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28 Best Indoor Tanning Lotions: Reviews & Buying Guide

by  Doris Harris -  Last Updated On 16th April 2021
Best-Indoor-Tanning-Lotions

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Get the most for your money at the tanning salon by using one of the best indoor tanning lotions. They prep your skin, so you achieve a natural-looking tan without causing any problem.

While all tanning lotions moisturize, many offer additional benefits. For example, some have instant bronzers that make you look swimsuit-ready as soon as you apply them. Others prevent photo-aging and firm your skin to erase fine lines and hide cellulite.

Tingle lotions are a perennial favorite among experienced tanners. And even those with sensitive skin types can find tan accelerators that won’t trigger acne or allergies and gives a tingling sensation

Now, let us take a look at the best indoor tanning lotions.

Contents

Quick Comparison

If you don’t have time to read the complete article, here are our top picks.

28 Best Indoor Tanning Lotions (2021 Update)

We researched the top indoor tanning lotions based on the following and features. We hope our reviews streamline your shopping today.

1. Maui Babe Tanning Salon Formula

The Maui Babe tanning salon formula is different from the outdoor version as it lacks mineral oil. That’s because the oil can damage the acrylic of a tanning bed. But this lotion is just as powerful as the original. The first thing you’ll notice is that it instantly bronzes your skin.

Next, this tanning bed lotion protects against sunburn with Kukui nut oil, a traditional remedy on the island. Then, it has Kona coffee extract to increase circulation and promote pigment production. Finally, aloe, marula oil, vitamins, and plant oils ensure that your body stays moisturized and healthy.

2. Australian Gold Cheeky Brown Accelerator

The Cheeky Brown Accelerator is designed to bronze your body, then hurry up your tan immediately. At the same time, this tanning bed lotion uses tea tree oil and antioxidants to prevent photo-aging. It comes with native Australian oils to protect the skin and also to give you that perfect tan.

3. The It List, Hypoallergenic and Vegan Tanning Lotion by Ed Hardy

If you have a sensitive skin type, the It List Tanning bed lotion is a good choice. It’s free of parabens, gluten, nuts, and oil. It’s a silicone and water-based product that’s non-greasy and lightweight. Plus, this indoor tanning lotion firms your skin and hydrates it with natural extracts of cotton, coconut fruit, and ginger. We feel this is the best indoor tanning lotion out there that gives a long-lasting tan, also will leave your skin feeling silky.

It is infused with a silicone emulsion blend which leaves your skin smooth and has longer-lasting tanning effects.

4. Hempz Hypoallergenic Dark Tan Maximizer

Here’s another option for tanners with sensitive skin. The Hempz tanning bed lotion is free of fragrances and dyes. And although the name and design are a nod to its origins, it’s free of THC. Instead, this indoor tanning lotion features hemp seed oil, mango, and oatmeal to soothe and nourish, so you stay comfortable under the lamps and afterward and also accelerate the tanning process and also enhance the base tan

5. Just Nutritive Tanning Indoor Lotion

Just Nutritive’s tanning bed lotion keeps moisturizing your skin for a whole day after you apply it. That’s handy since well-hydrated skin stays tan longer. The secret to its effectiveness lies in natural ingredients like Kokum butter, marula oil, hazelnut, aloe, and avocado oil. These ingredients will keep your body cool during your tanning session and also enhance the tanning process and also enhance the base tan during your tanning bed session. We feel this is one of the finest skin-care products out there.

6. Devoted Creations Limited Couture Hypoallergenic Dark Tanning Creme Oil

The Limited Couture tanning oil blends the best of all worlds. To begin, it’s free of artificial fragrances and parabens to avoid causing a rash. Next, this tanning bed lotion is rich in macadamia and coconut oil to lock in moisture. Third, it has vitamins plus Matrixyl technology to firm the skin and reduce wrinkles. Lastly, it’s packed with tanning accelerators, so you darken as fast as possible and also produces a beautiful golden tan and will leave your skin soft.

This is one of the finest tanning products to give you that golden glow. We feel this is the best indoor tanning lotion out there and will provide you the darkest tan possible and gives a long-lasting tan.

It includes aloe vera, marula oil, shea butter, almond oil, Vitamins A, and E, which will make your skin firm and gives a natural tan look and a smooth skin.

7. Devoted Creations Blonde Obsession Lotion

Devoted Creations includes three of their proprietary complexes in this lotion. This tanning bed lotion has Revita Fit, Ideal Lift, and Matrixyl Synthe 6. Together, they diminish cellulite, firm the skin, and correct tone. When you wear this lotion, you’ll look younger. Also important, it eliminates after tan odor. 

We feel this is the best indoor tanning lotion out there and is long-lasting and gives a natural tan look.

