Does Beer Really Help You Tan Fast, Or Is That B.S.?

You’ve probably heard of people using baby oil or tanning oil to get a faster, darker tan. (Just a reminder: This is dangerous.) Now folks on TikTok are turning to a different liquid to help them get a summer glow — beer.

Yes, you read that right. People are pouring cheap beer on their skin and lying in the sun to get a tan. Some say that the hops in beer can make you tan faster — but is that legit?

“Anytime summer comes about, people have different ideas on how to get a perfect tan — and, unfortunately, this one seems wrong for many reasons,” said Dr. Zakia Rahman, a clinical professor of dermatology at Stanford University in California.

Here’s what experts want you to know about this trend:

First, tanning is never safe.

Regardless of whether you use tanning oil, sunscreen or beer, experts don’t recommend tanning, said Dr. Kritika Joshi, a primary care provider at One Medical in Florida.

“I always say no tan is a safe tan,” Joshi told HuffPost.

“Your body produces melanin naturally based off your skin type and your ethnicity, and a tan is your body’s natural defence mechanism to protect [against] DNA damage in the skin,” Joshi added. “You don’t want to purposely be out there trying to tan. ... You always want to wear sunscreen to protect yourself against the harmful UVA [and] UVB rays that can cause skin cancers and DNA damage down the line.”

So when it comes to pouring beer on yourself for tanning, that’s a no-no.

“I would say it is not safe to [use] beer as a method of tanning — absolutely not recommended by any medical professional,” said Joshi.

Beer isn’t going to help you tan; it’ll just help you get a sunburn, Joshi explained. What’s more, there are a number of ingredients in beer that don’t belong on your skin.

“The alcohol that’s in beer is drying to the skin, so I think the last thing you’d want to do is really dry out your skin by applying something topically,” Rahman said. Plus, pouring beer on yourself will likely wash off any sunscreen you applied.

Another undesirable consequence? Bugs may be attracted by the drink’s scent, Rahman said. Not to mention that you’ll smell like cheap beer to humans, too.

Beer can actually keep you from getting a tan. 

“There’s no evidence, there’s no knowledge out there that putting beer on is going to cause you to tan better,” Joshi said.

Rahman cited research published in the journal Antioxidants in 2022, saying it found that “the tannins from hops are inhibitors of tyrosinase ... which is basically the main enzyme that can make melanin in our skin.”

“If all of those other concerns are out the window and people want to get a tan, putting beer on their skin may actually do the opposite,” Rahman noted.

If you want a summer glow, use a bronzer or sunless tanner.

“What I usually recommend to people if they do want a tan ... [is to] apply topicals on your skin,” Rahman said. “There are sunless tanners, but there are also bronzers.”

Sunless tanners and bronzers can help you appear tan without the damage from the sun. There are many, many formulations and brands available at various price points. You can find these products almost anywhere — Amazon, Target, CVS, Sephora, Ulta and more.

Alternatively, you can go to an expert and get a spray tan, Rahman said, adding that it’s important to wear a mask if you decide to do so. But you should absolutely avoid tanning beds, which carry many of the same risks as sun exposure, Joshi noted.

“Tanning beds are known to increase your risk of melanoma in the future,” Joshi said, adding that she “definitely” doesn’t recommend them.

If you are outside in the sun, you should be wearing sunscreen. Specifically, you should apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 50 or above, Joshi noted, and try to avoid being outside between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sunlight is strongest.

“Try to block the majority of the sun’s rays,” Rahman added. You can wear sun-protective clothing and wide-brimmed hats or seek shade when you’re outside. 

No matter what, you shouldn’t be pouring beer on your skin to achieve a summer glow — it’s dangerous and it won’t work.