The Tan Towel: Does It Work?

A tan in a towel? That's what this product claims. A ten pack box will cost you around $20, but Does It Work?

We tested this product using a woman who is a redhead. She has fair skin. "I burn, then I go back to white. I don't tan that easily," says Kristen Ross. She showed us how pale her legs were. Kristen works inside all day, goes home to be a mom the rest of the day. She says she does not have time for the sun.

All you do is take the towelette and rub it on the area you wish to tan, in this case, Kristen applied it to her legs. We came back after three hours to see the results. We saw tan patches on her ankles but her legs had no color to them. Kristen also rubbed her arms with the towel. Again, we could not see a big difference. The instructions even said you may need another application. So that is what Kristen did. "Just apply it again the morning, and we will re-visit you to see if that's made a difference," we said. "OK," said Kristen.

The next day, "All right, it's day two and you applied your second application this morning. Let's take a look at it. I can definitely see a difference," Coy said. "I can too," Kristen agreed.

"Do you like it?," we asked. "Yeah, I like it. I would use it in a crunch. I like the arm. The arm looks very natural," noticed Kristen.

I liked the Tan Towel, Kristen liked it too. The Tan Towel works!

PULSE; Tan in a Packet

Self-tanning creams streak, turn orange and are so difficult to apply that fans of fake tans often have salons apply the creams for them. Now they can try Tantowel, a travel-size towelette with self-tanning lotion. ''It's something to carry in your pocket or throw in your bag, so you can tan when you're on the go,'' said Darian Braun, a Las Vegas-based investor, who developed the product after his mother survived skin cancer six years ago. It's been available since September at Ricky's drugstores. One $2 towelette provides enough coverage for the face and neck. A head-to-toe tan takes four or five packets. After a couple of hours, the tan emerges. Despite Tantowel's strong smell of coconut, it is less of a savage island tan than a rosy glow.

''I looked like I just got back from riding my bike,'' said Sally Narkis, 31, the publisher of a fashion newsletter, who uses Tantowel when she can't afford to take a sick day.

As seen in stores

THE PRODUCT: TanTowel self-tanning towelette.

THE PITCH: Rub this disposable towelette over your clean, exfoliated skin and you'll have a (fake) tan for about four days -- even if you shower. The package says you'll "look good naked!"

THE PRICE: $3-$3.50 per towelette (depending on whether you want a light tan or a dark tan. A box of 10: $26-$29) at Hanan Cosmetics, 31409 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills. 248-644-0277. For other stores: tantowel.com. Each towlette will cover about half your body.

THE PROS: The tan looks super natural, not -- paging Michael Kors! -- orange. It doesn't streak. Easy to apply and not messy the way lotion sometimes is. It's super portable, just stash it in your purse!

THE CONS: It takes 4-6 hours to work. As for whether it makes you look good naked, well, that's for you to decide.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Tan away. Everyone looks healthier with a bit of a tan.