Exclusive | ‘Tanmaxxing’ influencers are teaching teens how to maximize color with body oil, a high UV — and no SPF

Sun’s out, phone’s out.

Valerie Calderon loves to tan beside her family’s pool in Riverside, California — and while she reapplies her favorite body oil, the 17-year-old keeps 34,000 Instagram and 50,000 TikTok followers up to date on her routine.

Her fans? “Everyone is within 13 to 17 years old,” she told The Post.

“I want to make sure that I have a positive, girly platform and that people look up to me as like a big sister,” said Calderon, who graduated high school earlier this year.

She’s one of thousands of creators posting about their tanning habits online. And young people are soaking it up.

Tanning as a “trend is very, very popular right now,” she said. It’s relaxing, and “it makes girls feel more confident in their skin.”

That said, she emphasizes moderation and protection.

“I limit my time in the sun. You know, it’s very important, especially UV routine,” she said. She only recently learned that UV is “really bad” for your skin, after she looked it up online. “I wanted to make sure that tanning is safe, you know, before I recommend it.”

Not all creators, though, are concerned. Online, you’ll find a number of users talking to the same young audience Calderon speaks to — but spreading misinformation about the sun and proper protection while overselling the “benefits” of tanning. 

These so-called “tanmaxxers” share multi-step routines with tan-accelerating products, often admitting openly to skipping sun protection and baking when the UV is high.

“I’m very picky about my tanning oils — trust me, I’ve tried them all,” one 17-year-old told her 234,000 TikTok followers — adding that she likes to lay out during “peak UV hours.”

“I always check the UV and try to go out when it’s the highest,” a 23-year-old teacher said in a video with a million views.

So is there a healthy way to tan? The Post spoke to two experts to find out.

Building “base tans” and a “solar callus”

Some tanmaxxers encourage seeking the sun to get a “base tan” or “solar callus” to build up resistance to or protection from the sun and avoid burning.

“A base tan is just part of smarter tanning strategy. Instead of overexposing yourself and burning, by gradually building it up before this this time of intense exposure, you’re basically gonna get more even and much better results,” said one influencer who even has “tanning” in her name.

But Dr. Viktoryia Kazlouskaya, a board-certified dermatologist and an owner of Dermatology Circle PLLC clinic said this is “all fairy tales.”

While it’s true that the sun’s UV boosts melanin production — and melanin in turn does absorb some UV — it’s “not meaningful” protection, maybe SPF 3 to 5, said Dr. Geeta Yadav, board-certified dermatologist and founder of FACET Dermatology.

“[It’s] basically nothing against an afternoon outside,” she explaind. That tan you’re getting “is your skin reacting to DNA damage that’s already happened, so a tan is really a receipt for the injury.”

Skipping “toxic” and “cancerous” sunscreen

There are dozens of videos saying that sunscreen is “toxic,” including calling those who use sunscreen “brainwashed.”

“This is one of those fears that sounds scientific and falls apart the second you look at the evidence,” Yadav said. “What actually worries me is people scaring themselves out of sunscreen and into sun damage.”

There are two categories: Mineral sunscreens are the most studied and very effective, but can have an unpleasant texture and white cast. Chemical sunscreens use ingredients like avobenzone, oxybenzone or homosalate to avoid these problems.

You might come across the claim that chemical sunscreen ingredients go “directly” into the bloodstream.

While the FDA did find that to be true, Yadav said “that absorption hasn’t been shown to harm people, and the amounts are a fraction of what it takes to move hormones even in a lab dish.”

Oxybenzone “absorbs far more than the rest and is easy enough to skip,” Yadav said. Don’t want to touch any of it? Mineral formulas with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide “barely absorb” — and the FDA found them to be both safe and effective.

Kazlouskaya stressed that any sunscreen at a pharmacy in the US will be safe. Here, it’s treated like an over-the-counter medication and highly restricted. Ingredients undergo vigorous testing, and only a few make it through — meaning fewer sunscreen ingredients are allowed here compared to countries in Europe.

Another talking point is that non-mineral sunscreens, particularly oxybenzone ones, can enter cells and interfere with hormone production. But there’s no evidence trace amounts of the chemical is harmful to humans.

And no, sunscreen doesn’t cause cancer. This could trace back to benzene, a known carcinogen, being found in some sunscreens. The FDA suspects this is not related to the sunscreen, but the propellant in the spray formula. Either way, spraying the worst sunscreen over the entire body would still be half the benzene inhaled in a day in a normal city.

“This and a UV of 10”

When the WHO launched the global UV index to help people avoid the strongest hours of sun, they certainly weren’t imagining teens tracking the UV index “like the stock market” to maximize their tans.

It’s become popular to post images of scenic coastlines with sparkling water, a deli sandwich, chips and a colorful towel, captioned: “This and a UV of 10.”

It does seem dreamy, until you realize UV protection is recommended starting at UV 3 — and above 8, the EPA recommends you avoid being outside entirely.

Targeting the strongest sun is the opposite of a good idea. Yes, you’ll tan — and burn — faster. But that also will do more damage to DNA in the skin, paving the way for cancer. 

It also has real effects on the skin’s appearance. This include rough, dry texture, wrinkles and pigmentation.

“I used to tan a lot in my 20s and I can see how addictive can it be,” Kazlouskaya said. “I’m over 40 now. I actually look younger now because I do very strict sun protection.”

Using tanning oils like tallow without protection

Tanning influencers love to use oils and tan accelerators like Carroten, often while skipping sun protection entirely. Kazlouskaya says she wished this trend was left in the 80s and 90s.

“I speak with patients who are in their 40s … they will tell you a story that when they were younger, they would just use oils,” she said. “Now they would have numerous skin cancers. And they will tell me, ‘Oh, I wish I wouldn’t use those oils.’”

The oil acts as a magnifier for the sun, making a tan develop faster. It can also trap heat, causing redness and irritation.

Sometimes those oils can cause something phototoxicity, when the elements of the oil react with sun, Kaslouskaya said — and that can create chemical burns on your skin.

As for the tallow, it “gives you no real SPF while being heavy enough to clog pores for a lot of people,” Yadav said.

Kazlouskaya says she believes all these trends stem from a desire to “have a more natural way of life and more natural treatments and maybe prevention, instead of doing medications.”

Plus, after COVID, the “public has lost faith …. [in] medical providers, and science in general, and trying to find more natural solutions.”

So they might turn to creators online, like Calderon. She’s found a kind of niche making videos about things to do while tanning (like painting nails, crafts and journaling) and music to listen to while tanning.

“Some people say it’s boring,” she said. “That’s, like, my summer routine. I love it.”