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While mascara and foundation undoubtedly form the scaffolding of our instant beauty regimens, the evolution of the fake tan has seen it fall into a similar category. There is nary a modern lady who isn’t familiar with the sticky discomfort and stained sheets that accompany a faux glow, but that’s all changing with the arrival of the rapid tan into the marketplace.
There’s no mistaking the fake tan industry is booming. In 2012, IBISWorld named the market one of America’s top 10 fastest growing industries, expecting it to be worth billions within five years. Its popularity is also trickling Down Under, where 87 per cent of Australian women confirmed use of fake tan in a Sunescape survey.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that businesses selling sunless-tan products grew nine per cent between 2009 to 2014, and that was before commercial solariums were banned in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia in January of this year. The popularity of fake tans has led to a range of innovativation in the market - including an increased growth in the development of formulas that dramatically speed up the process of the typical tan. Rapid tans see the traditional tanning development time being reduced by a number of hours - down from eight to just one or two.
The debut of the rapid tan is relevant to scientific discovery, and relates directly to the use of the chemical dihydroxyacetone (DHA) around which most fake bakes are crafted. A chemical derived from sugar cane, DHA reacts with amino acids in skin cells to produce chemicals called melanoidins. Tanning lotions typically contain 15 per cent DHA, with the higher the percentage, the darker the resulting tan. Modern science has encouraged research into faster absorption of DHA into the skin, providing time-poor consumers with the option of a fast and furious tanning solution.
is one such brand who has delved into the growing sector, having just released Rapid Tan - an instant tan offering that promises a coating of colour within one to three hours, depending on your preferred shade. Australis junior brand manager Chloe Shoreson explains the formulation: “The new wave of innovative tanning formulations allow users to wash the formula off after as little as 30 minutes depending on the depth of colour that they are hoping to achieve. Original tanning formulations needed to be left on at least six to eight hours for the formula to achieve its full effect.”
It’s a development based on the consumer complaints of sticky sheets and discomfort typically associated with a fake tan. “The rapid tan formulations are so much easier to use as they completely eliminate having to sit around for eight hours while you wait for the tan to develop. Wash it off in up to three hours and continue going about your business as the tan develops over the six to eight hour period. You don’t have to worry about that fake tan getting all over your sheets any longer,” says Shoreson.
It has taken the brand nearly a year of research to perfect the formula, with Shoreson explaining: “The biggest hurdle was working out how we could get the DHA to absorb into the skin fast enough so that the tan could be washed off without drying out the skin…As with any skincare product, companies are continuously re-developing and reformulating using newly developed technology. Such was also the case with artificial tans.”
Australis is also riding the trend of personalisation, with different options available within the single product. Shoreson says: “We know that not all people have the same skin, therefore we have developed different base colours to suit different skintones.” This led to the offering of two different bases: “Rapid Tan comes in a chocolate and purple base. Just like our foundations, Australis now provides different tan bases to suit your skintone - purple for already tanned or Mediterranean skin and chocolate for most other skin types.”
Is the fast tan the way of the future? Shoreson believes so, commenting: “I think it is inevitable! All consumers are looking for the most convenient/least time-consuming way to tan – and rapid tans are the solution.”
