Evolution Of Tanning And Accelerators

The dreaded bathing suit season is closer than we think and spring has sprung. As long as I’ve been a girl, we’ve believed that tan camouflages fat. It’s our mantra thus, we invest a lot in getting tan fast, and staying there.

I remember when we only had one choice of tan accelerator on the market. It wasn’t even really an accelerator, it was a dye of some sort. We were back in high school. The girls who tanned on their roofs with aluminum foil-covered cardboard never thought they were tan enough. They often resorted to the tanning accelerator of the day, which turned them into a streaked mess. Their elbows and knees -oranger than orange- could have been picked and squeezed into a carton. Their clothes appeared to have gone to war with an orange marker as well.

Fast forward twenty years and at the forefront are the Zhuzh tan accelerator products have come light years from where they were as have all the other brands. In today’s market, we can buy supplements that boost our skin’s ability to get tan. We can also buy topical creams that produce the same effect. Believe it or not, some of the supplements claim to do “double duty”, and will help you burn fat and get tan. It’s like a dream come true!

Melanin is the pigment that our body produces when we are exposed to UV rays. Tan accelerating products boost the skin’s ability to make melanin. The people who use these products will either lay directly in the sun, or use a tanning booth facility. There are two main ingredients that these products consist of: psoralen and/or tyrosine. Psoralen is an amino acid which is extracted from plants, most of which are limes. It boosts the body’s ability to make melanin, when your body is exposed to UV rays. Tyrosine functions in the same way. It also is an amino acid, and also thought to boost the body’s ability to produce melanin.

Using a sunscreen with these products is often recommended, as you are accelerating your body’s tanning ability. Without sunscreen, you run the risk of being sunburned. Most people who use these products do not want to slow the effect of the tanning accelerator and therefore, will not use sunscreen. I guess it depends on what side of the “sun debate” you’re on.

I, however, am on my way out to try the newest products that boast of their ability to slim me down and bronze me up. See you at the beach!