FAQ

  • HOW DID SKINNY TAN START?
  • WHY THE NAME “SKINNY TAN”?
  • DO I HAVE TO BE SKINNY TO USE THIS PRODUCT?
  • ARE SKINNY TAN PRODUCTS TESTED ON ANIMALS?
  • ARE YOU VEGAN FRIENDLY?
  • WHAT IS DHA?
  • THAT SOUNDS LIKE A CHEMICAL – IS IT SAFE?
  • WHY DO YOU USE A NATURAL DHA?
  • WHAT IS GUARANA?
  • WHY DOES SKINNY TAN CONTAIN GUARANA?
  • CAN I USE SKINNY TAN WHEN I AM PREGNANT?
  • WILL TANNING WITH SKINNY TAN MAKE MY AGE SPOTS DARKER
  • Please see the About Us page here for the full story about how two young mums created a beauty revolution when they presented their easy to use, streak free tanning formulation on BBC2’s Dragons Den back in 2013!

    • Skinny from nasties, like a skinny latte is free from fat.
    • Skinny because a tan makes you look more slim and toned and gives you a confidence boost
    • Skinny as the products contain skin smoothing guarana berries to help tone skin
  • Absolutely not! We love and celebrate all women and men of all sizes. The name “Skinny Tan” comes from three particular factors (see above) as has absolutely nothing to do with the size of our customers.

  • Absolutely not! We believe that beauty products should be cruelty free. We are proud to be Leaping Bunny approved. A global programme, Leaping Bunny requires cruelty free standards over and above legal requirements. To find out more about Cruelty Free International, Leaping Bunny and Leaping Bunny Criteria, please visit www.crueltyfreeinternational.org

  • All Skinny Tan products are vegan friendly.

  • DHA (dihydroxyacetone) is the active ingredient in all fake tanners; this is the ingredient that reacts with the skin to gives the skin a tan. When applied to the skin DHA causes a chemical reaction with amino acids in the surface cells of the skin producing a darkening effect.

  • DHA can be chemical or natural. Most ordinary or cheap fake tanners work with a chemical or synthetic form of DHA.

    But, Skinny Tan is one of the first self-tanning brands to use a natural DHA. Our natural tanning active is derived from the seeds of the Brassica napus plant. This makes it a bio-organic form of DHA that works naturally with the amino acids in the skin to create the darkening reaction required in a natural looking sunless tan. It works just as effectively as a chemical or synthetics DHA, but without the nasty side effects (see below).

  • Chemical DHA’s is cheap fake tanners have been found to dry the skin out, damage the skin and often leave an unpleasant “fake tan” smell.

    This is why Skinny Tan only uses a natural tanning active in our products. Due to its plant origination, any unpleasant smell is significantly reduced and most people cannot detect it at all. It is also gentle and less drying on the skin than tanners using chemical or synthetic DHA.

  • Guarana is a plant, named after Guarani tribe in the Amazon, who used its seeds to brew a drink. Guarana has large leaves and clusters of flowers and is best known for the seeds from its fruit, which are about the size of a coffee bean. The guarana seed is an effective stimulant, containing twice the concentration of caffeine found in coffee beans.

  • Skinny Tan contains guarana in most of its overnight tanning products. This is because guarana’s high caffeine content means this ingredient, if applied to the skin regularly, may help reduce the appearance of cellulite.

  • The active ingredient in Skinny Tan tanning products is a natural form of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) derived from seeds. It is a type of sugar. It's non-toxic and works by interacting with the protein of the skin cells in the top, dead layer of skin. Our tanning products aren’t absorbed into the skin beyond this top layer and will not enter the bloodstream.

    However, if women use any fake tan spray or a spray-tanning booth, then they may inhale some of the vapours. There is no evidence to know how breathing in ANY fake tan spray will affect an unborn baby. To be on the safe side during pregnancy, Skinny Tan would suggest using cream based tanning only.

  • If you are worried about your tanner making your freckles or age spots darker, we recommend trying out Instant Tanner. This product is an instant “ body foundation” for all over use, without any DHA. This means skin gets darker and more bronzed without any active tanning agent, so your freckles or age spots won’t become any darker.