Now that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has moved use of tanning beds to the highest cancer risk of being “carcinogenic to humans,” it is a good time for tanning bed worshippers to consider an alternative form of tanning.

 Airbrush tanning involves a 20 minute session where a trained technician sprays a special tanning liquid all over one’s body. Is it safe to be sprayed head to toe with a tanning solution?
Airbrush tanning uses a chemical called dihydroxyacetone (DHA) which causes the outer cells of our skin, the epidermis, to darken. The solution is sugar based and continues to develop in color over the next 8-12 hours after it is applied. A bronzer is usually also added to give an initial colored tan, but the bronzer washes off after the first shower which can be taken 8 hours after getting an airbrush tan. An airbrush tan lasts about 5 to 7 days and is not absorbed into the body.
DHA is FDA approved for external application but is not deemed safe for application to lips, mucous membranes or if inhaled. If you decide to get an airbrush tan, a technician will spray the DHA tanning solution onto you.