Self-tanner is getting a glow-up thanks to a new customer group: women of colour.
While historically marketed to white customers, self-tanning brands are now seeing a surge in popularity from Black and brown women, who often use the products for different reasons — instead of just wanting a deeper tan, darker-skinned shoppers are often looking to perfect their skin tone and enhance radiance.
It’s also a reclaiming of colourist narratives.
“It’s empowering… instead of covering up and not going in the sun because you’re afraid of getting darker, [by self-tanning], you’re embracing your skin tone,” says Naomi Agan, a Black influencer based in Miami who regularly uses self-tanner.
However, as brands attempt to market their products to this new demographic, the line between inclusivity and tokenism can begin to blur. Legacy players often lack the agility and cultural nous to appropriately appeal to non-white shoppers, with many mainstream brands offering “ultra dark” shades formulated for lighter skin tones seeking dramatic colour change, or simply slot Black or brown models into ads without reformulating products.
But the rapid rise in usage among women of colour signals a massive growth market that the tanning industry has barely begun to court. Authentic product development, not just inclusive marketing, is key.
“The way to think about this is that especially for women of colour [self-tanning products] are tone-evening, not tone-changing,” said Noelle Cantarano, vice president of global marketing for indie tanning brand Isle of Paradise.
Why Black Women Want to Tan
The popularity of self-tanning products amongst Black and brown women is on the rise. Per market research firm Mintel, nearly one in four Black consumers now use fake tanning products, up more than 175 percent against 2022, with the increase largely driven by younger generations.
Women of colour may not be looking for a dramatic shade change, but might have concerns like dullness, dryness and hyperpigmentation, challenges that brands’ marketing and product formulas must address. Brands often market their products around the speed of development of the tan, the depth of the colour or the longevity of its results, but elements like colour-correcting, hydration, radiance and even exfoliation may be more integral to dark-skinned customers.
Agan has worked with the mass brand St. Moriz, who reached out to her after she organically featured its Fast Self Tanning Mousse in a TikTok review. “I was pleasantly surprised [by the product],” said Agan, describing the effects on her skin as more glow-giving and bronzing than darkening.
22-year-old Georgia State graduate Erin Cleetus had a similar discovery. Growing up in a mostly brown friend group, tanning wasn’t a beauty priority. But after seeing a more diverse range of peers in college embrace it, she turned to TikTok for research and landed on B.Tan’s Glow Your Own Way, which has built up a fan base amongst many women of colour.
“If I tan, it’ll even out my skin tone and give me that summer glow year-round,” said Cleetus, who is of Indian descent.
Why Legacy Brands Are Falling Short
While Agan and Cleetus found products that worked for them, many women of colour still struggle to find self-tanners that match their undertones or deliver the results they want.
“There’s a lot of tokenism,” says Phoebe Ellis, cofounder of UK-based tanning brand Caribé. “[Black women] get put in campaigns, but the product isn’t made for us and doesn’t work for our skin tone.”
Some mass brands are making better moves. Bondi Sands’ Technocolor range, launched after extensive clinical skin trials, offers four shades tailored to different undertones and levels of tanning ingredients, while British brand Isle of Paradise was founded in 2018 by celebrity spray tan artist Joel Warren with the tagline “self-tan for every body,” spotlighting gender, body, and skin tone diversity from the outset.
“[The category] was very stale—it was white, skinny blondes on a beach forever,” said Cantarano. “We wanted to flip the script.”
That shift extended beyond marketing into formulation. Warren’s experience custom-mixing makeup into self-tanner for darker-skinned clients inspired Isle of Paradise’s colour-correcting technology, which remains core to the brand’s products today. Peach tones brighten, green reduces redness, and violet neutralises yellow or ashy undertones, benefits that work across all skin types.
Other tanning brands like the UK’s Caribé are designed explicitly for darker skin tones. Founded in 2024 by Phoebe and Leah Ellis, the line offers premium products tailored to Black and brown skin. “It seemed like self-tanning was always that space that no one thought [Black women] could also do,” said Phoebe Ellis, adding that growing up in the UK, her and her co-founder routinely saw the mood-boosting properties their white peers reported after using self-tanner.
The brand offers two products designed for darker skin: Deep C60 for reddish undertones and Medium C94 for olive undertones. The farther along the melanin scale a customer is, the more red undertones they’ll likely have, said Ellis, while C94’s olive base caters to lighter-skinned Black and brown consumers.
Brands that deliver on performance for melanin-rich skin, reward authentic creator content, and move beyond tokenism could win over a loyal new customer base. Those that don’t risk losing out entirely; Bondi Sands has already seen noticeable results, with Kym Bonollo, the line’s senior brand marketing director, saying its products designed for deeper skin tones continually outperform.
“A lot of women of colour are starting to embrace their skin tone,” said Agan. “In a way, [this] could be a revolution.”
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