There are seemingly infinite manufacturers of tanning products on the market. You only need to do a quick search to get overwhelmed by the hundreds of different brands. Talk to someone who has been tanning for a long time and they will likely have their favorite go-to brand. Most likely their go-to tanning lotion will be one of our top five best Designer tanning lotions discussed in more detail below.

However, what about the person new to tanning? How do you sift through the endless companies and find the best one for you?
Now, you don’t have to worry about these questions anymore. Today, we are here to discuss one of the best names in the tanning product industry: Designer Skin. Designer Skin’s tanning lotion run the gamut from tanning lotions to moisturizers. But, it is their many different varieties of tanning lotions that are the subject of today’s article.
If you are interested in learning more about one of the top tanning lotion companies out there, look no further. Today we will tell you everything you need to know about Designer Skin and list their top five best tanning lotions.
Contents
- 1 Who is Designer Skin
- 2 Why buy Designer Skin tanning lotions?
- 3 Different types of tanning lotions made by Design Skin
- 4 How to choose a tanning lotion
- 5 What to look for in a Designer Skin tanning lotion
- 6 Top Five Best Designer Skin Tanning Lotions 2020 – Comparison table
- 7 Top Five Best Designer Skin Tanning Lotions 2020 – Reviews
- 8 Preparing your skin for tanning
- 9 Skincare tips
- 10 Final Words
Who is Designer Skin
Designer Skin made a name for themselves with the release of their bronzer “Black.” It put the skincare and tanning product company on the map. Since the time of “Black’s” emergence, Designer Skin has added a wide variety of tanning lotions, bronzers, tingle creams, intensifiers, cooling lotions, facial lotions, sunless tanners, and tan extenders. Essentially, you can get any product you need for tanning from the company.
Today, Designer Skin’s desire is to make “Nutrition for the Skin.” Thus, all of their products include high-level ingredients and superior formulas. Each and every product will also work to cool, nourish, moisturize and tone your skin. You can’t do wrong with any Designer Skin tanning lotion.
The company lists its four points of passion as
The quality of Designer Skin’s 2020 tanning lotions is unmatched and is formulated for a wide variety of skin types and tones. It’s no wonder that the company is one of the most respected in the tanning industry.
Why buy Designer Skin tanning lotions?
You only have to read Designer Skin’s four points of passion mentioned above to understand why they are one of the best makers of tanning products on the market. The company strives to create the best and most high-quality products available.
You will notice that Designer Skin’s tanning lotions have a lot of ingredients. In fact, some listed in our top five list below have too many ingredients to even name comfortably in our table. You will find the phrase “and many more” when this occurs.
Sometimes when companies create products with a lot of ingredients that can indicate a less good tanning lotion. However, Designer Skin’s tanning lotion presents the exact opposite scenario. The high level of the company’s formulations and ingredients means that every ingredient included in the product has a reason to be there. This ensures the best-looking tan for your money.
There are also a couple of other reasons to purchase Designer Skin 2020 products. First, they are animal friendly and never use animal testing. Second, the company offers a large variety of tanning products. This guarantees that you can find a Designer Skin tanning lotion no matter the type of lotion you want.
Different types of tanning lotions made by Design Skin
There are many different types of tanning lotions that are used for different reasons and purposes when tanning. If you are new to tanning the sheer number of tanning lotion choices may seem daunting. However, in 2020 Designer Skin offers all of the lotions you would ever need or want. For your convenience, we’ve provided a list of the tanning lotions that Designer Skin creates
Bronzer
Bronzers are also called tanning accelerators. These products use a chemical—usually dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which reacts to the cells in your skin and creates a dark color. You can use bronzers by themselves, but often bronzers include a number of different ingredients that allow you to tan better and the color to last longer. Designer Skin’s bronzers are designed to be used when tanning in a bed or outdoors
Intensifier
Intensifiers are less intense tanning lotions. These are best for people new to tanning or who have fair skin. Intensifiers do not contain bronzers, so there will be no artificial darkening of your skin. Instead, the ingredients are meant to work naturally with your melanin to produce a darker tan. If you want a natural tan that also keeps your skin hydrated, then you should use an intensifier tanning lotion
Tingle
Tingle lotions are the most intense type of pre-tanning lotion. The ingredients in this product cause micro-circulation, which causes their trademarked tingle sensation. When tanning, the tingle lotion allows the UV light of the sun or in a tanning bed to penetrate your skin more deeply. This creates a much darker tan than you’ve ever had before.
There are some side effects to tingle tanning lotions. You might experience tingling, reddening, and/or heat on your skin. The intensity of these symptoms depends on your skin type. In general, people with light or fair skin should not use tingle lotions. And, you should never use a tingle tanning lotion on your face.
