If you don't want to stop spray tanning, there are ways to at least minimize the amount of DHA that gets in your system. Rigel recommends covering your eyes with goggles and using nose plugs. But he warns there may still be some absorption, since the particles can stay in the air and goggles and nose plugs don't block everything.
If you decide to get a spray tan, you might want to bring your own eye covers and nose plug, though: ABC News found that nine out of 12 salons they visited didn't have these in stock.
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DHA and free radicals
If you're opting to use self-tanner (spray or lotion), there is something else you need to keep in mind: Not only does this faux-bronze not give you any sun protection, it can actually make you more susceptible to sun damage.
A study done at the Gematria Test Lab in Berlin found that DHA-treated skin had 180 percent more free radicals when exposed to the sun than untreated skin. The reason why isn't known, but it does mean you need to be extra careful with your sunscreen when you've got self-tanner on. "I'm not sure how DHA could up the free radicals," Rigel says. "But that may be something we need to address, possibly by adding antioxidants to the formulas." Again, it looks like more research needs to be done.
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Bottom line: Are spray tans dangerous?
The (very unsatisfying) answer: Maybe. "The real issue here is that not enough studies have been done to firmly say whether spray tans are safe or not," Rigel says. "I don't want people panicking, but we need to look at it more deeply. We can't make a blanket assumption that spray tans are safe."
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Alternate options
So, tanning beds are definitely out and spray tans now fall into the "iffy" category. Is there any way for us to not be pale? Sort of.
There are body and face bronzers that don't use DHA and will give you glowing skin, like Lorac Tantalizer Award Show Glow, $32, or Laura Mercier Body Bronzer Makeup, $38. The downside is that these products will only last until your next shower (although the Lorac one claims to hang in there through a dip in the pool or ocean), so you're looking at daily applications. But, it's better than cancer, right?
Bad news for all of us pale folks: There really is no such thing as a "safe" tan. We already knew that tanning beds and laying out in the sun were killing us slowly, but now it seems we need to add spray tans and self-tanners to the list.
"I used to recommend spray tans and tell my patients there's no risk, but now I have some reservations," says Darrell Rigel, MD, a professor of dermatology at New York University. The reason he's concerned: the release of several studies showing that the active ingredient in spray tans, DHA, may damage DNA and cause cancer.
Naturally, as fellow advocates of spray tans (and as beauty editors who have spent our fair share of time in a spray tan booth), we were also worried. But since we live in a world where a trip through airport security or a call on our cell phones can also be considered risky, we weren't quite ready to pull the plug on our Mystic Tan sessions. We wanted to do some digging first and find out just how bad spray tans are for you, and if you really do need to give them up for good.
What we found was pretty shocking (and yes, a little scary). Keep reading to see the latest research and what the skin care experts have to say about spray tans, and decide for yourself if it's worth the risk to get a glow.
