In a never-ending battle against paleness, people are sunbathing, covering their bodies with artificial tanning lotion, and now, taking tanning pills.
Carter Gottlieb, a doctoral candidate at Saint Louis University School of Medicine who avoids the sun and “lives like a vampire,” said he takes two supplements (astaxanthin and lycopene) to look tan.
After taking the pills for two months, Gottlieb said he began to notice that his skin looked sun-kissed.
“It’s subtle, but people have never told me before that my skin glows and now they do,” she said.
But experts warn against these types of pills because the active ingredient in many of them, called Canthaxanthin can damage the liver and accumulate in the retinas, damaging vision, said Dr. Alexis Young, a dermatologist at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Gottlieb, a doctoral candidate at Saint Louis University, said he takes a combination of two pigment molecules (lastasaxanthin and lycopene) every day to acquire a reddish tint, even though he never exposes himself to the sun.
Additionally, these supplements offer no protection against harmful UV rays and can lull users into a false sense of security when exposed to the sun, which could increase their chance of developing skin cancer.
“In fact, the ingredients can make the skin even more sensitive to sunlight, making it more susceptible to sunburn and possible skin cancers,” Dr. Young said.
Some of the popular brands appearing on social media include MyTan Bronze Tanning Pills, GlowSci tanning gummies, and GlowMe pop-up, which cost $27, $59, and $35 respectively.
There have been no adverse events directly related to these brands, and none of them list canthaxanthin as an ingredient on their label, but Dr. Young recommends not using this type of supplement at all, primarily due to antioxidant concerns.
They contain a similar molecule, called astaxanthin.
It’s true that taking these supplements daily will probably help change your skin tone, but it could take you away from the desired bronze to give you an orange or even purplish tint. Dr. Andrea Suáreza board-certified dermatologist based in Houston, Texas, said in a TikTok.
Fionn warned against using tanning pills, saying he doesn’t understand why he used to use them. “Don’t take tanning pills,” he said on his TikTok.
People have shared their unfortunate pigmentation changes online. TikTok user Sona FionnShe said she used to take these pills all the time in the early 2000s, and says she looks back and wonders why she used them because they “turned her orange.”
Canthaxanthin is a molecule similar to beta-carotene, the pigment that gives carrots their orange color. It is frequently used on farms to brighten the color of salmon meat and egg yolks.
Your skin color is controlled by both the natural brown, pink and red pigments our body produces and the nutrients you consume.
When you consume canthaxanthin, which is a reddish pigment, your body processes it and then deposits that color into your skin, adding even more red hue.
Is It has been approved by the FDA in small amounts as a dietary supplement and is said to support eye and joint health. But the amount you have to take to notice a change in skin tone is potentially dangerous. Dr Mohiba Tareen said.
Studies have shown Taking this additive in large quantities can cause muscle cramps, vomiting and allergic reactions, Dr. Tareen added.
Canthaxanthin is also an antioxidant, a type of nutrient that your body can use to fight cell damage that causes cancer.
While antioxidants can help skin recover from the sun, they don’t protect against its damaging effects like sunscreen does, Dr. Suarez said.
Despite that, some online users claim that taking these pills can actually act as a natural sunscreen, but Dr. Suarez refused, adding: ‘PPlease do not rely on a dietary supplement as an alternative or substitute for good sun protection.’
Additionally, taking more than the body can process can stress the organs, particularly the liver, since it is responsible for filtering all the nutrients from the blood, Dr. Young said.
Outside the liver, daily intake of large amounts of canthaxanthin has been shown to create small deposits of crystals inside the eye, according to ophthalmologists at Wright State University.
These crystals, although small, can cause damage to the blood vessels that support the retina and cause vision changes and blindness.
Fortunately, the Wright State University researchers wrote, these effects usually go away when someone stops taking canthaxanthin.
All told, these pills pale in comparison to other low-risk options, such as tanning lotion, Dr. Young said. Instead of pills, he recommends tanning lotions that use a chemical called dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which reacts on the surface of the skin to produce a natural tan.
No matter which faux tanning option you choose, you should add a broad-spectrum sunscreen to your routine to protect against sunburn, cancer, and premature aging, Dr. Young said.