Tanning oil used to mean baby oil and a burn, and the first commercial one dates to the late 1920s. Here are glow oils with sunscreen, shimmer and bronzing oils, and sunless drops for color without the damage.
Tanning Oil, Rethought: Glow Oils With SPF, Shimmer and Sunless Drops
Jean Patou's Huile de Chaldée, launched in the late 1920s, is generally cited as the first commercial tanning oil. In 1944 the pharmacist Benjamin Green mixed red petrolatum with cocoa butter and coconut oil into the formula behind a famous American suntan brand, and in 1946 the chemist Franz Greiter, who had been sunburned climbing Piz Buin in 1938, launched a glacier cream; the term sun protection factor is credited to him. The thinking has changed since: a tan is the skin responding to damage, and dermatologists recommend at least SPF 30 every day. So the tanning oils I would actually use either carry real sunscreen or give color without the sun. Holly Thaggard, a former teacher and harpist, started Supergoop after a close friend was diagnosed with skin cancer at 29, and Glow Oil is a dry body oil with SPF 50. Sol de Janeiro, named for the peak of the Brazilian summer sun, makes Rio Radiance with SPF 50 and shimmer. Tanning Club, which Will Anderson started in Newport Beach by filling paint tubes with a balm he made in his kitchen, makes Golden Glow at SPF 15 and Tan de Soleil, a gel with botanical oils at SPF 6. Those two are too low for a beach day on their own, so layer a broad-spectrum sunscreen underneath and reapply.
Shimmer and bronzing oils
These are for glow, not for sun. Patrick Ta built his first collection, Major Glow, around the red-carpet techniques he used on clients like Gigi Hadid, and the bronzing body oil gives a golden sheen. Innbeauty Project, from two colleagues who met at another skincare brand, makes a transfer-resistant body oil with guarana and green coffee. L'Occitane, founded in Provence in 1976 by Olivier Baussan, who started by distilling rosemary, makes an almond shimmer oil, and Tom Ford's Soleil Blanc oil carries the amber and bergamot scent of the fragrance. Wear them in the evening or over sunscreen, never instead of it.
Four shimmer and bronzing oils
Color without the sun, and the skip
For a tan that lasts past the weekend, drops are the safer route. Tan Luxe began in a Glasgow hair salon, and The Body drops mix into your own lotion. Dolce Glow, from the spray tan artist Isabel Alysa, makes hydrating drops for face and body. Ciele was started in 2023 by the makeup artist Nikki DeRoest, who wondered why she could not layer sunscreen through her blush, and the bronzing concentrate carries SPF 50. Tanning Club's cooling gel is the after-sun step, rich in antioxidants. What I would skip is any oil with no SPF at all on a sunny day. It offers no protection, and a burn is not a tan.
A safer glow
Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before going out and reapply every two hours, more often after swimming. Stay in the shade at midday. Use the shimmer oils for evenings. Drink water and moisturize after a day outside. If a mole changes shape or color, see a dermatologist. For color that lasts, go back to the drops. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together ICONIC London Makeup and Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil.
