What is sunless tanning?
Sunless tanning is the process by which the skin color is darkened from exposure to a colorless sugar-based hygroscopic crystalline powder compound called dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA combines with the amino acids in the outermost 25% of the skin causing them to form brown-colored melaninoids giving the skin the appearance of a tan. DHA was first discovered in the 1920’s when some German scientists got a little sloppy while doing some X-ray experiments. The exact process they used to first discover DHA is not clear, but it was derived from sugar beets and sugar cane. After spilling some on their skin, the scientists noticed it turned the skin brown. Nothing much happened with DHA for 20 or so years. Then it was used to treat vitilgo, which is a rare skin depigment disorder. Finally In 1960 Coppertone figured they could make some money selling DHA as a sunless tanning produce and it introduced QT or Quick Tanning.