Is Self Tanner Bad For Your Skin?

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Self-tanners are undoubtedly better for your skin than sitting in the sun, baking away and risking sunburn.

You might turn to self-tanners to develop a bronzed glow, but is it really the best option?

When you apply self-tanner to your skin, which gives you a sunless tan, chemical reactions happen, and this might have some negative side effects.

Is self-tanner bad for your skin?

Self-tanner is fairly safe to use on your skin, but there are some precautions you need to take. The active ingredient in self-tanner, DHA, can be drying on the skin and can cause irritation to sensitive skin.

If you are thinking of using self-tanner to give yourself a sunless bronzed tan, then read on to find out whether self-tanner is bad for your skin and all the other information you need.

How Does Self-Tanner Work?

To understand why self-tanners might be bad for your skin, you need to understand how they work.

Self-tanners work to darken your skin without needing any sun, using the active ingredient dihydroxyacetone, or DHA.

DHA can be derived naturally from sources such as beets and cane sugar, or derived chemically.

When applied to the skin, DHA reacts with the amino acids in the top layer, increasing melanin and darkening the skin’s appearance.

DHA is an FDA-approved ingredient for externally applied cosmetics, so it isn’t considered harmful.

This reaction does not happen instantly. It starts within two hours and can last up to three days after application.

This means that the color will develop slowly, and it will only fully develop after two days.

This reaction, along with the DHA, has a very signature odor, and this is often hidden with added fragrances.

There are self tanners that are DHA-free, if you’re looking for alternatives.

If you’re curious about trying self-tanner but don’t know where to start, watch this video from Sylvia Gani on YouTube.

The Negative Side Effects Of Self-Tanner

Self-tanners are not considered to be harmful, and they are better than sitting in the sun or in a tanning bed.

There are some possible adverse side effects of self-tanner that you should know about.

Skin Irritation

Those who experience skin sensitivity might find that the self-tanner’s DHA causes skin irritation.

This might not happen immediately, but continued use of self-tanning products, especially those that do not contain naturally derived DHA, could cause skin conditions over time (see our article for the best DHA-free self-tanners).

Other chemicals found in self-tanners, such as bronzers, might also cause irritation and sensitivity.

Skin Drying

DHA is also known to be drying on the skin. Most self-tanning products contain hydrating ingredients, such as vitamin E, shea butter, and coconut oil, which hydrate the skin, but this is sometimes not enough.

As the DHA reaction takes hours to happen, it could cause extended drying of your skin. If you already experience dry skin, this could have quite a damaging effect.

Certain self-tanning products are better suited for dry skin, but this might not be enough to counteract the drying effect of the DHA reaction.

Added Fragrances

The odor that DHA releases when it is on your skin is quite apparent, and it isn’t a good smell.

To counteract this, self-tanners include added fragrances.

There should not be much of a problem if these are natural fragrances. If these fragrances contain alcohol and other chemicals, they can irritate and dry the skin.

The fragrances also do not always adequately hide the DHA odor, so you will be left with a self-tanner smell on your skin for a good few hours!

Which Self-Tanner Ingredients Are Best?

If you want to reduce the negative side effects that self-tanner might have on your skin, you could opt for a self-tanner with skin-friendly ingredients.

One of the best ways to do this is to choose a self-tanner with naturally derived DHA.

Naturally derived DHA, which can be sourced from beets or cane sugar, works just as well as chemical DHA to give the skin a golden brown color.

Naturally-derived DHA is not as drying or irritating on the skin, and the added benefit is that it does not contain that fake tan smell.

More and more self-tanners are being made with naturally derived DHA and nourishing natural ingredients, meaning you have more than enough options when picking out the one that would be best for your skin, and less drying or damaging over time.

Does Fake Tan Age Your Skin?

Fake tans and self-tanners do not necessarily age your skin, and they probably age your skin the least of all the tanning options, especially tanning in the sun.

There is some concern that self-tanning products, especially those that contain DHA, cause oxidative stress to the skin.

This damage can be similar to the damage done to your skin from tanning or environmental pollution, and this can lead to wrinkles or fine lines.

This oxidative stress caused by the chemical reaction that self-tanners have with your skin is much smaller than that caused by sun tanning, so the chances that using self-tanner now and then might cause wrinkles are very small.

If you use self-tanning products often, and if you use products with chemically derived DHA, they might dry your skin out and lead to fine lines, wrinkles, and other signs of premature aging.

For this reason, it is important to use natural self-tanners where possible and those packed with nourishing ingredients.

How To Make Self-Tanner Safer To Use

Self-tanner can be safe to use if you follow some precautions and care for your skin properly when applying it.

Aside from choosing self-tanners with naturally-derived DHA and natural ingredients, here are some other things that you can do to ensure that your skin is not affected as much when using a fake tan:

Use Sun Protection

It is important to remember that self-tanners offer no sun protection to your skin. Since you will be using a self-tanner to avoid sitting in the sun, not using sunscreen really makes this process pointless.

Every time you go into the sun, apply sunscreen with at least an SPF 30 (we love this one from Hawaiian Tropic on Amazon) over the self-tanner once it has developed.

The higher the SPF, the better, as your skin would be protected more.

By using sunscreen, you will give your skin added protection and prevent any premature aging or damage caused by the sun.

Use Self-Tanner At Night

There is a worry that DHA and its reaction to your skin can cause oxidative stress, which can be exacerbated if you expose your skin to UV rays while the self-tanner is developing.

To avoid this, you can apply the self-tanner in the evening and allow it to develop overnight as you sleep, so there is little chance it will be exposed to damaging UV rays.

UV rays and oxidative stress can increase the free radicals in your skin, which could lead to skin aging and damage over time.

Use An Antioxidant

It can help to use an antioxidant treatment on your skin before and after self-tanning products.

These can help to minimize free radical damage, even though it might be minimal with self-tanning products.

Good options include vitamins A, B, C, and E. These also have some other skin benefits and are wonderful to include in your skincare routine anyway.

Moisturize

Moisturize your skin before and after applying self-tanning products. A self-tanner might have a drying effect on your skin, so keeping it hydrated is the best way to keep it nourished.

Is Self-Tanner Bad For Your Skin?

Self-tanner might have specific negative side effects on your skin, but these are not nearly as bad as the damage done by sitting out in the sun or a tanning bed.

To avoid self-tanner drying or irritating your skin, opt for one that contains naturally derived DHA and natural ingredients that nourish and hydrate it.

Apply sunscreen over your self-tan whenever you go out into the sun to reduce the chance of sun damage and keep your tan looking glowing and gorgeous!

Is Self Tanner Bad For Your Skin?

How Does Self-Tanner Work?