Scientists Have Created A Chemical That Can Make Any Skin Tan Without The Sun

Pale girls of Ireland, rejoice! Scientists have created a chemical that releases a dark pigment in your skin without a slab of fake tan or even sunbathing.

According to The Guardian, the tan released from the chemical would actually be real, and even fair skinned hunnies would get a genuine bronze glow. This would mean that you no longer have to endure streaky orange tan or the pain that is sunburn.

However, the main reason scientists are itching to get this on the market isn't so much for the fake tan aspect, but for the skin cancer preventing one. Let's get all science-y for a second. People with darker skin tones naturally have more melanin, which means they've a much lower chance of getting skin cancer. This means that the paler you are, the less melanin you have, which makes you more likely to get melanoma if you go out in the sun without protection.

The tan has been tested in labs and the "chemical tan" fades after one week - just like the real thing. David Fisher, who was in charge of the work at Massachusetts General Hospital, has said sunscreen will still be an essential with the product:

Sunscreen is extremely important; there definitely is protection, but...if you have someone who can tan very easily, it seems to be protective above and beyond the SPF factor.

So far, there is no explanation for what type of substance this tan will take or how we'll apply it to our skin. Could this be the fake tan of the future? We'll just have to wait and see.