Eating Vegetables Gives You a Healthy Tan, says study
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free skin care · Sun Mar 27, 2011 4:06 pm

I read an article recently saying that if you eat an abundance of carotene rich veggies, you will get a natural looking tan without sun exposure. It's supposed to be the same way a baby turns orange if you feed them too many carrots. Supposedly, in adults, the color is very natural looking and has a nice glow to it. Plus, you have the added benefits of all those great phytochemicals and antioxidants.

Has anyone ever done this and how did it look?

Here is an article about it.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110111133224.htm

free skin care · Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:11 pm

Here's a sample picture of someone who's a self-described spirulina addict. Spirulina is an algae that is high in beta carotene. This person has a slight orange hue to her skin, and you can compare her to her brother (same genetics, but doesn't eat lots of beta carotene):

http://www.courtneypool.com/2009/12/spirulina-orangeness.html

I think think you have to consume more like 25,000-100,000 IU of beta carotene to get the orange glow, so it's harder to do unless you use things like green leafy vegetables, carots, or sweet potatoes. But the benefit is that these foods are super-high in skin-protecting nutrients Smile

Actually, the range of 25,000-100,000 IU is the same range for cancer protection. I eat a lot of greens (~ 1 lb a day), but honestly, I can't tell if my skin looks any more orange. I do seem to tan much more easily (not burn anymore) and hold the tan for much longer, so maybe that's in part due to the beta carotene...Hmmm, I hadn't thought of this possibility before...Who knows....

Smile

free skin care · Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:22 pm

Hey Tonia,

And here's a more extreme example:

http://indiahealthtour.com/images/innerpages/pediatric_surgery/Carotenemia.jpg

But you don't have to take it that far (plus it would be super-hard to do so).

Oh, and I should note that I noticed that red palm fruit oil, sea buckthorn berry oil, and broccoli seed oil all seem to give my skin a very slight orangish tint when I use them topically for more than a month at a time (that is, the slight tint doesn't happen instantly).

Smile

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:58 am

Cm5597, thank you so much for your posts. The pictures are very helpful. I have been drinking a glass or two of carrot juice each day because I read that it is enough to give you the tan. I was already drinking a green smoothie every day, so, I think one glass of carrot juice is enough. It has taken two weeks but is just the color is just starting to show up in my skin. I like it! It's not a dark tan like you would get from the sun, but it's just a little bit of color. It looks very natural. I was afraid it would look weird but it doesn't.

I have some spirulina in the cupboard. I may try that again.

I love that website.

Thanks,
Tonia

Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:24 am

Here's another comparison of her coloring before and after:
http://www.courtneypool.com/2010/04/choices-for-radiant-skin.html

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:26 am

This reminds me of the magic school bus xD

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:41 am

Havanna, I think she looks better in the second picture.

Oasisjc - oh, that's funny. She doesn't look quite that orange. I have read that if you overdo it, and turn too orange, it takes about two weeks of laying off the veggies to reverse it. So, I guess, if you want to try this and don't want to end up looking like an orange cartoon, you have to start slowly.

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:42 am

Tonia wrote:

Cm5597, thank you so much for your posts. The pictures are very helpful.

You're welcome Smile

Tonia wrote:

I have been drinking a glass or two of carrot juice each day because I read that it is enough to give you the tan.

Oh wow, carrot juice has about 45,000 IU per cup! I knew carrot juice was high in beta carotene, but I didn't realize it was that high.

Tonia wrote:

I was already drinking a green smoothie every day, so, I think one glass of carrot juice is enough. It has taken two weeks but is just the color is just starting to show up in my skin. I like it! It's not a dark tan like you would get from the sun, but it's just a little bit of color. It looks very natural. I was afraid it would look weird but it doesn't.

That's so great. Smile

I'm sure it's reversible, too, if you accidentally go overboard Smile

Tonia wrote:

I have some spirulina in the cupboard. I may try that again.

I love that website.

Thanks,
Tonia

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:53 am

By the way, the color I have now is just right. It's not a weird orangey color. It's just enough to take away the natural pasty, pale, white flour, color of my skin. My skin is naturally so light that I've had trouble finding a concealer that is light enough. This is just making my skin a more natural color. It's a definite improvement. I really just look healthier. I hope it will darken a little more over the next week but I certainly don't want to go overboard, though. Laughing

Thu May 12, 2016 2:01 pm

I have been doing a cleanse for the last 3.5 days and consuming lots of chlorella and spirulina. I just got the spirulina last week and it's the first time in my life I've taken it.

This morning, I could swear my face looks orange. Not sure if I would agree it looks glowy, but I'm hoping that will be the effect if that's what this is.

free skin care · Sat May 28, 2016 11:28 pm

I've tried eating tomato paste (organic stuff in a glass jar), around 1 Tbs/day. I did not notice much difference in skin tone.

I get some deepening in skin tone when drinking green tea regularly. The biggest change I've had was from drinking blueberry smoothies. Green tea and blueberry smoothies don't have carotenoids (I don't think) so I don't know what is going on there.

While it does improve the look of my skin since it hides some of the uneven tone, I prefer the very pale skin I had when young. Unfortunately, that just wouldn't look good at my age (late 40's).

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