TANtalizing : Old products pale in comparison with improved formulas that reflect the desire to look sun-kissed without risk.

Self-tanning products first came on the market more than 20 years ago, promising consumers they could have a fast tan without baking in the sun.

Yet a dark cloud soon shadowed those early self-tanners: Instead of looking natural, the tans-from-a-tube sometimes looked streaky. Even worse, the lotions turned some fair-skinned people an unflattering shade of orange.

Self-tanning products have finally found their place in the sun. In recent years improved formulas have greatly reduced the products’ unsightly side effects. In addition, a growing awareness of the sun’s damaging effect on skin has caused many consumers to take a second look at self-tanners as an alternative to pale skin.

Sales figures reflect the shift in tanning attitudes. Fifteen years ago, suntan oils and lotions accounted for 65% to 75% of sun-related product sales, according to Clinique Laboratories Inc. Today sun blocks with a sun protection factor of 15 or higher comprise 65% of the market. Sales of self-tanning products alone jumped 50% in 1992 and 20% in 1993.

“The public has become more educated about sun damage--everybody’s trying to avoid it,” says Billur Wallerich, spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus in Fashion Island Newport Beach. “The next best thing to a (natural) healthy glow is to use self-tanning products.”

While they worry about wrinkles and skin cancer, men and women still want a little color.

“We’re not seeing the over-exposed tans that were popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s, but still, a touch of sun makes you look healthy,” Wallerich says. “We do not want to look pale in our bare summer clothes.”

Almost all major cosmetic companies now have their version of a self-tanner on the market, and they report brisk sales. Estee Lauder’s Self-Action SuperTan (about $25) has been so hot, the company reports having trouble keeping it in stock.

Since Clinique introduced its Self-Tanning Formula in 1988, the product has been the No. 1 seller among all of its sun-related product--even eclipsing its sunscreens. (A four-ounce bottle with a pump spray is $12.50.)

“It’s a year-round item,” says Paige Ferguson, director of product development for treatment, men’s and fragrance at Clinique in New York City.

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Summer or winter, women will use a self-tanner when they’re wearing something revealing like a strapless gown. Sales of self-tanners do jump in late spring, when people are first putting on shorts and swimsuits and getting ready for summer, Ferguson says.

To entice buyers to their product, cosmetic companies offer self-tanners in different user-friendly formulas. There are self-tanning creams, sprays, gels and mousses, says Robin Silber, cosmetic treatment buyer for Nordstrom in Orange County. Gels dry quicker, while sprays make it easier to cover hard-to-reach places, but which product one picks is simply a matter of personal preference.

Consumers can also choose from different depths of color, she says.

“You can have your choice of fair, medium or dark,” Silber says. “They’ve really refined the quality of self-tanners to make application easier and to make the color more natural.”

One other improvement:

“The smell used to be really bad,” she says. “They’ve put a blocker in it” so consumers won’t be turned off by the odor.

Regardless of the name or slick packaging, all self-tanners contain a tanning agent called dihydroxyacetone--the same ingredient found in the early formulas such as Q.T. and Man Tan.

“The material itself is colorless, but when you put it on it turns the skin a brown color,” says John Wenninger, director of cosmetic chemistry for the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Assn. in Washington, D.C. “The color varies with skin types.”

Scientists speculate the color is caused by a reaction of DHA with the skin’s protein on the outer layers of the skin, Wenninger says.

The difference between the old products and the new is the concentration of other ingredients. The early products were watery, so they tended to streak and run more, Wenninger says.

While the first formulas might have contained 20% of DHA, today’s products such as Clinique’s Self-Tanning Formula have only about 5% DHA, Ferguson says. That helps avoid an orangish cast or uneven color.

“The lower levels are positioned for more fair skin,” Ferguson says.

Just how natural the self-tan looks can depend on how one applies the product.

Before rubbing it all over, consumers should put a small amount on the inside of their forearm then wait a couple of hours to see if the final color is acceptable, Wenninger says. Even with the new formulas, a few people have still complained of an orangish tone--a problem probably related to their skin types, he says.

“It may be more rare, but it still can happen,” he says.

Other tips from Estee Lauder for applying a self-tanning product:

* Cleanse and exfoliate the skin thoroughly to remove dead skin cells. The tan will be smoother and last longer.

* Wash the hands vigorously immediately after applying to avoid “tan palms.”

* Apply the products lightly to the knuckles, knees or elbows--areas where there are fine, tiny lines that tend to absorb more cream and turn darker.

Self-tanners take about two to three hours to work. The artificial tans last three or four days, about as long as a natural tan, before the color wears off as the skin naturally turns over its top layer of dead cells. The tans do not wash off.

A last word of caution: Although the skin looks tan, it hasn’t built up the kind of resistance to sunburn that occurs with actual sun exposure.

Without a sunscreen, “you’ll burn straight through,” Wenninger says.