A sunless tanning composition is provided according to the invention. The sunless tanning composition includes an effective amount of a tanning active component to provide a darkening effect of skin tissue after exposure to the skin tissue, a polymer component, water, an effective amount of an acidifying agent to provide the composition with a pH of less than about 5, and wherein the composition has the viscosity of at least about 3,000 cSt. The polymer component can be characterized as a skin bonding polymer component to hold the tanning active component in exposure to the skin tissue when applied to the skin tissue. The polymer component can be characterized as a polymer having an average molecular weight of about 2,000 to about 500,000. A method of applying a sunless tanning composition to skin tissue is provided.