It has been seen that Caucasians desire to tan their bodies and pursue this desire actively by exposing themselves to the often harmful rays of the sun. High incidence of both sun burn and the damage caused due to ultraviolet rays further confirm that sun bathing is more harmful due to the increased levels of exposure to ultra violet radiation.

As opposed to sunbathing, there is an increasing popularity of tanning booths, which use chemicals to allow sunless tanning.


With the help of these chemicals, a tan can simply be sprayed on and the body can be spared the adverse effects of sunbathing. The increase in popularity of this method could be attributed to the increased awareness of the detrimental effects of sun bathing.

The spray on tan is nothing but chemicals like dihydroxyacetone, popularly known as DHA.


DHA can bind to the cells of the top most layer of the skin, increasing pigmentation and darkening the color of the skin, giving it a tanned look. Though the effect is a lot like a sun tan, but on a closer inspection it can appear more yellow than tan. If sprayed on improperly, the spray on tan may also appear a little unnatural.
 
The tone of the tan color achieved by the DHA containing chemicals depends to a large extent on the natural skin types of the person. Due to the increasing awareness of the carcinogenic affects of ultra violet rays, more people prefer safe sun tanning practices and would rather go to a sunless tanning service rather than spend a day on the beach.

A recent study revealed that in the United States of America, 43% of the businesses that offer tanning services of any kind also offer services for sunless tanning. Of all the preferred methods of such sunless tanning, DHA containing chemicals are most popular. This makes sunless tanning booths which offer ‘spray from a can tan’ or other types of spray tans the highest selling in the sunless tanning application industry.

The study also checked for the precautionary measures that are taken by these sunless tanning services. While sunbathing can be carcinogenic, the chemicals that one gets exposed to during the sunless tanning may also be detrimental to your health. However, it has been seen that the primary chemicals contained in the spray on tanning chemicals do not affect the skin in any detrimental way. During sunless tanning, however, it is important to close the eyes to protect them from the rays or the chemicals. It is also important to hold one’s breath and take the proper after care to avoid inhaling any chemicals.