Can eating three carrots a day actually give you a natural tan? Decoding the trend

It all started with @Isabelle.Lux, a TikToker, who shared that she was able to achieve a "natural fake tan" by eating three large carrots daily for years

By: Lifestyle Desk

New Delhi | October 3, 2023 06:20 PM IST

3 min read

Overconsumption of carrots can lead to yellowing of skin (Source: Unsplash)

While some dislike the persistent tan that lingers for days, others appreciate a natural tan and intentionally seek to achieve it. As such, social media has come up with a new trend, which claims to give you a natural and beautiful tan. But, what is it? Called ‘carrot tan’, it involves eating three carrots a day!

It all started with @Isabelle.Lux, a TikToker, who shared that she was able to achieve a “natural fake tan” by eating three large carrots daily for years. She said that doing this changed the “natural undertone” of her skin and made her glow “from the inside out”.

As her videos went viral and amassed millions of views, she clarified that she didn’t actually start eating carrots to get tan but was simply “obsessed” with the vegetable. “I’ve loved carrots since high school, which is when my skin tone changed,” Lux told Insider.

She added, “I didn’t realize it at the time because I was doing a lot of spray tanning. It took me 10 years later to realize my palms were always on the orange side and my skin tone had changed to a more yellow glowing shade than my natural very pale pink/blue tone.”

She also said that her obsession with the vegetable also resulted in medical intervention at one point. Eating 10 carrots per day made her “really sick” with “vitamin A poisoning” following which her doctor told her to limit her daily intake to three. “Too much is too much,” Lux said on TikTok.

But can eating carrots actually give you a natural tan? “Eating about 20-50 mg of beta carotene per day for a few weeks can raise the skin colour, especially palms, soles, body folds etc, making them yellowish called carotenemia. This would mean eating about 10 carrots a day for a few weeks. So, it is not tan but just extra yellowing,” Dr Seema Oberoi Lall, consultant, dermatology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram said.

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The expert explained that carrots have beta-carotene, a plant source of vitamin A. “It is a rich antioxidant and a natural sunscreen. It has photo-protective and anti-photo carcinogenic properties. It protects against UV, infrared, and visible rays,” she added.

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How much carrots to consume? “1 medium carrot is enough for two days’ supply of beta carotene,” Dr Lall said, adding that it has approx 4 mg of beta carotene and regular use of these supplements is not needed.

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