Photo: Getty Images
Many people go to great lengths to get their skin what they feel is the perfect shade of tan. They might spend part of their day in a tanning bed, rub creams all over themselves, sit out in the sun for hours, even eat a special kind of candy. Now, there is a new way for those who want to tan to get their skin that golden bronze - tanning nasal sprays. A couple sprays of the solution up you nose apparently gets you tan faster and easier, but is it safe? Experts don't think so.
The main ingredient in the sprays is something called melanotan, which mimics melanocyte, a natural hormone that tells skin cells to increase pigment production, which makes skin darker. It turns out that melanotan is not FDA approved, which, according to experts, makes it "very risky and incredibly dangerous" since little is known about its risks - or even how well it actually works. What is known is that it has potential side effects that include dizziness, nausea, increased blood pressure and vomiting.
One dermatologist told USA Today more about the dangers, saying, "The inside of the nose is very absorbent. There's no skin layer over it, so anything that gets exposed to it gets absorbed into the bloodstream very fast. If someone wants to become tanner and they keep using it, that's a lot of chemicals being absorbed into the bloodstream. People could go and use this in an uncontrolled way and absorb too much, which can cause dangerous health consequences."
So what is the best way to tan? Well both exposure to direct sunlight and tanning beds increase the risk of skin cancer, so that really leaves tanning sprays and creams. With sprays though, you could wind up inhaling large quantities of chemicals that might affect your lungs, so the creams is the winner.
Dr. Joshua Zeichner, Director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital said, "I tell my patients that the only way to get a tan safely is when it comes out of a bottle. Self tanning creams are safe and effective and approved by a dermatologist."