If you are thinking of obtaining a sunless tan for the first time, then you are likely looking forward to the golden glow you will have after you leave the spray tan booth or have finished your airbrush tan session. However, you may have curiosities about the sunless tanning process, including just how a spray-on liquid can give you a golden tan that looks just like the natural tan you can obtain in the sun. 

Read on to learn the answers to the questions that many people have about how sunless tanning works and more. 

1. How Does Sunless Tanning Solution Change the Color of Your Skin?

Many new to sunless tanning have the misconception that sunless tanning products simply stain skin. However, the lasting golden tan a sunless tanning solution produces is due to an ingredient in the solution called dihydroxyacetone (DHA). This ingredient interacts with the amino acids in your skin's stratum corneum, which is the very top layer of your skin, to produce a golden color similar to that of a natural sun tan. 

This chemical reaction takes time, which is why you must not bathe for several hours after your sunless tanner application. However, once you cleanse the sunless tanning solution off your body, you can look forward to a golden tan that lasts up to 10 days. 

2. Why Do Some Sunless Tanning Solutions Produce a Darker Tan Than Others?

When you visit a tanning salon, the staff will direct you to a sunless tanning solution that will produce a tan that will mimic the color you would naturally turn in the sun. If your skin is naturally lighter, then a solution that produces a light-to-medium tan is best. If your skin is naturally darker in color, then a darker tanning solution is a better option. 

How does each tanning solution differ? Tanning solutions that produce a light or medium tan simply have a lower percentage of DHA in them than those that produce a darker tan. 

3. How Can a Sunless Tan Make You Appear Thinner?

Not only does a sunless tan give you a golden glow, but it can also make you appear thinner. According to color theory, darker colors recede and light colors advance. If you have ever worn a black dress or suit and felt thinner than you typically do when wearing lighter colors, then you have already noticed this effect in action. You don't have to wear dark clothing to appear slimmer when you achieve this effect by darkening your skin tone slightly. 

You can further optimize the slimming effect of a sunless tan by obtaining an airbrush tan and asking your airbrush artist to perform body sculpting. Your airbrush artist will apply a slightly darker tanning solution to only certain areas of your body strategically to make them appear slimmer. 

For example, your airbrush artist can apply darker sunless tanning solution on only certain areas of your abdomen to make it appear more muscular. Darker tanning solution can also be applied to the natural contours around other body muscles you would like to accentuate, such as those in your arms or legs, to give your legs and/or arms a more toned appearance. 

4. Why Don't Sunless Tanners Turn Your Skin Orange Anymore?

If you first tried an at-home sunless tanning lotion in the 80s, then your skin may have turned an undesirable orange color. However, it is important to know that today's sunless tanners no longer turn skin orange, but instead a natural bronze tone that mimics a natural suntan. 

The first sunless tanning products on the market were made with lab-created DHA. This DHA tended to produce a tan that was a bit orange in color. Today's modern sunless tanning products are made with DHA derived from natural sources, such as sugar beets or sugar cane. This naturally sourced DHA produces a more desirable golden tan color when it reacts with the amino acids in skin. 

If you have more questions about the sunless tanning process or would like to obtain a golden sunless tan today, contact Golden State Tanning Studio.