The Combination of Anti-Aging and Sunless Tanning Technologies:

Effectively Innovative or Unfortunately Inefficient?

With the fixation of many in looking younger and more beautiful, which does not exclude men; two industries have combined to produce one type of product that is geared towards the creation of the ultimate item for consumption that can achieve a youthful and beautiful look. The anti-aging industry, which is expected to grow to more than $5 billion in the United States and to increase to almost $300 billion globally, is a testament to the number of people who want to defy the natural aging process and look younger as they grow older. The sunless tanning sector of the indoor tanning industry, which commands 17% of the said $5 billion dollar industry, has taken advantage of the market for tanning and anti-aging products. A tanned complexion creates a youthful and more beautiful skin in that it hides blemishes and age spots, while at the same time manifesting an aura of activeness and vigor. Because of this, sunless tanning technology is perfect to be combined with anti-aging properties.

And so, it has come to be. You can now buy anti-aging sunless tanning lotions, creams and sprays. Instead of a tanned skin hiding blemishes, its regular use can also fill wrinkles and prevent the appearance of fine lines and age spots. The question now is that is this really possible? How so? The answer is quite simple actually; to create an anti-aging and self tanning product, their active ingredients need to be successfully combined in order to achieve the desired effect of a truly youthful skin, with the healthy and beautiful glow of a tan.

The active ingredient that is crucial in every sunless tanning product is dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a colorless sugar that is approved by the FDA as safe for topical use. DHA causes a darkening reaction on the dead skin cells in the outermost layers of the skin. This is what produces the tanning effect. Because dead skin cells are sloughed off in 5 to 7 days, the darkened skin also slowly wears out to reveal the true color of the skin—much like how natural tans disappear after about a week. Now DHA is safely and successfully combined with Matrixyl, which is the active ingredient for anti-aging solutions, to produce anti-aging sunless tanning products. Matrixyl (Palmitoyl Penta peptide) is a class of amino acids that stimulate the body to produce more elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid. How is this significant? Collagen is considered to be the foundation of the skin, making the skin firm and compact, while elastin accounts for the skin's elasticity and its ability to bounce back when pulled. Hyaluronic acid, on the other hand, has the ability to deter and minimize the manifestation of aging symptoms like wrinkles, age spots and fine lines.

With the combination of DHA and Matrixyl, anti-aging sunless tanning products make sense. These two active ingredients can certainly act in the dual action of giving people beautiful tans, while at the same time defying the natural skin aging process.