California Tan® Inc. | Company | About Us

It Began with a Vision

Like many great success stories, California Tan’s history is full of anecdotes and stories, illustrating the companies rise from one man’s vision to the world’s leading manufacturer of indoor tanning lotions. It all began with one product – and the idea to provide everybody with the chance to get a beautiful, golden California Tan.

1987

Visionary entrepreneur Don Christal founds California Tan with the launch of its first product – Max Gel. Why a gel? Back then, gels were the new rage in hair care. Don Christal took this concept and applied it to the indoor tanning market, providing the world with the first high-performance tanning product.

1988

Debbie Pierce, the young, talented chemist who developed the formula for Max Gel, officially joins the company – and continues to make history for the next 20 years as the driving force behind the innovations that keep California Tan at the forefront of tanning technology.

1989

Debbie Pierce and her team discover the benefits of Tissue Respiratory Factors (TRF), which help provide significantly deeper, darker tanning results and is today a key proprietary ingredient complex in all Step 2 products.

1990

Based on years of scientific research, California Tan originates its signature 3-Step System. The system is based on the fact that there are different phases of the tanning process and that each phase requires specialized ingredients to optimize tanning results.

1995

Continuing the research for optimization of each phase of the tanning process, California Tan introduces two new groundbreaking tanning technologies: Vitatan® helps beginning tanners to build a faster base tan and becomes a signature tanning technology in all Step 1 products. CuO2 helps advanced tanners to develop deeper, darker color beyond their tanning plateau and “joins” TRF as the second propriatary tanning technology in all Step 2 products.

1995

The same year, California Tan is the first company to include bronzing technology in an indoor tanning lotion – pioneering a tanning lotion innovation that will become a standard only a few years later.

1996

California Tan founds the “Heliotherapy Light & Skin Research Center” at Boston University School of Medicine for in-depth studies of the various effects of sun and UV light on the human body.

1997

Hot Action, a concept inspired by muscle-rubs that increase the skin’s circulation to reduce joint and muscle pain, makes its debut in the California Tan line and becomes an instant hit. The tanning benefits of Hot Action are phenomenal and continue to provide tanners with deep, dark results.

1998

Pioneering another innovation, California Tan starts using hemp seed oil in one of its lotions. Although the ingredient is quite controversial when first launched, it is soon recognized for its amazing skin benefits and is now a staple in tanning and beauty products worldwide.

1998

“Baywatch” is the most popular show on TV, bringing the image of California beaches and bronzed, toned bodies to viewers worldwide. But not everything on the show is natural: “Baywatch” beauties (male and female) rely on California Tan lotions to achive their flawless, golden tans – including California Tan’s first self tanner called approriately “Summer Illusion.”

2000

Constantly striving to provide customers with products they want, California Tan launches “Ambrosia” – the first tanning product that combines the fast-absorbing benefits of a gel with the moisturizing properties of a lotion.

2002

The X-treme Tanning Catalist (soon simply known as XTC) sets another benchmark in innovative tanning technologies, increasing the efficiency of other tanning technologies and providing tanners with results so fast and dark, some believe they should be outlawed.

2003

Self Tanners make a comeback due to new scientific developments that take the results from “orange” to “natural until proven otherwise.” California Tan leads the trend in the indoor tanning market with the launch of its Sunless collection containing over a dozen products that ensure the most even, natural-looking results.

2005

Offering the growing number of sunless tanners another way to “get their glow on,” California Tan introduces the AutoBronzer – the first automated spray tanning unit that is open-air, non-claustrophobic and minimizes the risk of streaking through oversatuturation.

2007

Celebrating 20 years of providing the best way to achieve a beautiful, golden California Tan.