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Tanning pills are probably the biggest myth in the history of sunless skincare products. They have grown popular on a market that encourages and promotes their use as supplements by all means possible, from women’s publications, ads and web pages to campaigns in drug stores. Tanning pills are sold as dietary supplements but they are not FDA approved and they all include the disclaimer that they are not designed to treat, cure or prevent any health issue whatsoever. It has happened several times that the tanning pills safety should become subject for virulent debates, but no decisive measures have been taken to discourage their use. Are tanning pills effective? What is their safety level?

Knowledge of the elements that influence tan formation could turn out to be helpful for the understanding of the mechanism behind tanning pills and their positive or negative effects. This means that genetic predisposition and the level of exposure to ultraviolets are the two main elements that influence tanning. As for the food we eat, diet has a very little influence in the matter of getting tanned. Consider for example a fair-skinned Caucasian person; regardless of how many tanning pills she/he will use, getting brownish naturally will still be a challenge given the low melanin concentration in the skin cells.

The main ingredient of some tanning pills is canthaxanthin, usually added to foods for its coloring properties. Though the Food and Drug Agency has approved this use, not the same thing can be said about the safety of cantharxanthin as a tanning agent. The difference comes from the fact that in food, only a small quantity of chemical is necessary, whereas in tanning pills, very large concentrations have to be added. The result of this chemical administration consists in the depositing of the substance below the skin giving it the brown orange-brown color; unfortunately, serious side effects are related to the administration of this kind of tanning pills.

Liver disease cases have been related to the use of canthaxanthin tanning pills; FDA banned these products and issued warnings in relation to their use. Another kind of tanning pills that are currently tested in Australia rely on the hormonal stimulation of the secretion of melanin; it seems that this drug increases results when combined with UV exposure too. Besides these two drug options, there are all sorts of herbal supplements labeled tanning pills. Yet, nutrition may not influence that much the quality of the tan, and thus the efficiency level of tanning pills remains pretty low.

Get more on tanning go to Tanning Beds

Tags: tanning, tanning pills

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