Safer, sunless tanning increasing in popularity

Getting a tan can be easy and may appear to be healthy, but sitting out in the sun to get that tan raises risks of skin cancer and possible skin damage.
Now there are more sunless tanning products than ever, which are safer.
Sunless tanning has become a trend in South Beach, where the need to be a shade darker is an unhealthy obsession.

Products priced from $6.99 to $9.99 offer darker skin without the risks of real tanning and they can be bought at a local drugstore.
Every sunless tanner includes the only Food and Drug Administration approved ingredient for such products called dihydroxyacetone.

Whether the product is a spray-on or bottled lotion, it will always contain the same ingredient.
The majority of moisturizers require daily use for a week to see the full effect. Lauren Granado tested Sundial Adjustable Color self tanner twice in one day, choosing a darker setting the second time.

While the label on the product says that color will develop in two to three hours, Granado said she noticed no change.
"I think I look the exact same," Granado said.

In response, a spokesperson for Banana Boat said a small percentage of people don't have responses to these sunless tanning products.
"However, we have tested this product in 400 consumers and over 90 percent claimed they loved the color they got," the spokesperson said.
University of Miami dermatologist Dr. Leslie Baumann said exfoliating before applying any sunless product is necessary.

"So if you do not exfoliate, your skin has heaps and valleys of dead cells. The heaps will take up more color than the valleys," said Baumann.
The chemical reaction that results in the color change can also cause an unpleasant odor.
The odor eventually will fade and so does the tan but, with sunless tanning products, all you need to do is reapply.