Why A Good Lotion is Essential: Part 1 of 2

If you've ever been to a tanning salon, you are familiar with the layout in every lobby: a colorful selection of bottles of creamy moisturizers, all different shapes and sizes and all advertising darker colors, softer skin, anti-aging, etc. You have more than likely also notice that many of them come with a hefty price tag.

I consider myself something of a skin-care expert (thats right, we don't ALL hide from the sun!) and a lot of clients ask me about various regimens and products. The 2 questions I hear the most regarding tanning lotions are: "Do I really need to use one?" and "Do they really need to charge that much for them?!"

The simple answers, respectively, are: "yes" and "yes"

The slightly more in-depth answers, respectively, are: "You should be using a moisturizer for EVERYTHING." and "Let me just link you to my blog."

Moisturizing, IN GENERAL, is essential and everyone should do it at least one time a day but preferably more. Your body is mostly comprised of water so its a "no-brainer" that you need to stay hydrated not only by drinking water but also by absorbing moisture. This is especially important when in the sun. Those doctors that you hear tell you sun exposure will prematurely age the skin? Well, they are half right. 

I'm going to break it down in a very simple 2-sentence explanation that sums the whole deal up:

What they don't always tell you is that regular intense moisturizing will solve this problem. Your skin needs moisture for cell renewal and turnover. Without it, cellular regeneration slows and skin begins to dry out, causing it to appear older. Yep, its that simple. So is using a moisturizer. Its just such an easy (but unfortunately too often disregarded) way to maintain healthy skin.

So, that leads us to the next point.When tanning, you shouldn't use any moisturizer you feel like. The $1 generic version of Vaseline lotion is not going to do you any good and in fact CAN CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE to a tanning bed. Any moisturizer with mineral oil reacts with the bed lamps and leaves many a salon owner quite unhappy with you. This is why "outdoor" lotions are prohibited in tanning beds. It is NOT a competition issue.

Indoor tanning lotions are made specifically to maximize your ability to tan while still letting you get just the "moderate" amount of exposure that you need. In other words, using a good lotion can make you look like you tan a LOT more than you really do. I am walking proof of that and a good deal of that is thanks to Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a formula that darkens skin tone. Combining a small amount of this compound with a moderated amount of UV light exposure can result in a very impressive tan that makes many people assume I am either originally from or just returning from a tropical beach area (psst....I'm not.....and I haven't)!

Of COURSE there is much more to that bottle you see in the lobby. Reputable companies such as Designer Skin, Australian Gold, Swedish Beauty, SupreTan, and Norvell got to be the industry leaders by formulating lotions that contain the best quality moisturizers. 

Sure, you can go to Wal-Mart and get their $6 bottle of tanning lotion and tell yourself that the ingredients are similar to the expensive versions and the label looks "kinda" like an Ed Hardy label so it must be just as good! However, you might want to also enroll in Marketing 101 while you're at it because you're probably getting scammed left and right. Sure, the ingredient list may seem similar but that tells you NOTHING about the quality of the ingredients or the amounts they contain. Current FDA regulations only dictate that a company list ingredients in order from most to least. So, while the $60 Designer Skin lotion contains Grade A Shea Butter (another thing the FDA doesnt require companies to label on products) which is considered by the American Shea Butter Institute (www.sheabutterinstitue.com) to be the best for cosmetic products, that $6 gem you got yourself at Wal-Mart contains Grade D Shea Butter almost ENTIRELY devoid of nutrients (by the way, Grade F is a category considered "unfit for human use".) 

Since we're talking about misinformation, I should also caution anyone who goes online and sees an $80 bottle of lotion for only $19 that YES, it is too good a deal to be true! Indoor tanning lotions are only certified to be sold at tanning salons to ensure quality control. If you see a high-end lotion with a cheap price tag, you probably ARE better off buying the generic Vaseline because that is probably what's in the bottle anyway. Worst case scenario, the seller has switched out the contents with something that leaves you with a lovely rash for weeks. Online sites are constantly being closed down for this very reason and if you pull up a search for indoor tanning lotions on Google, you'll notice that a lot of the store sites look very similar and carry the same brands. This is so the scam artists involved can afford to let one site get busted and shut down but still have a little time to rip you off before the other ones are shut down as well. For more information, take a gander at the "Product Diversion" section of Designer Skin's website.

Just like many things in life, you get what you pay for and its no different with tanning lotions. I'll never forget the first time I tried a truly good lotion. The difference is worth every penny....and bear in mind that it is a tanning loton so you don't use it quickly and therefore, don't buy it that often.


Come back tomorrow for Part 2: find the tanning lotion that is best suited to your preferences by reading my in-depth reviews on some of my favorite lotions, including  Designer Skin Revival, Designer Skin Liberate, Ed Hardy Ghost Skull, Australian Golds Going GA GA, Mood Indigo and Sinfully Black!