Tanning accelerator

The invention of a tanning accelerator has no wonder given all the problems associated with sun tanning and the risk of skin cancer. Just like the name suggests, there are some tanning products that use what is termed an accelerator to speed up the process of tanning. This means you can get a natural looking tan in a shorter amount of time, catering to those in search of the perfect tan without going outdoors to sun themselves or sitting indoors under a tanning bed. Another appeal is to those people who have difficult skins for tanning, for example blondes and red-heads, or those with pigmentation sensitivities. However, there are some bad sides to tanning accelerators.

The essential essence of how a tanning accelerator works, is by creating a natural looking tan from the inside out, so to speak. There are many different types of tanning accelerators but they essentially all aim to do the same thing, which is to increase the skin's production of melanin. The majority of accelerators come in a pill or lotion form, but one of the more recent developments is by injection.

The most popular or common ingredient that allows an accelerator to work is an amino acid called tyrosine, which increases and stimulates the skin's production of melanin. The more melanin that is present in the body, the darker your skin will become. This is a completely natural occurrence, meaning that dark skinned people naturally have significantly more melanin present in their skins than pale skinned people. This means melanin is not a foreign substance for our bodies and it is through this that we get our own individual skin color. Melanin is also responsible for the dark brown or black pigments we have in hair colors and even the color of our eyes to some extent.

A very important aspect to note about tyrosine though, is that you definitely don't want to take tyrosine when you have a melanoma as it increases your melanocytes.

Another common ingredient that helps tanning accelerators work is psoralen. Psoralen is the effective ingredient extracted from a Chinese herb, as a source of amino acids, whose main use is to increase the melanin levels in the skin. Besides being used as a tanning accelerator, it is used for treating vitiligo, bald patches of hair, and psoriasis. Psoralen can cause photosensitivity (sensitivity to light) so be sure to cater to your skin's needs if you decide to use this type of product.

Many years of research have resulted in the production of a man-made synthetic hormone that mimics the actions of melanin in our bodies. The name of this relatively recently created hormone is Melanotan. This is administered via an injection, which causes skin tone to darken, which results in a tan.

Some of the down sides reported from using Melanotan, (apart from the mere fact that introducing an unnatural, synthetic substance into one's body is not desired by many), include nausea, headaches, leg pain, increased libido and decreased appetite. The latter 2 are not considered downsides by many and have even caused it to be nicknamed 'The Barbie Drug'!

Melanotan is generally administered through injections into the abdominal area, usually causing some pain. The injection itself is another potential down side as many people are just not too comfortable with having to have an injection, never mind one in the stomach and one that invariably requires self administration. Added to this, the injections are required daily for a few weeks or even months in order to achieve the desired tanned skin effect.

The result has been the creation of a Melanotan nasal spray, called Bremelanotide or "Passion" . Originally it was being researched as a nasal spray treatment for sexual dysfunction in men and women but ran into problems because it caused unusually high blood pressure.

Melanotan-1 and Melanotan II are both synthetic versions of melanocyte stimulating hormone. They were created, synthesized and developed at The Arizona Cancer Center located at The University of Arizona. Melanotan-1 is a linear, full length peptide containing 13 amino acids. Melanotan II is a shortened, circular version of Melanotan-1.

On the positive side, it would seem that these Melanotan injections may reduce the occurrence of skin cancer. There are a number of possible reasons for this, the most obvious being that darker skin will not be as susceptible to sunburn. Dark skin that contains more melanin is less likely to be affected by the dangerous UVA and UVB rays of the sun that are known to cause skin cancer.

Another potential benefit of boosting the melanin content in the skin is that it may reduce the effects of early skin damage and lessen the signs of aging. Darker skin is more resistant to the damaging and burning rays of the sun that can cause wrinkles and other skin problems as you age.

However, having gone to the trouble of obtaining a tan by using a tanning accelerator, most people choose not to spend more time outdoors exposed to the sun's UV rays. This in effect means they lose out on the benefits of Vitamin D that the skin creates after exposure to UVB rays.

Managing your tanning accelerator expectations is very important as the results tend to vary from person to person. So, read all of the directions provided and familiarize yourself with all the ingredients on the label. If all the ingredients are not on the label make sure to request this information. Another hugely important aspect to manage is the sanitization of needles.

Cautionary Note:

Martin Chandler and the Substance Use Team have been looking into the Melanotan trend at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University. Martin believes that the unlicensed version of Melanotan has become very easily available.

"The people who have the licence to develop Melanotan are licensed to develop it in human trials, so they will make it themselves and use it themselves, they will not sell it to the general public. However, it is possible for a number of other laboratories, mainly in China, to produce the drug and sell it to pretty much anyone that they want to as a research drug. But it's not intended for use in humans."

It appears that it is a fairly common practice to sell unlicensed Melanotan as a tanning accelerator in gyms and tanning salons.