How People Are ‘Carrotmaxxing’ and ‘Shrimpmaxxing’ to Get Tanner Skin: ‘It’s Extremely Easy’

Tan skin apparently doesn’t just have to come from the sun or self-tanner.

The New York Post reported on Friday, November 13, that people are turning to carotenoids – natural yellow, orange, or red pigments – to change their skin tone. For example, beta-carotene is an orange pigment found in carrots, butternut squash and apricots, while astaxanthin, a red-orange pigment, is in shrimp and salmon. Additionally, lycopene, a red pigment and antioxidant, is found in tomatoes, watermelon, and more.

The health benefits of carrots have long been touted, as the vegetable can support eyesight as well as heart and brain health, but people now believe it also gives their skin a tanner appearance.

The outlet explained that people call ingesting these foods in certain quantities carrotmaxxing, shrimpmaxxing, and tomatomaxxing, citing social media creator Lee Tilghman Pollis.

“I eat one, two, maybe three carrots per day,” Pollis said in a video shared on her Instagram page in May. “Carrots help protect against sun damage and increase cell turnover. And yes, they do make you a little bit orange, but I love it! Fibermaxxing, carrotmaxxing.”

However, best friends Bethany Ferguson and Whit Frink told the New York Post they take a pill from a Finnish brand called Zephyrian that combines the three pigments, instead of having to eat certain foods.

“It’s extremely easy. You just have to take it with some sort of fat-soluble food. So in the mornings I’ll have avocado toast or an egg and then I’ll take the pill,” Frink shared. “As I get older, my skin’s getting more translucent and my veins are showing … I just like to have a healthy glow.”