Cooling
Instead of heating up your skin, Cooling tanning lotions cool it down. The ingredients in these lotions cause a cool and pleasant sensation on your skin. Just because the product is cooling does not mean that it will not tan your skin properly. In fact, cooling tanning lotions are just as effective as other types of tanning lotions. They just create a pleasant and comfortable tanning experience.
Facial Lotion
Facial tanning lotions are just like they sound. They can be used on your face. You need to be careful when using a tanning lotion because many should not be used on the delicate skin of your face. The more intense tanning lotions, especially tingle creams, can actually cause real damage if used on your face.
Instead, you should always use a tanning lotion specifically formulated for your face when you tan. Luckily for you, Designer Skin makes a face bronzer that is perfect for faces no matter how sensitive.
Sunless Tanner
All of the tanning lotions mentioned here are designed to be used in a tanning booth or in the sun. However, many companies—Designer Skin included—have now created tanning lotions that allow you to get that golden look without the damaging effects of UV radiation.
Designer Skin has multiple sunless tanning options that use DHA to provide a natural-looking, but completely safe tan.
Tan Extender
Finally, you have the tan extenders. These are lotions that are used after you have tanned either indoors, outdoors, or used sunless lotion. This product has a small amount of DHA, which will help your tan stay around longer. However, the proportion of DHA in the tan extender lotion is significantly less than in other sunless tanning options. Thus, tan extenders help to lengthen the amount of time your skin has color without causing you to turn dark or even orange.
How to choose a tanning lotion
So, you know that Designer Skin makes some of the best tanning lotions out there, but how do you choose the one that will work best for you? If you are wondering about how to choose the best tanning lotion for your skin, here are a few things to think about.
- You need to decide what level of tan you desire. If you want an extremely dark tan or a lighter, more natural-looking tan, that will determine the product you choose.
- If you are a novice tanner, you will not want to choose some of the more intense tanning lotions like tingle creams. On the other hand, experienced tanners may want to choose a more intense bronzer or tingle cream to take their tan to the next level. Most of Designer Skin’s tanning lotions indicate if they are recommended for everyone or experienced tanners only.
- What is your skin tone? Fairer-skinned people need to be careful about the tanning products they use. Most often fair-skinned people have sensitive skin, which may react badly to more intense tanning lotions. Also, if you have fair skin, creating an extremely dark tan may not look natural. Darker-skinned people have more options when it comes to the types of tanning lotions they can use.
- Where you are going to tan should also be considered. Some tanning lotions are only formulated for an indoor tanning bed, while others can be used outside. Still, others are sunless tans that don’t require the use of a tanning bed or the sun to create color on your skin. You should buy the Designer Skin tanning lotion that is specifically created for the type of tanning you want to try.
What to look for in a Designer Skin tanning lotion
As mentioned above, all of Designer Skin’s 2020 products are high-quality. Therefore, you cannot go wrong with any of them. But, depending on your skin needs and your tanning desires, there are some ingredients that may work better for you than others.
- Moisturizing Ingredients: These are probably the most important ingredients to look for in a tanning lotion. It is essential to keep your skin hydrated when you tan. So, the best tanning lotions have moisturizing ingredients in them. Some to look for include Shea butter, aloe vera, argan oil, green or black tea extract, olive or other vegetable oils, and especially hemp seed oil.
- Tanning Ingredients: Depending on the level of tan you desire, you may want to purchase a tanning lotion that contains DHA or other bronzers. Other ingredients like certain tree barks or roots (such as black walnut, oak, black cohosh, or willow) are also common in Designer Skin tanning lotions and help create the darkest tan possible.
- Skin Nourishing Ingredients: When deciding which of Designer Skin’s tanning lotions to purchase, you should determine how much extra skincare your want the product to have. If you are looking for an all-around skin nourishing lotion then you should look for ingredients like Vitamin C, E, or A, which all benefit your skin. Also, caffeine will help to tighten and tone your skin.
Top Five Best Designer Skin Tanning Lotions 2020 – Comparison table
Products | Our rating | Type of tanning lotion | Fragrance | Top Ingredients | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Bronzer | Sweet Champagne Fizz | Argan Oil, Caffeine, Black Walnut Leaf Extract, Mouse-Ear Cress Extract, Rooibos Leaf Extract, & many more | 13.5 oz |
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#2 | Tingle | Kiwi Watermelon | White Tea Extract, Soy, CoQ-10 | 13.5 oz |
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#3 | Bronzer | Unknown | Bamboo Leaf/Stem Extract, Japanese Green Tea Extract, & many more | 13.5 oz |
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#4 | Bronzer | Caribbean mist | Obsidian Extract, Plantago Leaf Extract, Black Tea Leaf Extract, Bamboo Leaf/Stem Extract, & many more | 13.5 oz |
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#5 | Bronzer | Sweet Vanilla Musk | Banana Fruit Extract, Black Walnut Shell Extract, Chicory Root Extract, Melanin, Gymnema Sylvestre Leaf Extract | 13.5 oz |
Top Five Best Designer Skin Tanning Lotions 2020 – Reviews
Designer Skin’s Luminary Bronzer provides a great base layer for your tan by being a non-greasy lotion. The L.E.D. complex in the tanning lotion brings light to your skin, which helps your tan get dark golden brown. You only have to apply this tanning lotion once or twice to receive its great tanning benefits, which makes it easy to use as well as perfect for your skin.
