I love a tan as much as the next blindingly pasty Irish Catholic bitch, and I will spend pretty much any amount of money on products and services that’ll help me achieve that fake sun-kissed glow (because skin cancer is really not the vibe).
From face drops to tinted sprays and self-tanning foams, I’ve got a hefty collection of at-home gear from myriad self-tanning and bronzing brands I’ve discovered through TikTok, the app famously known for its ability to make you buy literally anything. However, I draw the line at putting dangerous chemicals into my body, which is apparently the latest tanning trend taking over TikTok.
Per multiple outlets, including The New York Post and Everyday Health, beauty influencers are inhaling nasal tanning sprays to achieve a darker tan, and they’re of course promoting the practice on TikTok. The videos, one of which has received over a million views, show women testing the nasal sprays or detailing their tanning routines which include the product.
You might be wondering how a tanning nasal spray even works. The claim is that they help the user develop a tan without them having to apply a product to their skin. By utilizing ingredients like tyrosine and melanotan (an unregulated synthetic chemical), the sprays purportedly increase the body’s production of melanin, which is responsible for the pigmentation of our skin and hair. So you snort this solution then go bask in the sun or a tanning bed. Sounds perfectly safe.
Purposeful exposure to dangerous UV rays aside, these unregulated sprays, as many experts have warned, are generally not safe to use. Since they’re not FDA-approved, it’s unclear what is actually in them
Not to mention, melanotoan, often the main ingredient of nasal tanning sprays, is banned in several countries including the U.S. Side effects of melanotan include vomiting, flushed skin, spikes in blood pressure and “spontaneous erections.” Inhaling the formula also opens up the possibility that it’ll travel through mucous membranes and harm internal organs.
“Nasal sprays shoot a fine mist into the nasal mucosa, which is rich in vessels and provides a direct route into the bloodstream for medications that can easily cross mucous membranes,” a certified physician assistant explained to the Huffington Post. “This is concerning because systemic absorption increases the risk of side effects.”
Despite experts’ warnings, however, social media influencers don’t seem all too concerned with the ill side effects and say they’d happily risk bodily harm if it meant that they could keep looking snatched.
“I’d rather die hot than live ugly, so if this is going to take ten years off my life, I don’t care,” one TikTok user proclaimed in a video of her using the drops.
While I lowkey respect this bonkers sentiment, there are much safer ways to achieve that bronzed god look you’re chasing this summer, so along with the many other dangerous beauty trends circulating TikTok, let’s skip inhaling mysterious tanning sprays, shall we?
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