Carrotmaxxing and Shrimpmaxxing Trend Pushes Carotenoid Pills for Skin Glow
Supplement brands and social media users are pushing carotenoid pills and raw carrots as a sun-free way to darken skin. A dermatologist and a dietitian explain how it works, how many carrots it takes and why the color is not a real tan.
People are carrotmaxxing and shrimpmaxxing to get tanner skin without sunbathing, using carotenoid supplements or raw carrots, as the trend spread across social media and supplement brands in November 2026.
Carotenoids are natural yellow, orange or red pigments. Taken often enough, they can change skin color. Experts say the result is not a tan.
The pills and the pigments
Best friends Bethany Ferguson and Whit Frink have seven kids between them and say they have little time for sunbathing or tanning beds. Frink, from Atlanta, said her skin is getting more translucent as she ages. "I just like to have a healthy glow," she said.
Both take a once-a-day supplement from Zephyrian, a Finnish nutricosmetics company. It combines beta-carotene, found in carrots, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe; astaxanthin, the red-orange pigment in shrimp and salmon; and lycopene, which makes tomatoes red.
Zephyrian says astaxanthin brings red undertones, lycopene adds surface warmth and beta-carotene adds golden balance. Frink takes hers with avocado toast or an egg, because the compounds dissolve in fat. Ferguson says she has had no side effects.
Bronze Bites, Bondi Gummies and Vecos are among other brands selling so-called tanning pills.
Carrots straight from the bag
Some people skip the pills. Wellness creator Lee Tilghman Pollis said on social media that she eats "one, two, maybe three carrots per day" and thinks they are best raw. She says the routine gives her "the best skin of my life."
Influencer Isabelle (@isabelle.lux) went viral on TikTok for a "carrot tan". Casey (@caseynooz) has urged men to join in, showing a bag of carrots alongside beta-carotene, astaxanthin and lycopene supplements.
What experts say
Eating too many carrots does turn skin orange, a condition called carotenemia. Viktoryia Kazlouskaya, a dermatologist and owner of Dermatology Circle, said carotenoids are absorbed through the digestive tract, circulate in the blood and can build up in the skin's outermost layer.
Registered dietitian Sophia Deahl, director of The Nourished Method, said it takes about 20-50 mg of beta-carotene a day for a few weeks. That equals roughly three to eight large carrots daily, or one to two glasses of carrot juice.
It is not a real tan, Kazlouskaya stressed. In a tan, skin cells called melanocytes make pigment in response to sun. Carotenemia is simply "pigment accumulation."
Too many lycopene-rich tomatoes can turn skin orange-red, a harmless and reversible condition called lycopenemia. No known phenomenon turns skin pink from eating too much shrimp, even though shrimp is rich in astaxanthin.
Carotenemia is generally harmless and fades once people eat fewer carrots. The bigger problem is digestive: gas, bloating, stomach discomfort or loose stools, mainly from more fiber than the gut is used to, especially when intake rises quickly.
