Expert warns consumers about massive side effect of using fake tans

We all know that the safest way to get a skin glow is to steal that tan from a tube or bottle.

While we’ve stepped away from baking in the sun in the quest for a sunkissed glow, a new study has shown that your bottled beauty treatment could leave you 180 per cent more vulnerable to the effects of the sun. Speaking to Mail Online, Siobhan O’Connor, author of Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products, using self-tanning products increases your skin’s sensitivity to the sun: “If you still want to use the stuff, you have to be extremely careful to avoid the sun for at least a day after application because with that kind of potential damage, you might as well just tan.” So how is that bottle of brown gold affecting your skin? The key ingredient to your tanning gel is dihydroxyacetone (DHA) - a carbohydrate which can be made from cane sugar or beetroot. This reacts with amino acids on the skin to make melanoidins, which resemble melanin, the pigment that gives you a tan. While the carbohydrate DHA appears to do no harm when applied to the skin, a study from Berlin's Gematria Test Laboratory has proven that sunning yourself too soon after application can leave you 180 per cent more vulnerable to the effects of sun ageing. Researchers found that the reaction between the UV light and the skin’s amino acids when treated with tanning products, triggered the more ageing free radical cells. So what’s the best way to protect your skin? Doctors advise waiting a full 24hours between application and heading into the sun. Also be sure to wear a high sun factor, and take the same precautions of hydrating the skin and taking shade during the peak sun hours when on holiday.