Skincare

Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 12 – Sunless Tanner Smell

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Sunless Tanning Myths

This is a legacy post that was given a facelift. Here’s why: With a gift card, I recently purchased a facial sunless tanning serum that I can mix in with my normal moisturizer (yes, it is awesome, yes more is coming on that). While researching which one to purchase, I came across a few rather acrimonious reviews on one such product (not the one I purchased). The reviewers were somewhat-justifiably upset because the product claimed to be free of smells. Well, sure – the product is fragrance free. That doesn’t mean it won’t cause a smell, however.

It really blows my mind that SO MANY people, including self-described self-tan aficionados, have no idea what actually causes the telltale sunless tanner smell.

I’ve talked about sunless tanners (my favorite is Million Dollar Tan) quite a bit before. Many posts mention, but do not focus on sunless tanner smell, however; the occasionally annoying odor that follow sunless tanning product usage. It isn’t limited to lotions: spray tans and even tanning bed (boo, do not use these) products are affected.

How Do Sunless Tanners Work?

There are three kinds of sunless tanners. Some products only temporarily deposit color that is washed away in 1-3 showers. Other products are intended to develop color over time; in those, the main, active ingredient in sunless tanners is DHA (dihydroxyacetone). The third type does a bit of both.

DHA & Melanin

When applied, DHA prompts your skin to produce melanin. Melanin is what gives our skin its color; people with darker skin tones naturally have more of it regardless of sun or DHA exposure. For lighter skin tones, stimulating melanin production causes us to appear tan.

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Coping with Hard Water

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HotelSpa Hard Water Filter

Have you ever moved to a new home and found that you skin or hair started behaving totally differently from how you understood them to before? I had that happen when I moved from my home state to my current one and for the longest time I couldn’t fathom why.

I ended up completely changing products for my skin and hair since what I was using before just wasn’t cutting it. Eventually, I figured it out what changed:

The Damn Water

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April 2018 Favorites

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April 2018 FavoritesApril 2018 Favorites
1. The Laundress Signature, $20 / 2. Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer, $8 /
3. Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion, $19 / 4. Clarisonic Smart Turbo Body Brush Head, $32

Thanks for bearing with me through technical and scheduling difficulties that delayed the April 2018 Favorites from its usual posting slot. Details on them, including two reappearances, after the jump.

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Melanoma Monday 2018

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Melanoma Awareness Ribbon - Melanoma Monday

As long as Beauty Skeptic is an active website, I am going to post, and repost, about the dangers of not observing sun-safe behaviors. May is Skin Cancer and Melanoma Awareness month, and the first Monday in May (today!) is Melanoma Monday.

Last year, I was blown away by this beach that has sunscreen dispensers for public use.

You can learn more about my family’s experience with skin cancer in my 2015 post. So far, I’ve dodged a bullet but my dumbass did use tanning beds for a few different periods of my life prior to my mom’s discovery.

Keep yourself safe by:

  • Limiting exposure during peak hours.
    • It doesn’t take long! A half hour outside around noon caused my feet to develop tan lines in the shape of my flats. As an office worker, I typically do not apply sunscreen to the tops of my feet buuuut maybe I should.
  • Wear a hat if you can swing it. Target has some inexpensive, cute ones; here’s a simple one.
  • Use a good sunscreen. I’m far from the only one who touts Biore Aqua Rich Watery Essence as the best.
    • I did recently learn, though, that some folks with very sensitive skin tend to have issue with it due to the alcohols in it.
  • Cover up if you can stand it.

Near Coral, Use Physical

Hawaii is on the cusp of banning sunscreens that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate. These chemicals are effective sunscreens, but have been found to contribute poor shape of the world’s coral. After application, it is washed away from skin in seawater, and later, washed away in a shower which results in waste water. If you live in or plan to visit regions closer to coral reefs, consider a physical, rather than chemical, sunscreen instead.

The Bottom Line

Stay sun safe, friends.

Garnier Micellar Water

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Garnier Micellar WaterGarnier Micellar Water

This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Content is the same but may have been edited for clarity and readability. Any additional commentary is noted in line.

Micellar Water, where have you been all my life? Oh, right, in France, as Bioderma. But NOW, here, everywhere, inexpensive, accessible, and glorious.

I purchased my bottle of Garnier Micellar Water from Target, unassuming in its pink-capped, clear, oval bottle. I tend to do a good job resisting the hype, but I got anxious when I got home with it. Is it just water? Did I just pay $6 for a bottle of water?!

What’s in a Micelle?

I did more homework. To explain it simply:

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Beauty Hacks & Tips

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This legacy post has been given a facelift. Content has been edited for flow and some updates have been added, but the essence is the same!

After comparing my list to so many top hits from Google from silly magazines, I’m confident that MOST of these are not cookie-cutter tips. So many of these, “beauty hacks,” are old hat to me just because I’ve been doing them so long – but it’s come to my attention that some of them are apparently, “sneaky beauty hacks.” I figured, “Why not share?” We’re all trying to streamline our life and make time for other things – even as someone who enjoys beauty, that doesn’t mean I have an hour or two to throw at it on a daily basis – in fact, writing that made me laugh.

Let’s get on with it!

Before I had highlights!

Hair Hacks

  • Maximize efficacy of your dry shampoo. It will absorb oils as you sleep so you aren’t in such a rush in the morning. As much as I love dry shampoo, sometimes I want it to do what it does faster than it does. Solution? Use your dry shampoo at night before you go to sleep. I like Batiste and Psssst!  [2022 update: Skip conventional dry shampoos; many of them are being found to contain cancer-causing benzene. Use tapioca starch instead!]
  • If you buy large bottles of shampoo and conditioner (such as Tresemme’s 39oz monstrosities [2022 update: Screw Tresemme, they repeatedly sell and resell formulas that lead to hair loss]) and transfer them to smaller bottles, you will be pleased to learn that the caps for Dawn dish soap fit on a lot of bottles that take pumps. Pumps aren’t the best for transferring thick product to other containers, but swapping one of those caps makes life a LOT easier. (2018 Update: These bottle couplers are nice too if you need to combine contents a lot – but I still use Dawn caps for all sorts of things. Reduce, reuse, recycle, save money etc.)

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