Nasal tanning sprays remind users of the dangers of unregulated beauty products

If you’ve ever found yourself looking in the mirror, missing the glory days of your tanned summer skin, you’re not alone.

The nasal tanning sprays circulating on TikTok have become a reflex for many young women looking for a solution to this very problem. In fact, “TikTok videos that show influencers administering injectable or nasal spray tanning products have garnered more than 467.7 million views on the platform,” Cosmetics Business reported.

If you’re not familiar, the trend involves spraying a synthetic hormone up your nose mimicking a hormone produced by your body, which stimulates the production of melanin, enhancing your skin’s ability to tan quickly. Two sprays up your nose twice a day, a trip to the sunbed and you’re waving goodbye to your ghostly skin, problem solved. Sounds great, right?

Well, it would be great, if these sprays – which are not regulated by a medical body – didn’t carry serious health risks, which aren’t being disclosed by promoters online. Let’s also not forget the health risks attached to sunbeds themselves, although that’s a conversation for another day.

Dermatology physician, Dr Jarett Casale warns of the dangers attached to these sprays. “Tanning sprays are dangerous because we don't have any long-term data on their safety, and we do know that they've been associated with short-term side effects such as acne, flushing, nausea, diarrhoea, and priapism,” he says.

Sonja Testo is one of the people affected by these sprays. She used a spray every morning and night for four months and initially, it made her feel great. “I loved when people said, ‘look how tanned you are," she remembers. "I thought I looked healthier, which made me feel healthier."

However, this confidence started to fade when white patches appeared all over her back. She suffered in silence, too embarrassed to go to the doctor. “In a way it’s like smoking and wondering why you have a cough,” she explains. “I was 36 at the time and my side effects were self-inflicted. I felt I should have known better.”

Sonja stopped using the spray and her tan faded, but she has been left with the physical traces of her decision. “My back’s still not back to normal,” she said. “I’m just hopeful that this is the only side effect I have caused myself.”

Not only have the sprays left users like Sonja with white blotches on their skin, these sprays present a risk of skin cancer. Dr Casale explains: “The analogue hormone contained in tanning sprays stimulates cells known as melanocytes. When these cells acquire genetic mutations, it results in the development of melanoma, which is a very aggressive form of skin cancer that can lead to death.”

Unfortunately, Sonja is not the only one suffering as a result of nasal tanning sprays. Venturing out of the echo chamber of praise for these dangerous sprays will lead you to plenty more cases of women like Sonja, who are still paying the price of this toxic beauty standard.

Next time you find yourself being sucked into the algorithm black hole of quick spritzes and resulting perfect tans, I ask you to consider whether it’s worth being the next person to be burned by a desire to be tanned.