Designer Skin’s BombShell 100 XXBronzer is not for tanning beginners. It is an intense tingle cream that will take experienced tanner’s skin to new levels of color. However, if you have never tanned before, this tanning lotion will likely be too intense for your skin. You should begin with a less intense tanning lotion and work your way up to this one. Never use this tanning lotion on your face.
The white tea extract, soy, and CoQ-10 enrich the formula of BombShell, which ensures your skin stays hydrated and nourished while you tan.
Black is Designer Skin’s first and most famous tanning lotion. It is less intense of a lotion than the BombShell 100XXBronzer above. However, it will provide nice golden-brown color. As a bronzer, this lotion is made to be used before your tan in a tanning bed or outside. So, the bronze color that initially appears on your skin will disappear in a couple of days as the tan appears.
In addition to the many skin benefits of Designer Skin’s Black—the inclusion of green tea, caffeine, and hemp seed oil all provide hydration—it is also reported to smell amazing. If you don’t want to smell like a cheap tanning lotion, then this is the one to buy.
Designer Skin’s Obsidian 30x Bronzing Matrix Tanning Lotion is another of the company’s bronzers that are known for its good smell. It will also help to turn your skin a dark brown. So, if that is not a tanning goal for you, you should pick a different tanning lotion. It also includes bronzers that will last 30x longer than the average bronzer, which makes you appear darker.
Like all of Designer Skin’s tanning lotions, Obsidian also helps to nourish your skin as you tan. It has many different types of vegetable oils and plants extracts—like Plantago extract, black tea extract, bamboo extract, sunflower oil, and almond oil—that keep your skin healthy in addition to looking its best.
Designer Skin is known for its bronzers. Thus, it is not surprising that the last tanning lotion on this list is another Designer Skin bronzer. Adore Black Label Bronzer has Dopa—a Melanin precursor—in it. This substance triggers the tanning process and helps your tan reach new color levels.
Designer Skin has also included Skin Activated Moisture Technology in their Adore Black Label Bronzer, which keeps your skin feeling hydrated and luxurious. The Silicone emulsion also helps to keep your skin moisturized even after the tan is over. This is so important for anyone who tans.
Preparing your skin for tanning
There are some important things that you can do to prepare your skin for tanning. This will help the Designer Skin tanning lotion go on smoothly and your tan last longer.
- Exfoliate before you tan so that the dead skin cells on the surface are removed. This helps to create a more even and longer-lasting tan.
- Shave before you tan. The hair on your legs and in your armpits can interfere with the tanning process. You don’t want to shave after you tan or you could remove some of that great color.
- Don’t shower immediately after you tan. This is especially important if you use a sunless tanner. However, even if you tan using UV radiation, you will not want to wash in the water right away to allow your tian time to set.
- Hydrate your skin. Keeping your skin hydrated is one of the biggest secrets to having a long-lasting, great-looking tan. Drink plenty of water and use a moisturizing lotion after you tan.
Skincare tips
Protecting your skin from damage is extremely important when you tan, especially if you tan in the sun or on a tanning bed. UV rays can cause damage to your skin that shows up in the form of dark spots, wrinkles, or even skin cancer. This is why you should always follow certain steps when tanning using UV radiation.
- Wear sunscreen. Yes, you can get a great tan while using sunscreen, and it will help to protect your skin from any damage.
- Don’t tan too often because this could raise your risk for skin cancer. Tanning too often can make it so that your skin does not have enough time to heal in between tanning sessions. If you want to keep your tan around even as it begins to fade, we recommend using a sunless tanner.
- As mentioned in number 4 above, keeping your skin and body hydrated is one of the best things you can do for the appearance of your tan and your overall health.
- When you use a sunless tanning lotion the danger from UV rays is not present. So, you do not need to worry about protecting your skin from the tanning process itself. However, it is always a good idea to use sunscreen when outside, and to keep your skin hydrated by drinking lots of water and moisturizing.
Final Words
Finding the right tanning lotion does not have to be hard. Just sticking with products from Designer Skin in 2020 will provide you with the best-looking tan, no matter your age, skin tone, or body type. Because Designer Skin creates so many different tanning lotions, we’ve provided our top five best Designer tanning lotions conveniently for you here, and thus take all of the guesswork out of learning about the benefits of this amazing company’s great products. Pick up your Designer Skin tanning lotion today.