MikoMatic Copyright © 03/08/2002 by Clara Pettitt. All Rights Reserved.

The Sunless Tanning Product Picker, also known as the MikoMatic, is a database of sunless tanning products. It does not include every sunless tanning product sold, only those tested by Sunless.com and its visitors. Currently there are 100 products in the database.

How to get matches:

• Make a skin type selection
• Choose any [or none] of the twelve optional choices
• Press the "Show My Matches" button [it's at the bottom of the page]

Try choosing just three or four of the optional choices first. If you still get too many product recommendations, add more.

When you use the back button to add more options, your browser may or may not have saved your previous selections, so be sure to check.

Matches are displayed in order of price.

If your matches are greater than twenty, only twenty results are returned. The twenty results displayed are randomly selected from the 20+ matches. Add more options to your search to improve your recommendations.

Required choice [1]:

Skin Type
Your choices are Light [skin type I or II], Medium [skin type III or IV], Dark [skin type V or VI]. For more information on skin types, see What's Your Skin Type? A good skin type survey can be found at naatso.org. If you choose Dark, your options are limited: all you get is Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Foam in Extra Deep. Use skin type Medium to get more matches.

Products are categorized based on feedback from visitors to Sunless.com, not on product labels. For instance, products labeled "Deep Dark" that work best on skin type II are classified as "Light."

Please note that the skin type associated with the product is the one the product seems to work best for, not the only skin type it will work for.

Optional choices [13]:

Product type
Your choices are Lotion, Gel, Mousse/Foam, Spray, Liquid, Towel/Other. You will get the most matches choosing Lotion or Mousse/Foam. If you choose a gel, you can count on it being oil free.

Instant Color
Your choices are None, Bronzer, Sheer Tint, Shimmering Tint. You'll get the most matches choosing None or Bronzer. Products with "Bronzer" contain an instant color added to the product. The product will be easy to see on your skin, helpful if you tend to miss spots. Bronzers are made of the same ingredients you will find in makeup. "Sheer Tints" are lighter tints which may not be visible on your skin if you already have a sunless tan. "Shimmering Tints" contain mica, which sparkles.

Skin undertones
Leave this category as "Don't know" unless you choose a product with a bronzer. Some bronzers are formulated to look better on rosy types, others on olive or golden types.

If you look good in pink but not good in orange, chances are you have rosy undertones. If you look good in orange but not good in pink, chances are you have olive or golden undertones. If you look good in most colors, including black, you probably have neutral undertones.

Fragrance
Your choices are Fragrance Free, Neutral Scent, Herbal/Aromatherapy, Perfume. You will get the most matches choosing either Neutral scent or Perfume. If you chose Fragrance Free, do not make any other optional selections: there are very few fragrance free sunless tanning products. Neutral Scent indicates a light fragrance that can be used by both men and women. Herbal/Aromatherapy can also be used by both men and women. Perfume indicates a strong fragrance that may or may not be appealing to you — try a sample before using it all over.

Cost
Sunless tanners can cost less than $6 or more than $40. Pick the highest price range you feel comfortable with. If you start off with the range $9.99 or less, you should still get plenty of matches. Please note that "cost" is the total cost, not the cost by unit [ounce or milliliter].

Sort by cost per ounce
Pick yes or no. If you choose no, your results will be sorted by total cost, with the least expensive appearing first. Choose yes, and the results can be surprising. Many salon and special order products turn out to cost less per ounce than drugstore products.

Oil Free
If you choose oil free, you will reduce the number of matches you receive by more than half.

Moisturizing
Almost all sunless tanners contain moisturizing ingredients, but there are a few that contain drying ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate or alcohol. They won't show up in your recommendations if you choose moisturizing.

Good for beginners
Products that are good for beginners are easier to apply due to their smooth texture. They are also "forgiving," meaning that, if you don't apply them absolutely evenly, your color will still turn out well.

Contains an effective sun screen
If you choose this category, do not select any of the other optional choices. The number of sunless tanners with effective sun screen can be counted on one hand. By effective sun screen, we mean products with an SPF of at least 15 which include ingredients such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or Parsol 1789 [avobenzone]. At this time, the products that contain sun screen are best suited to skin types I and II [Light]. If you select skin type medium or dark plus sun screen, you will not receive any matches.

Works well on face
Almost all sunless tanners work well on the face. Choosing this option will not reduce your matches greatly.

Fast drying
Choosing fast drying products will cut down your recommendations by more than half.

Manufacturer tests on animals
Fortunately, most cosmetic manufacturers no longer test on animals. Selecting this option will reduce your matches only slightly. Manufacturers for whom animal testing status is unknown or questionable will not be displayed if you choose "No animal testing."

Now go to Sunless Tanning Product Picker!

All categorizations are based on feedback from Sunless.com visitors, not the manufacturer label. Products that claim to be Deep Dark but give hardly any color are classified as light. Products that call themselves gels but are really lotions are in the lotion category. Products that claim to have no oil but in fact have oil are not in the oil free category. Products with sun screen that do not have an SPF of at least 15 and do not include titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or Parsol 1789 [avobenzone] are not included in the adequate sun screen category.