For years, many have used baby oil as a tanning agent, but does this old approach actually work, or can it damage the skin?
For many, tanning is all about getting long, lasting color.
While a number of new products on the market promise to deliver a dark, natural looking tan, there are still some tanners that choose to lather up with a long-used product, baby oil.
For decades, many have chosen to forego sunscreen and bronzing lotions and to use baby oil for tanning purposes.
While this oil can typically deliver quick color that tends to last, this oil also presents a number of potential issues as well.
For those trying to decide whether or not to use this popular infant skin care product when they tan, it is important to know both the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of using this oil while they tan.
Why do people use baby oil to tan?
The process of using baby oil to get a tan started back in the 1960s, before dermatologists had the information they do now on skin damage and skin cancer.
During this decade, and deep into the 1970s and 1980s, many men and women seeking the perfect suntan started using household products that would attract the rays of the sun and get them to tan faster than before.
Baby oil worked so well because it is an intense skin moisturizer that contains no agents to block any of the UVA or UVB rays from the sun, while minerals in the oil tend to attract the sun’s rays even more than lotions do.
