Fake Tan Trials: The Best Dermatitis-Friendly Tanning Products Ranked

If you have sensitive skin, eczema, or dermatitis, you already know the struggle of finding beauty products that don’t irritate your skin — and fake tan is one of the trickiest culprits. As someone with chronic dermatitis and a compromised skin barrier, I’ve spent years battling product flare-ups, dry patches, and streaky tans. So when my brother’s wedding came up, I made it my mission to find a fake tan that works with my skin, not against it.

Enter: The Fake Tan Trials — a mini-series where I test three of the most gentle, skin-loving fake tans I could find (with the help of ChatGPT), all marketed free from what I know irritates my skin - Isopropyl Alcohol (Alcohol Denant), Propylene Glycol, Parfum and Perfume. Each product was tested on my real, recovering skin over a series of weeks, with full transparency on the good, the bad, and the flaky.

Here’s how they stacked up — and which one I ultimately chose to wear to the wedding.

The Criteria

Each fake tan was judged on:

• 💸 Price

• 🎨 Colour

• ✋ Ease of Application

• 📈 Buildability

• 👃 Smell

• 💧 Hydration

• 🔥 Irritation (or lack thereof!)

1. Pure Nuff Stuff Unscented Tanning Cream

🏆 Overall Winner

Highlights:

• Hydrating and nourishing — felt like applying skincare

• Absolutely no irritation on my dermatitis-prone areas

• Sinks in quickly and builds beautifully with daily use

• Affordable price point: £15.50 for 120ml

• Subtle, natural colour (more of a tint than a deep tan)

Best for: Daily glow, barrier-friendly self-care, regular use

2. The Green People Self Tan Lotion

👑 My Wedding Day Pick

Highlights:

• Gorgeous colour — deeper than Pure Nuff Stuff

• Still super hydrating and didn’t irritate my skin at all

• Felt more like a traditional tan but with a clean ingredients list

• Slightly pricier: £28 for 150ml

Best for: Special occasions, when you want that glow without compromising skin health

3. Tropic Overnight Tanning Mousse

Highlights:

• Gave me an instant deep tan with just one coat

• Caused no irritation or major dryness

• However, didn’t stick well to my driest patches (particularly healing or recently flared-up skin)

• Slight learning curve with application; I didn’t use enough, so ended up a bit patchy

Best for: Sensitive skin that’s more stable, not currently in recovery mode

Final Rankings

🥇 Pure Nuff Stuff: Top scores in hydration, irritation-free, price, smell, ease of application, and buildability

🥈 Green People: Best for colour, and perfect for event-ready skin

🥉 Tropic: Didn’t win any categories, but still a good product for less reactive skin

So... What Did I Wear to the Wedding?

Despite Pure Nuff Stuff taking the crown in most categories, I ended up choosing The Green People lotion for my brother’s wedding day. The colour just worked best with my dress and skin tone, and gave me that radiant finish I was after. But honestly? All three products are officially on my "approved" list now.

A Note for My Sensitive Skin Community

If you’ve been trawling ingredient lists and trialling products only to end up red, flaky, or frustrated — I see you. I’ve been you. And this series was for you.

Also: I actually found all these products using ChatGPT by asking it to filter fake tans that don’t contain specific trigger ingredients. If you know your sensitivities, that can be an incredible way to save time and heartbreak.

Let me know if you try any of these, and drop me a comment or message if you have a product you want me to test next. Because the glow must go on.