Accelerator, Enhancer, Intensifier, Maximiser: What the Words Actually Mean
Definitions
Accelerator, enhancer, intensifier, maximiser: what the words mean
Sunbed creams come with a lot of job titles. Some tell you something useful about what is in the tube. Some are just a nicer word for the same thing. Here is a plain-English decoder, and the one place to look that never lies.
None of these words is regulated. A brand can call its cream an accelerator, an intensifier or a maximiser and none of them promises a different result.
A few words are genuinely useful. "Bronzer", "tingle" and "extender" each tell you something specific about what is in the tube.
The ingredient list settles it. Names are marketing. The list is the product.
Part one
The same job, four names
These four usually describe one kind of product: a lotion you apply before UV that supports the tan your skin makes.
Word
What it usually means
What it does not mean
Accelerator
Applied before UV to support your skin's own tanning
That it works without UV
Enhancer
The same thing, a softer word
That it is weaker or stronger
Intensifier
The same thing, often on darker-sounding ranges
That it is stronger than an accelerator
Maximiser
The same thing; often used for face products
A higher level of anything
So a "maximiser" is not one step up from an "accelerator". It is the same shelf with a different label. Our own face cream is called a Facial Maximiser, and we will be the first to admit the word is doing a styling job.
The name tells you how a brand wants you to feel. The ingredient list tells you what you are buying.
Part two
The words that do mean something
Bronzer, dark tanning, "instant colour"
There is colour in the tube: self-tan (DHA) or a cosmetic tint. You look darker straight away, and some of that colour sits on the surface. With bronzer vs without compares the two.
Tingle, hot action, warming
Contains ingredients that warm the skin and bring blood to the surface, the same family used in muscle rubs. The flush is redness, not melanin, so treat the glow as temporary.
Extender, prolonger, after-tan
Used after tanning. Usually a moisturiser, sometimes with a little self-tan added to top up the colour. Moisturising is genuinely worth doing; here is why we sell creams rather than extenders.
Bronzer-free, DHA-free, no guide colour
No colour in the tube at all. Everything you see is your own tan. This is what every Delux cream and Sun Sauce is.
Part three
Read the label instead
Ingredients are listed from most to least. That one rule tells you more than any product name.
Find the actives. Tyrosine, acetyl tyrosine, peptides, MelanoBronze. Where do they sit, near the top or at the very bottom after the fragrance?
Find any colour. DHA, erythrulose, caramel or iron oxides means bronzer, whatever the front of the tube says.
Find the warmers. Nicotinates, capsicum or similar means tingle.
Look at what fills it. Water, oils and emollients are normal. A list that is almost all of those is mostly moisturiser.
To be clear about what we are not saying: a cream called an intensifier is not worse than one called an accelerator. The names are simply not where the difference lives.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a tan accelerator and a tan enhancer?
Usually nothing. Both describe a lotion applied before UV that supports your skin's own tanning. Neither word is regulated, so check the ingredient list rather than the name.
Is a tan intensifier stronger than an accelerator?
Not by definition. Intensifier is a marketing word for the same kind of product. The strength depends on which actives are in the formula and how high they sit on the list.
What does tan maximiser mean?
It is another name for an accelerator, often used for face products. It does not mean a higher level of any ingredient.
Which words on a sunbed cream actually tell you something?
Bronzer means there is colour in the tube, tingle means warming ingredients that cause a temporary flush, and extender means an after-tan moisturiser, sometimes with self-tan added.
