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After a relatively unsuccessful search through our Sunless Tanning Products category, we stumbled across Clara Pettitt's Sunless.com, which has to be The Mother of All Sunless Tanning Sites. This extraordinary resource is bursting with product reviews, application tips, contest photos (!), and smart commentary. It also "holds itself completely free of responsibility if you turn extremely orange after using any sunless tanning product mentioned at this site." The active ingredient in sunless tanning products, dihydroxyacetone, reacts with the dead skin cells
on the outer layer of your skin, turning their keratin proteins brown. This is why sunless tans are temporary -- we're constantly sloughing off dead skin cells. Dihydroxyacetone is usually derived from a vegetable source like beets or sugar cane. It was discovered as a skin darkener in the twenties but wasn't marketed until 1960's Coppertone Quick Tan. And in case you're wondering, it's thought by many scientists to be perfectly harmless -- the FDA added it to their list of approved cosmetic ingredients almost 30 years ago. However, it can cause skin irritation and can be absorbed into the blood system, which could "theoretically lead to effects throughout the
body including fatigue, feeling unwell, or uneasiness." Tan at your own risk.
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