Recent patents in the sunless tanning category highlight innovations in DHA-free solutions, formulas with skincare ingredients and tanning supplements.
Neha Srivastava, Senior Patent Analyst – Food & Drink and Beauty & Personal Care
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- What you need to know
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Consumers prioritise shade and skincare ingredients when choosing sunless tanning products
- Graph 1: top priorities when choosing a sunless tanning product, 2024
- Consumers prioritise safety and skin health and show interest in oral beauty supplements
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PRODUCT INNOVATION TRENDS
- Europe leads in the sunless tanning market
- Graph 2: % share of self-tanning product launches, by region, 2020-25
- Recent sunless tanning launches focus on DHA-free, ‘skinification’ ingredients and supplement formats
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THE PATENT LANDSCAPE
- Patent publications linked to sunless tanning products
- Graph 3: number of patents related to the compositions and ingredients used in sunless tanning products, published each year, 2015-25
- Europe and the US dominate sunless tanning patent innovation
- L’Oréal, Unilever and BASF SE lead in sunless tanning patents
- Graph 4: top 10 organisations with granted patents related to the compositions and ingredients used in sunless tanning products, 2025
- Consider DHA alternatives
- Rethink sunless tanning by embracing DHA-free solutions
- Bronzers offer sunless tanning benefits without DHA
- Innovators are investigating plant extracts as alternatives to DHA
- Heterocyclic compounds and peptides may serve as sunless tanning ingredients
- Deliver skin benefits in sunless tanning products
- Consumers are drawn to skin health benefits in sunless tanning products
- Graph 5: % of self-tanning launches with selected claims, 2020-25
- Innovators deliver sunless tanning products that enhance the skin barrier and boost skin hydration
- Regulate skin sebum secretion for an improved tanning effect
- Offer products that deliver a convenient and long-lasting tan
- Choose sunless tanning products with skin-regenerating benefits
- Brands continue to innovate anti-allergenic, highly effective and gentle sunless tanning products
- Explore oral sunless tanning products
- Sunless tanning supplements are positioned as a safe tanning method
- Recent patents reveal carotenoid-enriched supplements for sunless tanning
- Olive extract and cannabinoid-stimulated melanogenesis could offer natural approaches to tanning
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Key takeaways
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APPENDIX
- Research methodology
- Key patent examples for sunless tanning
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