Smelly Fake Tan

Over the years and admittedly there have been quite a few now, we at Fake Bake (being the fake tan wizards of the universe) have been asked by seekers the world over – “Why do tanning products smell?”  We feel it’s time to enlighten those on that quest, those who have endured the funny looks in supermarket aisles, those who are like fly paper to Jack Russells and those who are fed up with being asked if they work at KK Donuts…..

*Drum roll please*…….. The answer is, indeed, within you……

No really. It’s true. Our skin is the largest waste disposal organ on our body and it expels what isn’t useful through the pores.  Those “less useful” items bubble up to the top of the skin and are washed away through time. We have to take into account not only what we eat, but any medications, any topical creams we use, our general health, our own signature pheromones so the list is endless and no two people are the same. Perfume is a great example – what smells great on my friend can be totally horrible on me. We each have our own unique signature smell if you will. And even that will change regularly too.

So now we’ve established that, what about that fake tan stench? Well, it would appear that DHA (which is the tanning agent in most self tanning formulas) can amplify one’s own natural parfum,, whether we like it or not!  As the DHA develops, it mixes with our own bodies’ chemicals and can produce a smell. It’s reasonable to say, that it’s different for everyone. Take one self tanning product and ask three ladies to apply it. One will experience no smell whatsoever, one may experience the faint smell of biscuits whilst the last one might experience a strong wet dog smell. Once the colour guide has been washed off properly, any remaining whiff has usually gone. If it’s not, jump in the shower again.

So are we saying that our own body is entirely to blame for a smelly fake tan? Not entirely as not all DHA is created equal, just as not all perfumes are created equal. Some are top quality and some are not and each will produce a very different result.

DHA is basically a product derived from sugar beets which are plants that look like large parsnips. The DHA that is used in Fake Bake products comes from organic crops grown in France. They haven’t been sprayed with insecticides or pesticides or genetically modified. The DHA that is extracted from them is as pure as possible and as a result, have more predictable results.  A longer lasting, more natural looking tan that is not orange or goes streaky.

And there you have it! A double edged sword it surely is. If you are one of those unfortunate people who produces “that” fake tan smell whilst it’s developing then the first port of call is yourself, your diet etc. etc and the second port of call is being very discerning about the quality of the fake tan, and subsequently the quality of the DHA that you are using.

The chances are that the cheaper the fake tan, the more questionable the quality of the DHA is and the higher the chances of you sporting “L’Eau De Chien”

Lots of love, Team Fake Bake xx