8. Millenium Tanning New Paint It Black

Millenium Tanning covers up your pasty skin with instant bronzers while you deepen your tan with intensifiers like erythrulose and tyrosine. Afterward, you’ll smell like fresh, clean cotton since it eradicates tanning odor. This millenium tanning also comes with 50x Auto Darkening Tanning technology

9. Ed Hardy Peace & Harmony Tanning Intensifier

Skip the bronzers and do it naturally. Enjoy Peace & Harmony for your next session, or use it as your daily moisturizer. You’d be surprised how many people do just that. It also doubles as an outdoor tanning lotion and gives a natural tan look.

10. Matte Black, Ultra-Sleek, No Wait Tanning Bronzer Lotion by Devoted Creations

Devoted Creations knows you’re in a hurry to get dark. Their Matte Black tanning bed lotion is packed with DHA, the cosmetic bronzer that continues to deepen your tan long after you’ve left the tanning salon. It also has rich moisturizing ingredients, including cashmere, aloe, and hemp seed oil.

But that’s not all you’ll get in the bottle. Charcoal extract detoxifies your skin and reduces shine. At the same time, the lotion prevents your tattoos from fading in the sunshine. You can also go for the Australian Gold JWOWW Dark Bronzer.

11. Caribbean Cool, Natural Bronzer, Tanning Lotion

The Caribbean Cool lotion utilizes a unique ingredient: Jamaican castor oil. It’s a natural detoxifier that also reduces inflammation, so it helps clear up body acne.

Although there is no DHA, the instant natural bronzers give you a sun-kissed look as soon as you smooth it on. Then, argan oil and coconut milk soothe and soften your body while Advanced Matrixyl Synthe 6 firms the skin to reduce wrinkles.

You can also go for the Supre Snooki Ultra dark 70x black bronzer lotion. This dark tanning lotion is not expensive and also gives you that perfect dark tan. We feel these are the best tanning lotions out there and gives a natural tan look.

12. Ed Hardy Coconut Kisses Golden Tanning Lotion

The ever-popular Coconut Kisses tanning lotion is perfect if you’re new to tanning and don’t know what to expect. It doesn’t have a tingle or bronzers. But it provides plenty of moisture and has tanning accelerators, too. Those include the Quad-Tyrosine Blend plus MelanoBronze that arouses melanin production, so you tan faster.

You can also go for the Millenium Tanning Paint It Black 50X, which is a great choice.

We feel these are the best tanning lotions out there and gives a great and beautiful golden tan.

13. Supre Smoke Black Bronzer

What if you could make yourself look younger when you tan? The Supre Smoke Black Bronzer erases your fine lines while it darkens your skin. The secret ingredient is something called the Oxygen Regeneration System that has antioxidants and trace minerals.

14. Rule Breaker Plateau-Busting Triple Bronzer Indoor Tanning Lotion

Ed Hardy has a way for you to get past that plateau and deepen your color. The Rule Breaker lotion contains four breakthrough technologies that push your pigmentation to the limit. Melactiva, MelanoBronze, Nouritan, and the Quad Tyrosine Blend combine forces to astonish you.

Next, superfoods like açai, mangosteen, and pomegranate protect you from aging signs caused by UV radiation. And of course, Body Fit and the Tattoo Fade Protector keep you looking freshly-minted and frisky. This will protect your skin and make sure that it minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and ensures to give you that perfect skin tone.

15. Australian Gold Sinfully Black 15x Deep Dark Bronzing Tanning Lotion

Australian Gold’s Sinfully Black lotion has a pleasant tropical scent that’s great for tanning indoors or outside. More important, it has instant bronzers that take you from winter pale to gold bronze in moments. Some customers use it as a sunless tanner because it works so well.

16. Somewhere on a Beach, Indoor-Outdoor, Instant Dark Tanning Lotion by Devoted Creations

For some reason, it’s hard to tan legs and tummies. Try Somewhere on a Beach lotion to solve this problem. It is DHA-free and gluten-free but contains other instant bronzers like tyrosine and black walnut oil. It also has peptides to prevent photo-aging to give the best tanning results and great tanned skin.

17. Hempz, Hydro Max, Ultra Dark Maximizer Indoor Tanning Salon Lotion

If you have naturally dry skin, try the Hempz Hydro Max tanning cream. It will make your skin feel softer and more supple all day long. Its magic comes from hemp seed oil, exotic Yangu oil,  and apple fruit extract. Although it doesn’t have a bronzer, it helps skin tan naturally. These creams also increase the blood flow to the skin.

18. Love Queen, Super Rich Warming Black Bronzer by Ed Hardy

If you’ve gone tanning before, you might’ve heard about tingle lotions. The Love Queen anti-aging lotion is ideal if you want to get a gentle tingler. It’s a warming lotion that speeds up circulation to the surface of your body. At the same time, MelanoBronze and Melactiva speed up pigment production to intensify your color.

19. Supre Cherry Bomb Red Hot Dark Accelerator Tanning Lotion

Next, if you feel brave, experience the heat of the Supre Cherry Bomb. It smells sweet and provides a mild to medium tingle. We feel this is the best way to get a dark tan.

