A new scientific breakthrough could mean your fake tanning days are over.
Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital have recently developed a drug that mimics sunlight to tan the skin, without the damage from UV radiation.
This new drug—which is rubbed onto the skin—works by tricking the skin into producing the brown form of the pigment melanin, the body’s natural sunblock.
This means you can skip the UV light causing this colour change, while also skipping the skin damage.
The research team hopes their discovery could prevent skin cancer and even slow the appearance of ageing. With rates of skin cancer on the rise, this could mean a real breakthrough for the lack of medical progression in the area.
Dr David Fisher, one of the researchers, told BBC News, “Our real goal is a novel strategy for protecting skin from UV radiation and cancer.”
“Dark pigment is associated with a lower risk of all forms of skin cancer—that would be really huge.”
It is a completely different approach to fake tan, which simply stains the skin without the protection from melanin, sun beds, which expose the skin to harmful UV light, or pills that claim to boost melanin production but still need UV light.
The journal Cell Reports has shown the melanin produced by the drug was able to block harmful UV rays. With this in mind, the researchers believe that it could also be beneficial for delaying signs of ageing by keeping the skin healthier for longer.
But don’t ditch your tanning mousse and mitts just yet – the researchers want to do more safety testing so the drug is not yet ready for commercial use.
We’ll keep you posted!
