When you expose your skin to the sun, it produces what is called melanin that protects the skin. The more you are in the sun, the more melanin is produced which in turn makes you skin darker. When your skin can't handle the exposure to UV rays, this can result in a sunburn. This can even happen while in a tanning bed.

Tanning accelerators help your body produce natural melanin and can be sold in either a pill or in most cases a lotion or spray. No matter which form you decide to use, most of them have at least one of the following ingredients in them:

Tyrosin- An amino acid that helps your body stimulate melanin.

Psoralen- Extracted from plant substances or from citrus oils. You can mainly find this in limes. This will allow the pigment in your skin to make more melanin when you are out in UV rays. This results in a quicker tan than if you were in a booth or in the sun.

The purpose of the best tan accelerator lotions and sprays or pills is to help you build a healthy tan without exposing your skin to too much UV rays. The downfall to using them is that if you apply sunscreen, it can actually slow down how fast you tan. Many people who use them often don't use sunscreen. Neither one of the ingredients that are found in these accelerators are FDA approved. You should also know that psoralen will make your skin more sensitive to light, so you should always be careful when in the sun. Before choosing to use a tan accelerator, be sure you consider all of your options. Too much exposure to certain UV rays can cause skin damage instead of doing any good.

Another main type of indoor tanning lotion is tingling lotion. Just as it sounds, tingling lotions allow the users to experience sensations that are often equated with feeling the actual tanning process take place. This is often the case when people get done tanning saying they can still feel their skin aglow. While these tanning solutions do often feel good, they may increase the effects of the radiation on the skin. This may deepen the tan, but it also allows for quicker burning. You must be cautious when using any of these types of indoor tanning products.

The most important factor to choosing the correct but also best indoor tanning lotion for your skin. Tanning lotion should protect your skin for harmful UV rays that lead to skin cancer and premature aging. Above all other functions of tanning lotions, this should be the one most focused on when choosing between products. The main purpose is to keep the skin hydrated and also moisturized. Dry skin becomes damaged especially under UV light in a tanning bed. Most people tend to think ten minutes in a tanning bed will not do their skin harm and they are simply uneducated in their knowledge or lack thereof. A tanning bed is more damaging in the fact that the UV light is so close and intense a compared to sun light.

Choose a tanning lotion that is high in SPF protection, and then look for the other functions you would like your tanning lotion to perform. If you feel that the SPF is too high, and you are not getting a dark enough tan, then slowly adjust back on the SPF until you reach the optimal ratio of tan color to protection.