Tanning Pills
Tanning pills are probably the biggest myth in the history of sunless skincare products. They have grown popular on a market that supports and promotes their use as supplements by all means possible, from magazines, ads and web pages to campaigns in drug stores. Tanning pills are sold as dietary supplements but they are not FDA approved and they all include the disclaimer that they don't treat, cure or prevent any ailment whatsoever. It was more than once that the tanning pills safety should become subject for controversial debates, but no decisive measures have been adopted to discourage their use. Are tanning pills effective? What is their safety level?
Knowing the main factors that influence tan formation could turn out to be helpful for the understanding of the working principle behind tanning pills and their efficiency or lack of efficiency. This means that innate predisposition and the level of exposure to ultraviolets are the two main elements that put their imprint on tanning. As for nutrition, diet has a very light word to say in the matter of getting tanned. Take the example of a fair-skinned Caucasian person; regardless of how many tanning pills she/he will use, tanning will still be difficult given the low melanin concentration in the skin cells.
Some tanning pills contain canthaxanthin which is also used as a color additive in the manufacturing of food products. Though the Food and Drug Agency has approved this use, not the same thing can be said about the assimilation of cantharxanthin as a tanning trigger. The difference comes from the fact that in food, only a small quantity of chemical is necessary, whereas in tanning pills, very large concentrations have to be added. The result of this chemical administration consists in the depositing of the substance under the skin layers giving it the brown orange color; unfortunately, serious side effects are related to the administration of this kind of tanning pills.
Liver disease cases have been related to the use of canthaxanthin tanning pills; FDA banished these products and passed safety measures in relation to their use. Another variety of tanning pills that are under test in Australia rely on a hormonal compound to stimulate the secretion of melanin; it appears that this drug is more effective when combined with UV exposure too.
Besides these two drug alternatives, there are all sorts of herbal supplements labeled tanning pills. Yet, nutrition does not seem to play such an important role in the quality of the tan, and thus the efficiency level of tanning pills is pretty low.