Many people that have hyperpigmentation, including things like melasma or chloasma, wonder what spray tanning, or self-tanning, will do to the dark spots on their skin. Not an unrealistic concern at all, and in this quick guide I want to walk you through everything you should probably know.
Let’s start by talking briefly about what hyperpigmentation is, so we can better understand how spray tanning can affect it.
What Is Hyperpigmentation?
Hyperpigmentation is a group of conditions where you have patches of skin on all, or part, of your body, that are darker than the skin around them. This takes place due to increased, or excess, production of melanin happens in the body.
Melanin is a type of pigment that gives your skin its color. However, when an excess of pigment is present in the body, it tends to clump together in areas of the skin, resulting in dark spots.
Age spots are another kind of hyperpigmentation, that are usually caused by sun exposure over a long period of time. You’ll usually find these places like the face, hands, and feet, that have received more cumulative sun exposure over your lifetime.
Melasma, or chloasma, is similar to age spots, but is usually much larger spots, and is typically caused by hormonal changes. Probably the most common cause of melasma is pregnancy, where hormonal changes can cause increased production of melanin.
Any kind of hyperpigmentation typically will become quite a bit darker when exposed to the sun, or other types of UV exposure. The reason for this is the same reason that your body tans at all. The melanin absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet rays in order to protect the skin, resulting in a tan.
However, since there is excess melanin in spots of hyperpigmentation, they will darken faster and more noticeable than the rest of your skin, resulting in even more noticeable dark spots.
If you’re using a self-tanner, it’s really important that you get a quality self-tanning product (I personally use this one you can get on Amazon). This will ensure that the tan looks natural, and fades evenly. Using a low-quality product with poorly derived DHA can make hyperpigmentation worse.
For this reason (and all the others) you should really wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen to protect your skin.
This also brings us to the point of this article. If the sun causes hyperpigmentation to darken, do fake tanners such as spray tanning and self-tanner products?
How Does Spray Tanning Affect Hyperpigmentation?
Spray tanning products, as well as self-tanners, contain an ingredient called DHA. DHA, a type of sugar actually, chemically reacts with the dead skin cells on your body to create a different type of pigment that replicates a normal tan. Unlike melanin, which lives in the dermis (or lower level of the skin), the pigment created from DHA lives only on the epidermis, or outer layer of the skin.
This is why we have to reapply self-tanner fairly often, as it comes off naturally over the course of a few days.
So, when we apply spray tanner to skin with hyperpigmentation, we’re really just adding a full layer of tan over our existing skin. Despite what many people claim, the DHA should not affect the melanin and cause the dark spots to exponentially darken.
They will darken in correlation with the rest of your skin. So although they will likely get darker, the final result will probably be that they are less noticeable, as all of your skin is now a darker shade.
How To Keep Hyperpigmentation From Darkening From Fake Tanner
If you want to keep your dark spots from getting even darker from fake tanning products, the best thing to use is petroleum jelly when applying the spray tan, or going to your appointment. The petroleum will create a physical barrier that won’t allow the DHA to develop in those spots.
This is super tough to do if your spots are really small, but those will be less noticeable anyway. The best way to do this is to get a Q-tip, circle in the middle of the dark spot, and then slowly push the jelly to the outer edges. Although this is quite a bit of work, the end result will be far less noticeable dark spots.
You’ll also want to make sure that your pre-tan ritual is on point, including exfoliation, as spots of hyperpigmentation can often be drier than other spots, causing them to absorb even more of the DHA.
Can Spray Tanning Cause Hyperpigmentation?
No, spray tan contains DHA, which when applied topically, is a harmless tanning agent. The pigment that sprays tanning products lives only on the outer layer of your skin and fades within a few days. You can remove it even faster by exfoliating.
As we talked about above, hyperpigmentation is a condition where excess melanin, a separate type of pigment, bunches up in the skin causing dark spots. Spray tanning, or self-tanning, will not cause this lasting condition to occur.
If you want some expert tips on dealing with hyperpigmentation, melasma, and dark spots, then watch this video by Doctorly on YouTube.
