I’ve always been curious about these so called “tanning supplements” that I’ve seen here and there for a couple years now, so I did a search on which ones used different methods other than a phoney colorant that is not good for you since it supposedly can deposit orange color into your organs (yeah, talk about a bad idea). I was looking for something that claimed to help the body up it’s protection against getting burnt, maybe something that could help increase your melanin production, at least temporarily if you are a person who is pale and needed to be in the sun.
I’m personally interested in this because I know when I take my honeymoon some day, we’ll be going to Hawaii or somewhere else tropical, and I’m certainly not avoiding the sun the whole time, and wouldn’t mind having a little tan – not burn – TAN. So through my search I found a supplement that is called Tan-Aid. Tan Aid is a tanning supplement that is supposed to help your body increase melanin production immediately before you will be out in the sun fro any period of time. It does not specifically claim that it protects against suburn, but some of the women who used it claimed that when they would have normally been burnt, they instead tanned while on this product.
As far as whether it does provide any sort of protection, obviously that’s a dangerous statement to make, but if it truly can help your body produce more of a defense against burning, that’s an added bonus. It’s primary ingredient is L-Tyrosine, which is supposed to be an intermediary chemical to melanin production in the human body. It also contains a few B vitamins and some other ingredients. I’m not sure how those ingredients are supposed to synergistically work together to help you tan rather than burn though.
As an aside, these days it is hard to know what you should do. Avoid the sun like the plague? Use sunscreen but still go out in the sun? Of course tanning beds are a no no, but there is a lot of evidence coming out that complete avoidance of the sun contributes to vitamin D deficiency in a big way, and may even make you more prone to certain cancers, and less able to fend them off should you get them. I believe that a little sun is fine, just DON’T GET BURNT. This is the mechanism that causes cells to multiply irregularly and leads to skin cancers.
Believe it or not, studies have been done that show people who are out in the sun regularly, such as construction workers, since they are more accustomed to sun exposure, may actually be more protected since their skin is used to the exposure. Talk about conflicting messages. Prudence is best. Use sunscreen, but I don’t think anyone, especially women, should totally avoid the sun since we are susceptible to breast cancer if vitamin D is deficient. And always test out the latest self tanners to get a nice, deep, natural looking tan (with my help in application tips of course), and you can still be tan without all that sun exposure.
