin that looks older than its time. You won't see this aging effect immediately. A decade or two later, you'll look older than your peers who stayed out of the sun.

In fact, severe sun burn as a child, or long stretches of time spent in the sun before age 10, greatly increases the risk of sunburn in later life. Even sunbeds use UVA rays which can lead to cancer.

If you really want a tan, try a self tanner. These often contain di- hydroxyacetone which reacts with your skin to cause it to darken, leading to a realistic tan.

Estee Lauder's self action tanning creme, Lancome's self tanning milk, Clinique's self tanning formula and self tanning formulas of many other brands all contain such chemicals that react with the proteins on your skin causing your skin to darken within hours. To use, first exfoliate with a body scrub and apply of smooth skin.

An alternative is to stain your skin with black tea. Make a strong cup of tea (or even coffee). Apply it on your skin after a shower.. Leave it to dry. That would leave a stain that looks like a natural tan. The stain would remain for quite a while. To remove it, exfoliate with a body scrub.