Hi, I have tried a natural fake tan by Liz Earle. All her products use essential oils and other plant based ingredients. They have not been tested on animals either. The fake tan is really good - it's in a pump spray bottle and mists on. You rub it in (after normal exfoliating, moisturising) and leave to tan (I prefer doing this before bed). In the morning you have a nice glowing tan! I definitely recommend this and with natural ingredients it shouldn't cause you any reaction either.

There is a possibility that it is the fragrance in the products you have tried. Although Dove, Johnson, etc., are supposed to be hypoallergenic, they are still 'fragranced' unfortunately. If I use anything with fragrance it causes itching, and I think I heard somewhere that perfumed products in the sun can cause problems. Try some of the fragrance-free products. 'Simple' is good, also 'Clinique'. Check the labels for 'parfum' or 'fragrance'.

There are products on the market which increase melanin production and do not necessarily need the sun or sun beds to do so. They supply increased levels of the raw material the amino acid tyrosine, which our pigment producing cells use to make melanin. They also get these ingredients deep enough into the skin to be utilised. I have heard of doctors in London and Glasgow using them successfully on re establishing pigment production after laser hair removal, where they have been zapped for a bikini line or something and have forgotton to tell the clinic they have been on holiday or on a sunbed in the previous few weeks. In these cases lasers can over excite already active melanocytes leading to them stopping producing pigment or over productng pigment. There is also new data on a new treatment on vitiligo treatment using a new formula in conjunction with narrow band UV light just published in the USA with remarkable results of boosting melanin production
On a related note and if you are allergic to fake tanning products be aware you may also have a problem with sunscreens. Many sun screen spfs (the chemicals that protect your skin from UV) have a strong attraction to the lipids that make up part of skin cell membranes. They seperate out of the matrix of the sun cream and 'burrow' into membranes and can cause irritation. This is possibly part of the answer to recent stories about sunscreens causing skin cancer.
I believe somnewhere around 5% of UK borne nationals have a sensitivity to SPFs. Often they use factor 40 plus all day long and then they are the reddest person in the bar that night and everyone else thinks they have just not used a high enough factor. Also this lipid irritation can increase pigment production and lead to hyper-pigmented areas and increased sun sensitivity. There are alternatives to standard SPF cream; new organic based spfs are much friendlier to sensitive skins. Also some creams on the market now contain lipids in the cream. The SPFs are more attracted to these lipids than your skin lipids and hence stay in the 'cream matrix' I have believe one name for this technology is synchroblock but there are others. I have used these creams on my kids and they spread really easily, which is a boon when they are desperate to get into the pool.