Canthaxanthin

[aeoliantru]

Anyone ever use this to get tan?  Just wondering if it's worth it or not.

 

[jweave23]

Funny, I was just searching for this over at BB.com yesterday. There are a bunch of reports, varying degrees of enthusiasm. The best reports come from AnthonyGoldsGym, who's been using it for 10 years. He said it was good, but you'll get real ornage unless you tan in the sun along with this product. Also many say ornage palms happen, basically a risk of taking it (has to look odd I'm sure).

There were some reports of the usual "this is dye in your body and it will kill you " sort of thing or "it has been proven to cause cancer", but I think the truth lies somewhere inbetween. Also one strange report about crystals froming in someone'e cornes I think, but that was isolated, not the norm by far. Let me know if you get some, I'm debating it myself actually.

The other link I found was this tanning pill, which is a different mechanism then canaxathin, but seems very shady as they don't tell you how many to take per day or exact ingredients, but one guy loved it:

http://www.virilityhealth.com/shop/pages/html/deeptan.htm

 

[Matthew D]

Here is a link to some other sunless tanning products.. also have some good tips on applying sunless products

http://www.sunless.com/

 

[Andy2k]

The only reference I have ever seen to the stuff was in a documentary on salmon-farming (they use it to colour the fish)
The report said that the EU had refused to give it an 'E' number (supposedly an assurance of safety) because it is a possible carcinogen.

 

[jweave23]

Oh yeah, also it is not approved for human use by the FDA, but the labeling gest around this, can't remember how right now though.

 

[aeoliantru]

It's approved as a food colorant only.  It's almost identical to beta carotene but darker in color.  It's also a good antioxidant.  I was just curious if anyone had used this or if one brand was better than another.  I think I will just try it, if I turn orange, get cancer, crystals in eyes or any other number of other things, I'll let you all know. 

 

[WYD02]

Originally posted by aeoliantru
It's approved as a food colorant only.  It's almost identical to beta carotene but darker in color.  It's also a good antioxidant.  I was just curious if anyone had used this or if one brand was better than another.  I think I will just try it, if I turn orange, get cancer, crystals in eyes or any other number of other things, I'll let you all know. 

 

Thanks for taking one for the team! lol

 

[Workman]

I got some stuff off the TV one time and it was GREAT.

It is colored so you can see it when it goes on. I even was able to do my face and it didnt look strange even around the eyes and nose. It didnt streak or anything.

You want to use the plastic gloves when you put it on. I never really used the body scruber lotion you are suppose to use before putting on the tanner and it still lasted a LONG time.


It lasted almost a year but I didn't use it too much.

If you put on a tshirt or whatever within an hour of putting on the lotion you will get brown on it. But after that it does NOT rub off. Whatever does get on your clothes washes out easitly.

Of course it is NOT a sun screen so make sure you don't go out in the sun thinking you wont burn.

I just had to search and search til I found a picture of it. Here is a link. The price is MUCH lower than I paid. Maybe you can find it cheaper someplace else.


http://www.youcansave.com/tanperfectkit.html

 

[aeoliantru]

I posted over on BB.com about this.  Hopefully we can get some answers.

 

[YellowJacket]

I apologize for not getting to this sooner....but


Carotenoids are biological pigments that are the coloring of living organisms and the necessary molecules needed for important metabolic reactions. They are distributed everywhere in leaves, flowers, fruits, and roots of plants. Carotenoids are also found in many animals, especially in marine invertebrates. They tend to accumulate in brightly colored feathers of tropical birds. All carotenoids that are found in animals are ultimately derived from plants or algae.
Carotenoids are potent antioxidant molecules that protect plants from damage caused by singlet and triplet oxygen which is the by-product of ultra violet rays and photosynthetic metabolism. They are free radical scavengers that prevent harmful uncontrolled oxidation chain reactions.

Carotenoids also protect plants from direct ultra violet damage by absorbing high energy ultra violet photons then dissipating the energy along their hydrocarbon chains. Mutant plants that contain farotenoids soon die due to ultra violet induced damage to the chlorophyll. The beautiful array of orange, green chlorophyll masks the different colors of carotenoids until the winter cold along with free radicals destroy it. Once the leaves are unmasked the various carotenoids colors are revealed. Like wise, in animals, protecting DHA from genetic damage.

Canthaxanthin is one of the two major carotenoids found in nature, the second being Beta Carotene.

The carotenoids consist of two main groups: the carotenes and the xanthophylls. Beta carotene, which nearly everyone is familiar with, is the most common carotene. On the other hand, Canthaxanthin is a xanthophyll. A difference worth noting is that beta carotene converts in the mammalian system to vitamin A. Canthaxanthin, as well as all xanthophylls, do not convert to any extent to vitamin A.

Canthaxanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid found in many different plants and animals. It is the red coloring of many fruits, vegetables, and flowers, as well as some edible mushrooms. It gives the pink hue of the feathers of brightly colored tropical birds such as flamingos and roseate spoonbills. A few species of pink shellfish and some ocean crustaceans such as the red lobster contain this xanthophyll as does the pink flesh of salmon and the red spots on the skin of trout. Besides being a red pigment, Canthaxanthin functions as an ultra violet photon absorber, a single and triplet oxygen quencher, and a free radical deactivator. The incredible endurance of pink salmon on their long migrations to spawning grounds may possibly be due to the antioxidant qualities of Canthaxanthin saturating their bodies. They swim for thousands of miles in highly ionized oxygenated water (condition which would normally be fatal to a fish) without damage or death.

A major cause of skin cancer is repeated sunburns to the skin. Damage to DNA due to ultra violet radiation, excited forms of oxygen, and free radicals can cause mutations which lead to carcinogenesis. The use of Canthaxanthin may decrease one's chances of getting skin cancer by decreasing the necessary exposure time in sunlight and preventing sunburn damage to the skin.