If you're any bit of a tanning junkie like myself, you've probably heard of the new trend—using Coca-Cola to tan. I'm all about fake tanning and laying in the sun for hours to get the perfect summer glow. I thought I'd do anything to be tan, until I heard about this trend. I decided to do some research on tanning with Coca-Cola to see for sure if it's worth my time.
The Trend
The whole idea behind the trend is obviously to look tanner. You're supposed to spray Coca-Cola all over your body before laying out in the sun. The Coca-Cola color will make you look instantly darker while the actual soda is supposed to help you tan better by absorbing all those UV rays.
The Instant Color
When you rub a brown-tinted chemical product all over your body, it's pretty much guaranteed to tint your skin. Coca-Cola has a caramel dye in it, which when applied to the skin, gives an instantly bronze glow. That's definitely a plus in my book. But it absolutely also makes you a bit sticky...so choose your battles.
The Suntan
Soda is an extremely acidic product. Applying a product with this level of acidity to the skin will increase your ability to tan from the sun. However, it increases the rays on your skin because the soda exfoliates dead skin cells, which enhances the UV light penetrability into the skin. So it does get you darker, but with a major risk.
What the Experts Are Saying
Dermatologists and experts all over the world are concerned, to say the least. Any type of sun exposure is dangerous for the body, and replacing your SPF 50 for a sugary, brown-tinted, carbonated beverage is just something no one ever expected. The acidity of Coca-Cola corrodes the natural barrier protection on the skin. You're basically asking to get skin cancer by using this as a tanning lotion.
After reading many articles, both positive and negative, about this trend, I've decided to stick to my Banana Boat sunscreen or my St. Tropez fake tan for those days when I really need a glow. TBH, even if there weren't any expert concerns about tanning with Coca-Cola — which there are — I just don't think I could ever sit through a day at the beach with sticky sugar all over me.