According to Dr. Merkel, this is due to the beta-carotene in carrots and also the vitamin A, which not only has skin-protecting properties, but also provides a tint.
Here’s how my test went
I stock up on lots of carrot juice. Eating carrots would also work, according to Dr. Merkel, but you would have to eat a ton of them to see any results. “It’s best to drink about 300ml a day to achieve a tan after about four weeks,” Dr. Merkel advises.
It’s also important to note that “vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin – so the effect will only work if it is absorbed in combination with oil,” he adds. That’s why I drink my carrot juice daily with a drop of oil – or combine it with a meal high in natural fats.
I drink the carrot juice daily and find it’s pretty easy to incorporate into my daily routine. If I have time, I juice fresh carrots with my juicer to give my body plenty of additional vitamins (I already know this from making my own juices).
When I’m time-poor, I get fresh juice at a stand or fall back on ready-made carrot juice from the health food shop or supermarket. If the pure vegetable taste gets too much for me, I combine it with other juices, such as freshly-squeezed orange juice.
The results
After about three weeks, I can already see a difference – and a delicate tint in my skin. As Dr. Merkel warned, the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet are also tinted. These would normally remain white if I were getting a tan in the sun.
As predicted, the tint is also more orange than the olive hue I had hoped. But since I have a red undertone in my skin anyway, it’s not too noticeable.
Before and after
According to Dr Merkel, a tan isn’t medically measurable so you have to rely on what you can see with the naked eye. So I take pictures showing the full splendour of my untanned winter skin and one that shows the colour of my skin after four weeks of drinking carrot juice.