Doctors are warning against the TikTok nasal tanning spray doing the rounds on the app, but what we all want to know is: What is it?
People are always looking for a way to fake it, rather than risk their skin baking it and, over the years, there have been so many options. Creams, foams, even tablets – but how about a nasal tan spray?
What is the TikTok Nasal Tan Spray?
Dr. Joshua Zeichner, the Director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, explained to USA Today: ‘Tanning nasal sprays contain a compound called melanotan, which mimics a natural hormone in our bodies known as melanocyte stimulation hormone.
‘When inhaled, it tells our skin cells to increase pigment production to cause skin darkening.’
The idea is when the spray in inhaled it’s meant to provide quicker results to darker skin. Some TikTok users have hopped on the viral trend, posting videos of them using the spray then hitting the tanning beds.
Is It Safe To Use?
With all the videos going round the question on everyone’s mind is: Is the nasal tan spray safe to use? Well, according to doctors it’s ‘very risky and incredibly dangerous’ to be using them.
The sprays are not FDA approved, or in any other country, and they contain ingredients that mimic hormones we already produce in the body. Therefore putting more in, especially if a doctor isn’t supervising, can be dangerous.
‘The problem with these drugs is that they mimic a naturally-produced hormone that’s released by our brain. These hormones have many broad-reaching implications,’ Dr Teo Soleymani, dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon with UCLA Health told TODAY
Basically, any kind of product containing versions of the ingredients in these nasal tan sprays can cause a lot of side effects in the body like permanent darkening of the skin, vomiting and nausea.
Doctors Issue Warnings On TikTok
Doctors have gone to the source to target the issue, hitting the app themselves to warn users against the spray. Dr Whitney Bowe took to TikTok to say there are so many unknown factors to the ingredients and how they work that they could potentially be harmful – including triggering melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
TikTok Takes Down Videos
When reached for comment about the videos, TikTok told TODAY: ‘Our community guidelines make clear what content is allowed on TikTok.
‘Our policy on illegal activities and regulated goods prohibits the promotion of nasal tanning sprays, and we have removed the videos that you have shared with us.’
However, some videos of users using the product still remain on the app and should be avoided.