Clara Pettitt, © 2003. All Rights Reserved.
Bain de Soleil Mega Tan Sunscreen With Self Tanner, SPF 4
Caution: ranting ahead.
Many of us felt that the Canadian version of Bain de Soleil Mega Tan [SPF 30] with avobenzone didn't need any improvement. But apparently its manufacturers felt differently. They have taken the avobenzone out, making it yet another sunless tanner with inadequate sun screen.
I'm not sure how they have gotten away with this in Canada, which has stricter controls on what constitutes effective sun screen. But a visitor to sunless.com, taking my old advice, purchased the product from the Canadian based Global Drugs, only to find that its active ingredients are now Octyl Methoxycinnamate, Octocrylene, and Benzophenone-3. None of these are bad, but, unlike avobenzone, they do not provide enough protection from UVA rays, the rays that cause skin aging and, it is suspected, skin cancer.
But don't worry your pretty little head about it!
I can't help but wonder if this change is related to the recent Schering-Plough [makers of Coppertone] purchase of the Bain de Soleil line from Pfizer.
Just to rub salt in the wound, Bain de Soleil Mega Tan comes in SPF 4 in the United States, and its active ingredients are Octyl Methoxycinnamate and Octocrylene, an even poorer line up [Benzophenone-3 provides some protection against UVA, but not enough].
So how is Bain de Soleil Mega Tan as a sunless tanner? It's fine. I'm just not in the mood to talk about it.
And how about those misleading package instructions which suggest Mega Tan can be used for a day of baking in the sun? If you are baking in the sun for some silly reason, you need to reapply sun screen liberally every two hours. Reapply a sunless tanner with sun screen every two hours and you are going to be a nice orange mess. Also, after you have applied a sunless tanner, you should avoid applying any lotions on top, including sun screen, for about three hours.
I have to admit to a severe prejudice towards Bain de Soleil. While I was growing up in the late 70s, early 80s, their highly effective advertising campaign, featuring that impossibly tanned woman, made me feel very pale. I doubt we will be seeing any pictures of her now — she probably looks like an old hag (all hail kshine — she has found us some information about that woman).
Online merchant: drugstore.com
Rate this product and add a mini-review.
This product has an average rating of 3.6 from 5 members.
Recent member contributed mini-reviews:This is a pretty darn good product for this guy. I admit last summer I did use it outside in the sun but the sunscreen didn't do a heck of a lot for me. The color did turn out good and I liked it because their was no color guard. Smell not great
Gives great color to this Type I guy with one application, but the smell is HORRIBLE. Too bad because it is also cheap, dries fast, and is very moisturizing. Worth a try if your nose can handle it. Not a good sunscreen, no matter what the box says!
Very nice color and very nice smell, too. Gave me medium color
