Nearly two-thirds of sunless tanning product users continue to tan in the sun or use indoor tanning services just as often after beginning usage of sunless tanning products, according to an Emory University study published this week in the Archives of Dermatology.

According to the Emory study:

• 48.0% of participants had used sunless tanning products.
• 70.6% had tanned in the sun
• 26.0% had used tanning beds at least once in the past year.
• 92.7% believed that tanned skin is more attractive than untanned skin.
• 79.2% reported feeling better about themselves when tan.

But after beginning usage of sunless tanning products, only 36.8% reported decreased frequency of tanning in the sun, and only 38 percent reported decreasing their tanning bed usage because of product use. The survey was conducted in 2007 – before widespread usage of spray-tanning units in tanning facilities.

“While the authors clearly are trying to bolster spray-and-sunless lotion options as an alternative to UV exposure, there’s no doubt that dermatology’s leaders are still in denial and cannot rationalize that humans are naturally attracted to UV exposure from the sun, that such an attraction is intended human behavior and that sunburn avoidance — not sun abstinence — is the key,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “The authors of the study think better sunless tanning products will lure people out of the sun. They’re missing the point.”