People are ‘carrotmaxxing’ and ‘shrimpmaxxing’ for tanner skin — no sun (or food) required

Detailed summary

For those who don’t want to go through the trouble of “carrotmaxxing,” so-called tanning pills offer a convenient alternative — but dietitians warn it’s even riskier than do…

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But with seven kids between them, best friends Bethany Ferguson and Whit Frink are too busy to sunbathe or hit the tanning bed like they used to.

Still, Frink, from Atlanta, insists she looks healthier with some color. “As I get older, my skin’s getting more translucent and my veins are showing … I just like to have a healthy glow,” she told The Post.

Enter the solution: Carrotmaxxing. And shrimpmaxing. And tomatomaxing.

Not with food, but with a little pill that contains compounds which, when ingested frequently enough, have the power to change skin color.

Those compounds are called carotenoids, a type of natural yellow, orange or red pigment.

Take beta-carotene, an orange pigment found in carrots, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe. Or astaxanthin, a red-orange one that gives shrimp and salmon their signature pink hue. And lycopene, which makes tomatoes red.

Frink and Ferguson get the three pigments in supplements form from a brand called Zephyrian, which says combining the colors offers a balance.

“Astaxanthin brings red undertones, lycopene brings surface warmth, and a supporting dose of beta-carotene adds golden balance. The result is a believable tone, not a costume,” says the Finnish nutricosmetics company.

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