Suntan In Bottles Popular In Britain

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29269, 29 July 1960, Page 2

Suntan In Bottles Popular In Britain

(From the London Correspondent of “The Press"!

Overnight suntans, phoney but effective, are being acquired by large but undetectable numbers of Britons this summer. This symbol of success, usually achieved only at great expense and often with stinging discomfort under the brilliant sun of the French or Italian Rivieras, on the beaches of Spain or among the snow speaks of Switzerland and Austria, is now being bought by thousands from their local chemists.

The idea of ■ tanning lotions which alter- the pigmentation of the skin in .much the same way as the sun itself does—but without burning pale complexions—is mounting to a eraze which has already meant hundreds of thousands of pounds to the cosmetics industry. It began, in the United States last summer. This year Europeans are in the swim without so much as an hour .under the real sun.

The ••■ lotions are not dyes, but effect a chemical change when they are applied to the skin. Four or five hours later the tbp layers of skin have turned a golden brown, indistinguishable from natural suntan and lasting as long. It is claimed to be harmless.

The first tanning lotion came into the shops two months ago. This was in fact an after-shave lotion with a tanning ingredient. Women snapped it up for this quality so the makers brought out a female version, changed the name from “He-tan” to “Shetan” and have sold “hundreds of thousands” of 17s 6d bottles. Within a month a competitor was ready with a more expensive line—“ Night-tan,” at 255, They underestimated the market and promptly had to engage two more manufacturers to produce three times the volume plannedA French firm entered the market too.

A third British firm, unwilling to miss its share of the swelling sales, had 25,000 bottles flown by jet freighter from the United

States, then announced a tanning cream which acts as a protection against real sunlight as well. One estimate puts sales so far this summer at 750,000 bottles and the expected summer total at fully double this number selling under 15 or so brands.

Describing the American success, a salesman said: “Everyone looks as though they have spent months lazing on tropical beaches. And you can’t tell who’s faking. “Fake tanning is the answer for folk who can afford to take holidays but can’t soak up the sun because the weather is lousy.”