Posts with tag tanning salons

I'll admit it. I have done lots of things to get that golden glow without actually subjecting my skin to the damaging rays of the sun. Oh, alright, I've done bad things, too, like cook myself in those horrible light coffins, but that was a long time ago. I've used self-tanners at home, had tanners applied by "professionals," and even stood in the Mystic spray-on shower stall. Though I certainly had a "glow," I looked more like a glowing orange creamsicle than a natural beach beauty.

However, there might be a technology on the horizon that actually produces the same type of natural color that comes from the sun. Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working on a product that stimulates the body's own tan-generating cells, melanocytes. The stimulation is produced by forskolin, a naturally occurring plant compound.

In laboratory experiments, not only does forskolin create a tan color, it also had the same effect as a sunscreen. A natural, non-orange-hued tan from a cream? It's looking good, but it's still a long way before it'll be available.