Does heat tan you?
 

Hey all,
Some people told me that heat can get you tan if you tan easily...is this true?
What about hot water? does it tan you if you soak in very hot water baths for long periods of time?

No, it's not true.
The sun's rays tan you, as do the rays in a tanning bed, or self-tanners.
That's it.
Sorry.

UV rays cause the production of melanin in the skin to block out its harmful effects, natures suntan lotion if you will. Black people have considerably more melanin, due to their ancestry in africa under the sun, white people have very little because they long ago evolved out of the need for it as there is no summer in europe, just varying degrees of autumn.

You might singe, but not tan.

Thanks for the help!
I mean, does it darken a little?
I'm not into tanning. I like my skin and want it to stay that way, but I've noticed that I got darker and was wondering why...since I'm always bathing in extra hot water.
What about direct heat...does it darken a little?

What are the secrets of tanning lotions...what exactly do they do or contain to help you get a suntan?
Thx for any help!

The only way you can get a tan is from the sun, as stated above. UV rays cause the skin to react and produce more melanin, thus making your skin darker. Heat does NOTHING. If you're getting darker it's probably because you're convincing yourself your skin is darker.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/sunscreen.htm

Tanning lotions usually have an SPF that help you not fry like an egg. Tanning oils, on the other hand... well, it's kinda like rubbing your body with crisco and then exposing it to a very large heat sorce (the sun) and "cooking" your skin until it's nice and golden brown. The principle is the same.

Thanks, Sage!
I really appreciate your help.
What about sunblock? does it only prevent the harmful uv rays, or does it prevent you from tanning, or does it help you to tan?
Also, from your definition of suntan lotions, does this mean that putting oil on your body or even perfumes (alcohol) can darken that part?
Sorry for all those questions!
best wishes

Sunblock blocks UV rays from getting to your skin, so you won't tan at all with sunblock on.

Think about this...

you go into a sauna or spa. Do you come out a little darker?

The sauna originates in Finland. Do you know any dark Nordic people?

I have heard if you use the tanning bed, it is best to wait a while before showering. Some say that if you shower right after getting out of the tanning bed that you will cool your body down and your tanning will stop. If you wait to shower until later, the heat will help you tan better.

I don't believe it.

I knew a guy who is/was a research scientist at Yale. He had developed a creme that causes the melanin to react and darken, so it was a way of creating a natural tan as well as a natural sunscreen. Haven't heard from him in a while... [insert sounds of Google searching]

Aha. Yale Scientist Invents Cosmetic Melanin, Liquid Melanin Moves Closer To Marketplace

Heat can come in the FORM of Ultraviolet rays, but it's not the heat that tans you -- it's the rays. They activate melanocytes in your epidermis which produce a few things, melanin and Vitamin D being the most notable. Melanin is what presents the "dark" color, not the skin itself. They've evolved their place there to prevent the mutation effect that all radiocative rays have on organic tissue. Without them, we could easily get cancer from even the slightest touch by the suns' rays. Albinos have little or none of it, and are a perfect example of this. If it were heat alone, why don't albinos at least gain a little pigment like those of us without melanin deficiency? Because it's the UV rays, not the heat.

As for the shower idea, it's perpetuated all over the place with a bit of psuedoscience to back it up. The claim is that the excess heat directly on the skin provokes a melanocyte response similar to the white blood cell response. When our body is in a "fever" state (overheated) we produce an excess of white blood cells and similar ancillary ones. It seems a bit logical to assume that melanin production would increase, but I've never seen a study that could link the heat of the epidermis with the production of melanin. It's an alright assumption, but science has yet to agree.