Here comes the sun. Spring is here and summer's just around the corner.
When I was a teenager in Malibu, Calif., 20 years ago, the greening and warming of the Earth set me in search of the nearest drugstore. I'd load up on baby oil and cocoa butter and head for Big Rock Beach to begin my pursuit of the perfect tan.That usually took several sunburns and more than a few nights lathered in Noxema skin cream trying to cool skin.
Today I can tell you: The doctors aren't kidding when they say hours of sun exposure cause prematurely wrinkled, dried-out skin; and, even worse, the possibility of wrangling with skin cancer in midlife. I'm proof.
But try telling that to today's teens or diehard sun worshipers like I used to be. The tan's still the thing.
Good news: Forget the sun. You no longer need to be a human rotisserie to get that sun-kissed look.
Thanks to dozens of self-tanning creams produced by cosmetic companies ranging from Revlon to Clarins to Vaseline Intensive Care, it's possible to get the "I just spent a week on the beach in St. Tropez" look without the sand, sweat or serious skin damage.
Who needs to know your bronze gilding is courtesy of a couple hours in the bathroom with a bottle of self-tanning cream? No one.
Today's self-tanning lotions are a far cry from the creams popular 20 plus years ago that turned skin a "too many carrots" orange. In fact, the primary ingredient in many of yesterday's creams was beta keratin - an extract from carrots.
The active ingredient in most self-tanning lotions now is dihydroxyacetone, or DHA. The chemical reacts with protein in the surface layer of skin to produce a tan.
"Self-tanning creams are safe and they're effective," said Provo dermatologist Steven Eyre. "There have not been any reports of adverse side effects from it . . . not even allergic reactions.
"There is no such thing as a safe tan from sunlight or tanning booths," Eyre pointed out. "This (self-tanning cream) is the best way to get color in your skin if you want a tanned look."
As part of my research, I experimented with three self-tanning products - Bain de Soleil sunless tanning creme for fair skin; Clarins Lait Auto Bronzant self-tanning milk; and Lancome's Lait Auto-Bronzant Personnalise, fair complexion formula.
Bain de Soleil and Lancome recommend applying the cream after a good scrubbing in the shower to smooth the skin's surface.
The Clarins product contains a sunscreen and thus performs the multiple purposes of sunblock and tanning agent. Other manufacturers, such as Revlon, also include sunscreens in their self-tanning products. Eyre thinks that's a wise idea.
"The only drawback to self-tanning creams is people sometimes think they have a real tan and get burned when they go out," Eyre said.
The tricky part is applying self-tanning lotions evenly, particularly on sharp angles likes knees and elbows, and blending the cream into hairlines and from ankles to feet. I'm bony and tended to get a streaky coloring around my knees, elbows and tops of my feet. Also, the color came out darker there, probably because the skin is thinner.
My skin is a beautician's nightmare: pale, freckled and dry. None of the products gave me a truly natural looking tan. But considering the alternative (looking like a lizard in years ahead), the color was acceptable.
The Bain de Soleil product looked a little orange on me. The Lancome lotion worked well, particularly on my face. Its color appeared more natural.
But the Clarins product was my favorite. The color was the most natural. And I liked the fact it contained sunscreen, which allowed me to use the product when I was outdoors. It's the one I'll buy again.
My 16-year-old son tried the Clarins self-tanning lotion, too, this winter. He applied it to his face, which is a much more even color than mine. His "tan" looked great. But he reached a little too hard for that deep, dark-tanned look. Too many applications within too few days made his skin look orange.
Each of the tans last several days. To keep the color up, manufacturers recommend reapplying the lotion every couple of days. Also, when you shave your legs, the tan pretty much comes off along with the hair.
And a big WARNING: Don't forget to wash your hands after applying the self-tanning cream. I forgot once and lived with orangish brown palms for weeks. (I told my peers it was part of an experiment.)
The self-tanning products I tested ranged in price from $8.95 to $20 for approximately 4 ounces.
Apparently I'm not alone in reaching for a tan-in-a-bottle product. Consumer acceptance of self-tanning creams may be the best testament to the products. In 1990, sunless tanners accounted for about 5 percent of the sun-care products market, according to a study conducted by Saloman Brothers. In 1991, self-tanning creams captured 15 percent of that market.