Staying healthy (18)
- Colon cancer screening: Weighing the options
- Medical history: Compiling your medical family tree
- Hand washing: Do's and don'ts
- see all in Staying healthy
Dental care (6)
- Oral health: Brush up on dental care basics
- Oral health: A window to your overall health
- Dental exam
- see all in Dental care
Skin care (12)
- Sunless tanning: A safe alternative to sunbathing
- Tattoos: Risks and precautions to know first
- Piercings: Proper care can help prevent complications
- see all in Skin care
Nail care (1)
- Nails: How to keep your fingernails healthy and strong
Eye care (8)
- Contact lenses: What to know before you buy
- LASIK surgery: Is it right for you?
- Farsightedness
- see all in Eye care
Sleep (6)
- OTC sleep aids and supplements: What's best and safe?
- 10 tips for better sleep
- Sleepwalking
- see all in Sleep
Mental health (11)
- Friendships: Enrich your life and improve your health
- Mental health: What's normal, what's not
- Anger management tips: 10 ways to tame your temper
- see all in Mental health
Healthy relationships (8)
- Infidelity: Mending your marriage after an affair
- Sex therapy: Is it an option for you?
- Forgiveness: Letting go of grudges and bitterness
- see all in Healthy relationships
Healthy at work (11)
- Office exercise: How to burn calories at work
- Office stretches: How-to video collection
- Sick leave: Smooth the transition back to work
- see all in Healthy at work
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Sunless tanning: A safe alternative to sunbathing
Sunless tanning is a practical alternative to sunbathing. Find out how sunless tanning products work, their risks and the way to get a natural-looking tan.
By Mayo Clinic staffYou might think you have to choose: Expose your skin to the sun's damaging rays to get a coveted tan, or avoid the sun and miss out on that sun-kissed glow. But you have another option — sunless tanning products.
Sunless tanning products, also called self-tanners or tanning extenders, can give your skin a tanned look without exposing it to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Though generally recognized as safe, sunless tanning products do carry some risks, depending on how they're used and applied.
How do sunless tanning products work?
Sunless tanning products are commonly sold as creams, gels, lotions and sprays you apply to your skin. The active ingredient in most sunless tanning products is dihydroxyacetone (DHA).
When applied to your skin, DHA reacts with dead cells in the outermost layer of skin to temporarily darken the skin's appearance. The coloring doesn't wash off, but it gradually fades as the dead skin cells slough off. In most cases, the color is completely gone after five to seven days.
What can you expect from sunless tanning products?
Sunless tanning products typically go on clear, and you might see results after about an hour. Full color appears within eight to 24 hours. Some products contain a tint, which darkens your skin right away.
Besides home products, spray-on tanning is available at salons, spas and tanning businesses. These professional applications can provide an even, full-body tan.
Is sunless tanning safe?
Sunless tanning products are generally regarded as safe alternatives to sunbathing. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers DHA safe when applied to your skin.
Next page(1 of 2)
