Dietitians explain what the viral trend can actually do for your skin, and why patience is part of the recipe
The latest beauty shortcut circulating on social media doesn’t come in a bottle. It comes from the produce aisle.
Millions are crunching raw carrots chasing the so-called carrot tan, a sun-kissed look that skips both costly self-tanners and harmful ultraviolet rays. This one actually has some science behind it, though the results are slower and subtler than social feeds suggest.
The secret lies in carotenoids, the plant pigments that give carrots and other produce their vivid hues. Chief among them are beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lutein, compounds that may lend skin a warmer, more radiant appearance when eaten regularly. Daily Mail consulted two registered dietitians to sort fact from hype.
How carrots color the skin
The body can convert only so many carotenoids into vitamin A at a time. Because these compounds are fat-soluble, they are absorbed through the gut, travel through the bloodstream and settle in the skin’s outer layers.
A landmark University of St. Andrews study in PLoS ONE found that even modest boosts in fruit and vegetable intake can visibly improve skin color within about six weeks. The researchers confirmed the change stems from carotenoid absorption rather than melanin, the pigment responsible for a traditional tan.
Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, described the effect as a genuine, measurable change in skin tone. She explained that the pigments gather mainly in the epidermis and the skin’s superficial layers, lending a faintly golden-yellow cast. Research outlined in The New England Journal of Medicine notes that these pigments alter how skin reflects light, producing a hue easily mistaken for a suntan.
The dose and the timeline
Reaching that glow doesn’t demand a produce binge. Clinical trials published in the Journal of Nutrition since 2023 point to four to eight weeks of steady daily intake as the typical window for visible change in most adults.
According to Zumpano, several studies suggest that 5 to 15 milligrams of carotenoids a day over that period can produce a subtle glow, assuming a varied baseline diet. In grocery terms, that works out to roughly one to three medium carrots daily.
Results vary based on metabolism, eating habits and health status. Gabrielle Judd, a registered dietitian at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, noted that the effect can show up faster and at lower doses in people with conditions that disrupt how the body processes beta-carotene, including liver disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism and anorexia. For most healthy people, though, one to two months of consistency is needed before undertones noticeably shift.
A glow that doesn’t burn
A carrot glow and a UV tan may look similar, but they work in opposite ways. A 2026 study from Northwestern Medicine warns that sunbathing and tanning beds expose skin to ultraviolet radiation that can damage DNA, accelerate visible aging, break down collagen and raise the risk of melanoma and other skin cancers.
Judd called UV tanning one of the most damaging things a person can do to their skin, warning that repeated exposure can lead to cancer.
Carotenoids, by contrast, act as an internal shield. Once stored in skin tissue, they help neutralize free radicals and counter oxidative stress from pollution and sunlight. Zumpano called that antioxidant protection a real anti-aging advantage that strengthens the skin barrier.
When golden turns orange
There is a limit. Overdoing it can lead to carotenemia, a harmless but conspicuous condition in which excess beta-carotene in the blood turns skin an uneven orange.
Judd said the discoloration usually shows first on thicker skin such as the palms and heels, though people with fair complexions may notice it on the face.
The fix is moderation and variety. Rather than relying on carrots alone, the dietitians recommend rotating in sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, mangoes, spinach and kale throughout the week.
Getting more from every bite
Raw carrots have tough cell walls that make beta-carotene harder to digest. Judd advised chopping and cooking produce and pairing it with fat to improve absorption. Zumpano said that combination can boost carotenoid uptake two to six times compared with raw carrots eaten without fat.
Easy options include roasting sliced carrots or sweet potatoes in olive oil, or pairing raw sticks with avocado dip or tahini-based hummus.
The bottom line: the carrot tan is a pleasant side effect of a nutrient-rich diet, not a replacement for self-tanner. Both experts urged realistic expectations, noting that wellness trends promising overnight transformations rarely deliver.
Source: Daily Mail
