“Tanning nasal sprays are supposed to allow you to inhale the product into your nose and develop a tan rather than applying a product to your skin,” says Christine Ko, MD, a Yale Medicine dermatologist and dermatopathologist and a professor at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. “Tanning nasal sprays can be dangerous because they are not FDA-approved, and it is not always clear what is in them.” In fact, their main ingredient, melanotan, is banned in several countries, including the United States and Australia, and can pose some serious health risks such as vomiting, skin changes, and involuntary movement. Here’s what else experts want you to know about this dangerous trend.
What Are Tanning Nasal Sprays?
Like many skin and beauty trends these days, tanning nasal sprays are drawing chatter on TikTok — and that has health experts alarmed. Search for the hashtag #nasaltanningspray on the social media platform TikTok, and you’ll find 3.4 million views and counting. Drop the hashtag for the general search term “nasal tanning sprays,” and notice that posts associated with this term have racked up close to 100 million views. “I’d rather die hot than live ugly, so if this is going to take ten years off my life, I don’t care,” TikTok user Hannah Tayy exclaimed in a video promoting some unnamed drops in a black bottle. “I don’t want to be old, anyway,” the user adds. In the comments section Hannah Tayy explains that nasal tanning drops contain the aforementioned substance melanotan. Melanotan is an unregulated synthetic chemical that functions like a hormone and supports melanogenesis, which is the process by which melanin, a black-brown pigment, is produced in the skin, says Ava Shamban, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Los Angeles. “[Nasal tanning sprays] have a range of different ingredients, but most commonly they will all contain tyrosine or melanotan as their main active ingredient,” Dr. Shamban says. “When sprayed into your nose, [melanotan is] absorbed quite well and moves through the membranes to the system quickly and efficiently,” she says. This is why some drugs, including antihistamines and decongestants, are specifically administered through nasal spray.
Are Nasal Tanning Sprays Safe to Use?
The short answer is a firm and unequivocal no. Avoid nasal tanning sprays, health experts emphasize. The FDA doesn’t regulate nasal tanning sprays, and that’s an issue. “Oftentimes with an unregulated category or product, ingredients are mixed with dangerous chemicals that can vary significantly based on the product,” Shamban says. Also, inhaling this solution causes it to travel through the mucous membranes, which may harm internal organs, she adds. R. Peter Manes, MD, a rhinologist with Yale Medicine, hadn’t heard of nasal tanning sprays, but he cautions against inhaling substances that haven’t been studied for this purpose. “Nasal use of medications can affect things like one’s sense of smell. They can also potentially be toxic to the cilia of the nose, which allow the nose to move mucus through it normally.” This can lead to stagnant mucus throughout the nasal cavity, which turns into thick mucus you have to blow out, or postnasal drip. Some people on TikTok claim that inhaling melanotan, as well as tyrosine or the enzyme tyrosinase, will boost levels of melanin and darken skin, Shamban says. But, she adds, there isn’t enough evidence to support this claim, and because melanotan interacts with the body’s regulatory functions, such as the endocrine, nervous, and respiratory systems, you may see unpleasant side effects. At a minimum, side effects from melanotan may include nausea, flushing, and increased blood pressure, says Nazanin Saedi, MD, a department cochair of the Laser and Aesthetics Surgery Center at Dermatology Associates of Plymouth Meeting in Pennsylvania. The Australian Government Department of Health notes that in addition to the aforementioned side effects, melanotan can cause moles and freckles, involuntary yawning and stretching, loss of appetite, and spontaneous erections. Shamban also cautions against the separate trend of injecting pure melanotan, which is detailed in previous research. “As these injections have not been tested for safety, quality, or efficacy, there could be any number of serious health ramifications,” she says. And, as with other nasal sprays, the production and manufacturing is unregulated and the product may contain other harmful chemicals or contaminates not clearly indicated on the labels, “so determining a remedy or anecdote to treat is more difficult,” she points out.
Other Risky Tanning Methods to Avoid
It’s clear nasal tanning sprays aren’t a safe option. But it’s also important to keep in mind that a “safe” or “healthy” tan that involves the sun doesn’t exist, either, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. This is because the overwhelming majority of skin cancers, including the most deadly type, melanoma, are caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. To minimize your risk of skin cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discourages unprotected exposure to UV rays via the actual sun and tanning beds. “People feel or find that tan skin makes them look ‘healthy,’ when in fact the redness, burning, and browning of the skin is in and of itself a sign of DNA damage in the dermis,” which is the thickest layer of the skin, Shamban says. Any UVA or UVB rays from the sun or a tanning bed penetrate deep into the skin and are responsible for contributing to premature skin aging and burning, not to mention increasing the risk of skin cancer. “These potential mutations may lead to cancer regardless of how they are delivered,” Shamban adds. One of the most dangerous delivery methods of UV rays is tanning beds. While the sun at least offers nutrients like vitamin D, artificial sun has no benefits at all, Shamban says. “Tanning beds are composed of fluorescent bulbs that emit mostly UVA radiation, which is two or three times more intense than the UVA in natural sunlight, directly on to the skin for extended time,” she explains.
A Safer Way to Get a Sunless Tan
If you’re after that glowy look, Shamban has a rule of thumb to follow: Fake it, don’t make it. Namely, a safe option is an over-the-counter topical tanning product, per the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD). According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a common ingredient in these products is the color additive dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which the agency has approved. DHA darkens the skin by reacting with amino acids in the skin’s surface. When applied to small areas of the skin and not parts of the body lined by mucous membranes (including the lips, nose, and eye area), the FDA considers these products, such as creams and lotions, safe. Keep in mind that topical tanning products aren’t a replacement for sunscreen. “Sunscreen should be worn 365 days per year,” Shamban says. The AAD recommends broad-spectrum sunscreens with at least SPF 30. Also, when buying a tanning product, it’s up to you to eyeball the ingredients list for DHA, as the FDA doesn’t regulate the use of the terms “sunless tanner” and “bronzer.” The FDA further notes that it hasn’t approved spray tanning booths for safety because there’s no guarantee they won’t affect parts of the body covered by the mucous membrane and lead to potentially harmful internal organ exposure.
The Bottom Line: Why You Shouldn’t Try Tanning Nasal Sprays
Whereas topical tanning products containing DHA are considered a safe way to get a tan without sun exposure, Shamban warns against using tanning nasal sprays to attain glowy skin. At the most basic level, the FDA has not approved them, nor does it regulate them — and that’s a deal-breaker. “At some point this might be a viable, healthy self-tanning choice of the future — with clinical data, and proven, regulated ingredients and FDA clearances,” she says. “But for now, sorry TikTok! I can definitively say it: Please don’t spray it!”