20. Yes Way Rose Tanning Lotion Bronzer by Devoted Creations

If the typical tanning lotion makes you greasy, you’ll love Yes Way Rose. It’s a luxurious lotion infused with champagne and diamonds. The result is a matte finish with a shimmer. Moreover, it keeps tattoos from fading while it makes cellulite this noticeable. For real, the ingredients do include diamond powder and wine extract.

21. Designer Skin Ruby Hot Tingle Bronzer Indoor Tanning Bed Lotion

As Chef Emeril Lagasse says, “Kick it up a notch.” The Ruby Hot Bronzer is a tingler that will set your skin on fire as if you put VapoRub on a sunburn. This Designer skin tanning bed lotion uses capsaicin, derived from cayenne powder, to enhance your experience. Additionally, you’re likely to get the chills as licorice extract cools your body at the same time. This self-tanner is safe for use on all tanning beds.

22. Swedish Beauty Pink Diamond Tanning Lotion

How do you think those pale Scandinavians get tan? Perhaps some of them use the Swedish Beauty lotion. This self-tanner has a pleasing citrus scent that may trick you into thinking all is well. But this one will give you a hot flash from the Tingle Power T2 technology in it. Users say it turns their skin bright red, but that fades to a natural bronze later.

This is safe for use on all tanning beds and will make your skin look soft and smooth. It is recommended you do a patch test before you purchase this product.

23. Ed Hardy Sorry Not Sorry, Extreme 50X Black Bronzer

If you’re tan already but not satisfied, go darker with the Sorry Not Sorry Black Bronzer. The high concentration of DHA is certain to deepen your color in the hours after your session. But you’ll also find that the instant bronzers will do the same from the moment you put on the lotion.

In case you’re curious about DHA, here’s a little explanation. Dihydroxyacetone is colorless by itself. It interacts with amino acids in dead skin cells on the surface of your body. Think about what happens when you cut an apple and leave it to sit for a few minutes. The flesh turns brown. DHA has a similar effect on your body. It’s only a surface change, but it lasts for a few days. We feel this is the best tanning lotion out there.

Now, back to the tanning lotion. Like many products from Ed Hardy, this one has tattoo fade protection as well as skin conditioners. While cucumber and aloe soothe away redness, hemp seed and macadamia nut oils make the skin more supple.

24. Hempz Hydro Hot Triple Heated Bronzer Tanning Lotion

One user commented that after the redness fades, the Hydro Hot lotion leaves their skin a pleasing brown color. They also remind the reader that washing their hands after applying a tingler is essential so it doesn’t get in your eyes by accident.

Hempz heats this tingle lotion with DHA, bronzers, and other skin stimulators. But the vegan formula of this self-tanner is free of parabens and rich in hemp seed oil and other moisturizers. This paraben-free lotion is suitable for all skin types.

25. Millennium Insanely Black Hot Tingle Lotion w/ Bronzer

Millenium’s Insanely Black Hot Tingle Tanning Lotion is popular among advanced tanners. If you’re on a deadline to look awesome, this Millenium tanning lotion might be just what you need. The fresh, clean scent appeals to both men and women. We feel this self-tanner is the best tanning lotion out there and gives you an even tan.

26. Supre SNOOKI BRONZE SHORES Bronzing Lotion

Snooki knows what it takes to get tan, and it’s all here in the Bronze Shores self-tanner. This self-tanner works in either New Jersey or Los Angeles because it gives you a “just off the beach” color all the same. Reviewers love how this self-tanner doesn’t leave their hands orange or cause streaking. It’s also packed with antioxidants and conditioners that keep your skin in top shape.

27. Brown Sugar BLACK CHOCOLATE COCONUT CREAM 200X Bronzer

The Brown Sugar self-tanner smells like dessert and pampers your body like a spa. It melts into your skin to nourish it with double dark chocolate and argan oil plus a coconut cocktail. It’s free of DHA and parabens, too.

28. Tan Asz U LUAU 200X Island Black Bronzer

If you typically burn instead of bronze, you might find that the Luau self-tanner is precisely what you need. Reviewers say that the difference is subtle, but the more you tan, the deeper you go. It has marula oil to indulge your body’s need for moisture. Moreover, there are no parabens or DHA. This self-tanner is easy to apply as well. It gives a beautiful look on the skin without leaving oil residue.

Conclusion

There are many indoor tanning lotions to choose from in our article today. But we can help with a few recommendations. If you’re pale or new to tanning, Ed Hardy’s Coconut Kisses is a no-fail pick. On the other hand, if you’ve been tanning for a while and can’t seem to go darker, try one of the tingle lotions like Millennium Insanely Black Hot. Finally, those with sensitive skin will get good results with something like Hempz Hypoallergenic Dark Tan Maximizer. Most of them use tanning lotion to enhance their tan.

We feel sunless tanning is the best option when compared to tanning outdoors.

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