Tingle creams have a reputation. Regulars swear by them, first-timers get caught out by them, and half the internet explains them badly. Here's the straight version: what the tingle actually feels like, who should steer clear, and how to try one without ruining your afternoon.
What a tingle cream is
A tingle cream is a sunbed cream with an added heat sensation. Put it on and, within a few minutes, you'll feel warmth building in your skin, usually with some visible redness. It carries on for a while after your session, then settles on its own. In our range, that's Banana Tingle: the strongest sensation on our shelf, and the only tingle formula we make. Everything else we sell is completely heat-free.
What it actually feels like
Honest description: warm, then warmer, sometimes prickly, with red patches that can look alarming if nobody warned you. For seasoned tanners, that's the whole point. It's a ritual thing, the feeling of a session doing something. If you're imagining a gentle glow, recalibrate: a strong tingle like ours is a proper sensation, and it doesn't switch off the moment you leave the salon.
How long does it last? It varies by person, which is the honest answer. Expect the warmth to carry on for a while after your session before settling on its own. If it doesn't settle, or your skin reacts with anything worse than warmth and temporary redness, that's your skin telling you tingle formulas aren't its thing. Listen to it and switch to heat-free.
We won't dress the tingle up as magic either. The sensation is the experience, not a promise about your final colour. Plenty of tanners get their depth from heat-free formulas like Extreme Coconut, the strongest blend we make, no tingle involved.
Who should give it a miss
- First-timers. If you're new to sunbeds, you've got enough new sensations to manage. Start with Mango Mousse: same £20, no heat, no drama.
- Sensitive skin. If your skin reacts to strong products, a strong tingle is not the place to experiment.
- Broken or irritated skin. Never apply a tingle cream over cuts, rashes or anything already angry.
- Your face. Keep tingle formulas away from your face and anywhere sensitive. For face and detail work, that's the Watermelon Wand's job, heat-free and precise.
Patch test first. Not optional.
Before your first proper use of any tingle cream: put a small amount on your inner arm, then wait 24 hours. If your skin's happy, you're good. If it's not, you've just learned that on a two-inch patch of arm instead of your whole back. It's a minute of effort, and we'd rather lose a sale than have you learn the hard way.
First session with a tingle cream
- Patch test 24 hours before. Yes, again.
- Use less than you think you need the first time.
- Apply evenly with circular motions, then wash your hands thoroughly — tingle residue on your palms, or worse near your eyes, is a mistake you make once.
- Expect warmth and some redness for a while afterwards. That's the tingle. It settles.
- Skip saunas and steam rooms after your session — heat on heat is nobody's friend.
- Sunbed use only for Banana Tingle, and it contains no SPF — it's not sun protection.
What it smells like, and other practicalities
Banana Tingle smells like ripe banana rather than the classic tanning-cream chemistry-set smell, which matters more than you'd think when you're lying in a warm booth with it. It's £20 a jar like the rest of the range, it's made for sunbed sessions only, and like everything we sell it contains no SPF, so it's never sun protection. One more practical note: don't layer it with other tanning creams in the same session. One formula, applied properly, is the job done.
If the tingle isn't for you
No shame in it — most of our shelf is heat-free on purpose. Mango Mousse for an easy, fast-drying session, Pineapple Butter if your skin runs dry, Cherry Jelly if you like a light, fast-absorbing texture. Browse the lot at sunbed creams and pick what suits your skin, not what sounds hardest.
The short version
A tingle cream adds a strong warming sensation to your session — seasoned tanners love it, first-timers shouldn't start there, and sensitive skin should skip it entirely. Patch test 24 hours before your first use, apply less than you think, wash your hands, and keep it off your face. And if you try it once and hate it? Heat-free works just fine. Adults only, as with everything on this site — sunbeds are 18+ in the UK by law.