Active Ingredient in Self Tanners
So, what’s the magical ingredient in all self tanners that makes your skin suddenly turn a few shades darker on its own? And what is the process by which this curious reaction happens to your skin? Well, you may already know this, but the chemical responsible for turning your skin (preferably) a nice golden brown color is actually a naturally derived form of sugar cane called dihydroxyacetone or DHA.
DHA, which happens to be much easier to say than the chemical’s longer name previously mentioned, actually reacts to oxygen hitting it, and begins to mix with your top layer of skin cells (yes, the dead ones), since the chemical starts to degrade upon hitting the air, what you get is a chemical reaction that results in both a darkening of those dead skin cells on the outermost layer, which is what you see, and yes, you also get that sometimes unpleasant scent of the DHA activating.
Some people compare the smell of the DHA reacting with the skin, the smell of “burnt skin” much like how a person would smell when they emerge from a tanning booth, or some people think it is comparable to the smell of pennies, or copper. I’m partial to both descriptions, as I’ve ended up smelling like both with any self tanner I’ve ever used.
Maybe some day they’ll come up with an alternative self tanner that truly does not make you smell a few hours after it’s applied, but as of now they have not. If any self tanner says it does not smell, it is simply not true. It may have a nice fruit scent or something when you first apply it, but in the end, when they activate, they all have that distinct DHA smell. But you’ll look really great!
