What Is Tanmaxxing? And the Smarter Way to Go Dark

Part one

What tanmaxxing actually is

Tanmaxxing is the trend of treating tanning like an extreme sport: tracking the UV index and deliberately heading out when it peaks, skipping sunscreen, stacking hours of exposure, and often slathering on oils with no protection to intensify the effect. The goal is the deepest possible colour in the shortest possible time.

We understand the goal completely. It is literally what our brand exists for. The method is where it falls apart.

Part two

Why the method fails on its own terms

Set aside the health warnings for a second and judge it purely on results: overexposure does not build a deeper tan, it builds a burn. Burnt skin goes red, peels, and sheds the very surface your colour lives in, so you end up further from a deep tan than when you started. Your skin can only develop colour at its own pace, and forcing it past that pace wastes the exposure and damages the canvas. That is before the real costs: burning and overexposure damage your skin, and no tan is worth that trade.

Part three

The smarter way to go dark

The people with the deepest, most even colour are almost never the ones frying at UV 8. They are the ones with a routine. Prep your skin so colour builds evenly, our prep guide covers it. Apply a tan accelerator before every session, sunbed or sun, so each session does more; ours contain no DHA and no bronzer, so the colour you build is real. Keep sessions regular and moderate rather than long, wear sunscreen outdoors because an accelerator contains no SPF, and moisturise daily so the colour you build stays. Deeper, faster, without the damage tax.

Part four

Depth without the recklessness

You do not have to choose between caring about your skin and getting seriously dark. Our whole range is built on that exact idea, from Island Coconut with its melanin-supporting actives to the Sun Sauce jelly. Want the full method? Read how to tan faster the safe way.