“No Bull” facts about Airbrush Tanning

Chapter 7: Page 1 of 2
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Chapter 7:  DHA vs. Erythrulose

A few companies are starting to include Erythrulose in their formulas. Erythrulose is a ketose with the chemical property to perform the Maillard reaction with free primary or secondary amino groups of amino acids from keratin. This reaction leads to the formation of brownish colored skin.

DHA does the exact same thing only does it much faster with better depth of color. DHA and Erythrulose are essentially the same compound with a slight variation in their chemical chain structure. The claims are that Erythrulose will extend the duration of the sunless tan because it takes up to 48 hours to develop on the skin.

In our product testing, we have found no perceivable difference in color or duration at various percentages of inclusion in combination with DHA. In solutions containing Erythrulose as the only tanning ingredient, we found that it did not produce near the color that DHA produces and in some cases no color at all when showering less than 24 hours after application. Fading characteristics are also less desirable with the inclusion of Erythrulose. Additionally and more importantly, Erythrulose is not an FDA approved color additive for any sunless tanning product whether applied by hand or spray on application.

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