Suntan from a tube "I'VE BEEN FAKING IT for years; not even my boyfriend knows it," says blonde-haired, blue-eyed Monica Squires, 28, of San Francisco, who is lying on a sky blue towel at Kaimana Beach in a one-piece swimsuit. And a long-sleeve T-shirt, wide-brim straw hat and dark glasses. All that's really uncovered are her legs, feet and hands, and the skin that's showing is the color of dark honey.
Faux tans are hot fashion,
but be careful you don't
get burnedHow to make your fake tan look real
By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletinDoes the legal assistant's professed "all-over tan" come from hours spent at a nude beach? A tanning salon? Dark genes? Wrong on all counts.
Squires' tan is a fake.
"Out of a bottle," she says, grinning. "Everything else is real."
Squires is part of a growing number of women and men who are adhering to dermatologists' advice: stay out of the sun during those dreaded 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours; lather daily in sunscreen with at least a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15; and cover up when you do go in the sun. But they still want their skin to glow with color.
"I used to love to lie outdoors for hours and get really, really dark, but when I saw my first face wrinkle at 25, I knew what the future was gonna look like for me," Squires said. "Some women go for the fake boobs, and facelifts, and tummy tucks and liposuction. Why not use chemicals to tan safely?"
For about 40 years, tans out of a bottle, beginning with the 1960s ManTan and Tanfastic products, left users streaky, orange and unable to get the stuff off their hands. Today's modern products are easy to use and look natural.
What's new in sunless tanning lotions is an accelerated process. What used to take eight to 24 hours to dye your skin now, with some Lancome products, takes as little as 30 minutes.
Looking a little pale for a movie date tonight? Just spray or rub it on and by the time you reach your seats you'll look like you've just walked off the beach.
Clarins Self Tanning Instant Spray contains larrea divaricata extract, which reportedly regulates the skin's shedding process and enhances your natural color. Clarins has also patented a DHA and erythrulose formula, which should give your tan a stable color, rather than a streaky, orange effect. And unlike most fake tans, it smells good and doesn't stain clothes. The color is very subtle.
L'Oreal, meanwhile, has introduced their first self-tanning products with Sublime Bronze Face & Body, a tanning milk that contains SPF 8. It will also hydrate and exfoliate your skin with its AHA derivatives.
There are dozens of sunless tanning products on the market, but really just two main types of tanning agents. Skin dyes add a temporary color to the skin. These are usually made from vegetable dyes and give no protection from the sun. Then there are tan-enhancing agents that cause cells called melanocytes to produce more melanin when treated skin is exposed to sunlight. This produces a tan.
Some physicians, like Honolulu dermatologist Carla Nip-Sakamoto, believe that some people with fake tans may run a greater risk of getting a sunburn.
"No matter how dark the sunless tanning cream, there's very little, if any, protective benefit at all," she said. "You never want someone to think if they put this on and it even has a SPF screen that with the darker color you have that much more protection."
THERE'S SOME speculation, primarily in the European scientific community, that the active tanning ingredient in the creams may offer some sun protection but no more than a 4 SPF, Nip-Sakamoto said.
"A sunless tanning cream is a safe way to look like you have a tan ... without going in the sun."
A survey of more than 2,000 people by the Anti-Cancer Foundation of South Australia found fake-tan users had twice the risk of repeated sunburn over summer than non-users because they appear to rely on sunscreen alone for sun protection rather than using multiple strategies as recommended by the Anti-Cancer Foundation such as wearing hats or protective clothing.
Neither the foundation nor Nip-Sakamoto promote the use of fake tanners, but both say they're preferable to sun exposure or a tanning salon.
In part that's because most fake tanning lotions don't include a sunscreen. A few brands of fake tanning lotions do contain sunscreen, varying in a protection factor from 4 to 15. And even that protection would apply only to the period immediately after application and not for the time the tan remains visible on the skin, Nip-Sakamoto said.
Some of Lancome's self-tanning products are designed for specific body areas, like the face, torso and legs, said Gaylynn Lau, the company's account coordinator in Hawaii. The company's new "Flash Bronzers" begin showing the effect within 30 minutes, she said. The Lancome artificial tan maintains its shade for about a week with reapplications necessary every three days to maintain the tone, Lau said.
Punahou junior Chloe Chapman, 16, began using sunless tanning lotions a year ago because, she said, "I like to have some color on my skin and I don't go to the beach that much." She uses the Long's Drugs store brand because, at about $5, it is the least expensive on the market and "works as well as the more expensive Neutrogena," Chapman said. "It's very easy to use."
TANNING LOTIONS, more specifically the lines they can delineate, also are being used as fashion statements.Fashion designer Thierry Mugler in his women's ready-to-wear 2001 spring show featured models in short sleeves, shorts, skirts and dresses all with distinctive, visible tan lines on their arms, necks, ankles and legs, creating the effect of having returned from a Mediterranean vacation. Some models even had their faces painted with the stuff except around the eyes to simulate the effect of having worn a large pair of dark glasses in the sun.
During last fall's French Festival in Honolulu, local models showing Mugler's spring collection from Paris also sported the look, said Tania deJesus, of the Kathy Muller Talent & Modeling Agency.
"The look ... required a healthy glow and to show the tan line," she said. "You don't normally see that in local fashion shows but it was the image that designer wanted."
Muller's swimsuit models use tanning creams or get a tan the old-fashioned way to look beach ready, deJesus said.
"Most are concerned about sun damage, so tanning lotions are a real good option to have that healthy look," she said. "You really can obtain the same quality of tan from a bottle as lying in the sun."
At Ala Moana Beach Park, Jon Albertson, 31, of Hilo, is playing volleyball in a tank top and shorts. His cocoa brown tan looks almost too good.
"It is," he says, joking that friends always tease him about having the best tan in the rainy Big Island town. "Once a week I put on a tanning cream. I like having a darker skin color."
In Seattle, where he lived before moving to Hawaii three years ago, Albertson said his skin was "the color of snow."
"This is safer and so much easier, but the products are expensive and I have to buy them at the women's cosmetic counter, which is a bit embarrassing," he said. "I've been telling them it's for my girlfriend."
How to avoid streaks, blotches or bare spots, the hazards of self-tanners: Tanning tips
Always exfoliate first: Apply self-tanner 12 hours later to keep from getting a rash.
Moisturize: Dry patches sop up more color than the rest of your skin. So unless you're going for the leopard look, apply a light moisturizer wherever you're dry before applying the self-tanner.
Take care with the hairline: If you don't blend well there, expect a nice white semicircle to form around your face. Use a cotton swab to feather the self-tanner into your roots.
Problem areas: Remember that the feet, ankles, knees, elbows, neck folds, chin, and nose may absorb more self-tanner than other parts. Wipe these areas down after each application.
Wash your hands well: To guard against bronzed palms, lather up two to three times throughout the application process.
Streaks? If you find streaks despite all these precautions, make a paste of a little toothpaste and water and rub it onto the streaks; they'll magically disappear.
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