I have a naturally fair complexion, I started taking these (4 a day) before I went to California a few months ago because I wanted a nice tan and I needed all the help I could get. (I was also going to the tanning salon, went like 10 times in the two weeks prior to my trip)
I've tanned before in the machines and never got as brown as I did this time taking those pills at the same time. They really work. I was told not to overdo it because I've heard rumors about them turning the whites of your eyes yellow but nothing like that happened to me. I got mine at a health food store.
trioxalen...or trisoralen I believe. I have some left over that I used years ago. Got them from my doctor. Prescription, be careful they can really be harsh if not used properly.
Star...give me till tonight and I'll post a couple of pics of me when I took them. About to go to work. If you'd like to see what kind of results I had...I'll email the pics to you. I don't mind at all.
Nope...I didn't turn orange...just a beautiful tan.
This will be of no help to anyone just yet (sorry!), but I've been reading about this lab in Australia that is a few years away from patenting a really amazing, side-effect-free pill. Bet it will cost some serious moolah, though.
In the meantime, the non-prescription stuff. Does it have side-effects? Safety cautions? How long does it last?
i don't go to GNC anymore, there's a natural health food store down my street I prefer. I've seen them at a lot of places in Canada though, can't imagine you'd have a harder time getting them in the states. If you can't get them let me know, I'm sure the owner of my store wouldn't mind shipping them to you.
They are called Canthaxathin, one of the two main carotenoids, the other being beta carotene and they work but will turn your palms orange if u over dose.
Couldn't find my trioxsalen bottle, but will look again tomorrow. It is a prescription med that I got no problem. They work. 30 min of outdoor sun will equal about a full day of being in the sun. 5-10 minutes of being in a tanning bed will equal a full session or a lot more. They are very strong and not to be played with. You can burn so badly that you will have to sit in the dark for a day or two. You may have to sear long sleeves and sunglasses in the summer to keep from burning just from casual exposure.
I didn't experience any increased sensitivity, though mine weren't prescription, just OTC supplement - I understood them to simply augment my body's store of pigment. All I did was tan better. (Though I never really tended to burn before taking them either... Maybe that has something to do with it)
Wish I still had the box, I'd tell you what was in them... www.suzannes.com/tanningelusun.html
careful ifyou are going to use trioxsalen - do a search on the web and there are a few well done studies that show that new melacytes (sp? - when the melanin, the spots that change color to help block the uv, first devolops - whatever that is called) are far more likely to turn to melenoma than regular ones.
they used that drug in the study and they are now warning against its use.
but for the most part, I'm skeptical whenver I seee those b/c the study might have alterior motives as to why they want drug X to look bad (such as they have affiliations whith drug Y that would be a "better" choice in their eyes) - not sure if that is the case here.