Soakinuptherays

Don,

Has any company done any testing of the various indoor tanning products to determine if any are more effective that others?

What is the best formulas to use and the actual effectiveness of those formulas?

Don Smith

Greg:

If any company has done any meaningful testing, they have not pubished it to the best of my knowledge.

All lotion products have a plethora of ingredients that SUPPOSEDLY have beneficial effects. The problem is that IF a manufacturer isn't careful about what they "claim" about the "effects" of their ingredients, they will inadvertently cause their lotion product to become a drug. Why? Because anything that achieves "transdermal penetration" (penetration of the skin) and causes a physiological change automatically becomes a drug in the eyes of the FDA. Needless to say, no cometic manufacturer wants that product to become a drug.

Therefore, although it is highly probable that many of the ingredients in lotion products have beneficial effects, lotion companies must not claim that this is so because, to do so, would be evidence of transdermal penetration. A real Catch 22!

What we do know from the scientific literature is that the moisturizing effect of a lotion increases the amount of UVR that penetrates the skin by 30 - 40%. That fact alone provides enough evidence to prove that the use of a lotion before tanning is worthwhile!

You might ask some questions of Christine in the new "Skin Care" forum. She has far more knowledge about the skin than I am.

Don

PS: This thought just hit me. We all know that certain lotion products work better on some individuals than they do on other people. Why?[ This Message was edited by: Don Smith on 2002-04-06 22:02 ]