The Science of Beach Bodies – from sunbathing to spray tanning to wonder pills?

For centuries, tanning wasn’t fashionable at all – but now it’s a central part of everyone’s beauty routine. In Europe, the ‘pale and interesting’ look used to be the norm, and people wore bonnets and stayed indoors to avoid darkening their skin. Nowadays, beauty standards are quite the opposite. Although for years doctors had been recommending that sickly or lethargic parents spend more time in the sun – leading to towns like Brighton, Eastbourne or Skegness becoming hot tourist spots – scientists really started getting involved in the tanning process after the 1960s, when links between UV exposure and skin cancer were exposed. In the twenty-first century, we can choose between sunbathing, sun beds, and ‘sunless tanning’ processes like spray tanning and tanning lotion.

Sunbeds are an innovative way of delivering UV rays, which mimic the effects of the sun. Spray tanning uses a different technology altogether, and is an example of how scientifically progressive the beauty industry has become. During a spray tan, the chemical DHA (dihydroxyacetone) reacts with the amino acids in the dead layer on the skin surface. Because this doesn’t involve a chemical reaction in the deep layers of the skin, it is the least invasive as well as the most effective tanning method. DHA is also the active ingredient in home self tanning lotions, and since its invention has been approved by most health organisations, including the FDA and most EU member nations. Spray tanning using DHA is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, and has been recommended by many cancer awareness organisations. Some salons use a chemical called Erythulose in combination with the DHA spray tan – Erythulose works identically to DHA, but develops more slowly, so that this method gives you a longer lasting tan.

Some scientific advances in the field of sunless tanning, however, are far less safe. Recently, there’s been a lot of hype about ‘miracle’ pills or lotions which contain amino acids supposed to stimulate melanin production under the skin. These have been flying off the shelves in some areas, with many seeing them as a more convenient and longer-lasting alternative to sunbeds or spray tanning. However, scientists say that the jury’s still out on whether these pills can work as they’re advertised and stimulate tanning from within the body.

More scarily, one type of tanning pill, which uses a chemical called canthaxanthin, has been linked to hepatitis and damage to the digestive system. Unlike the DHA previously mentioned, canthaxanthin is a dye originally used as a food colouring, deposited under your skin. For a safe option, DHA tanning lotion, sprays, or a new technique called airbrush spray tanning, is far more reliable. Airbrushing uses a mild dye rather than DHA or Erythulose, but avoids the dangers of canthaxanthin by applying a safer dye only to the surface of the skin. A ‘spray gun’ is used which is very similar to a conventional spray tan gun, but has a gentler intensity. Airbrush tanning doesn’t last as long as conventional spraying, or a sunbed tan, but some people find it less sticky and more convenient, as it can be done very quickly.

It’s possible to use both tanning lotion and spray tanning at home, but due to the demand for bronzed skin, salons and beauty clinics offering both sunbeds and spray methods have popped up on every high street. In 2002, one of the worlds’ largest manufacturers of tanning equipment announced that they had patented an automated spray tanning booth. So as well as accessing sunbeds and spray tans in salons and gyms, we can expect these coin-operated booths to be popping up on beaches worldwide before too long. The future is glowing.