It always surprises me when I arrive at an appointment and the person has not prepared for their spray tan. I know that personally, if I was paying for a treatment, whether it is hair, nails or a tan I would always want the best results. This makes me wonder why some people aren’t too worried about following the correct prep information in order to get the best possible spray tan. I think the answer to this is that I can reel of lots of ‘rules’ to follow when preparing for your tan but no one actually knows the reasons why or what the possible outcome could be if you do not follow the advice. So here are the reasons for each piece of prep advice:
“Exfoliate well before your tan” In simple terms, the solution changes the top layers of your skin brown. Our skin naturally replenishes itself on a daily basis so exfoliating well will mean that I will be spraying on to new fresh skin which is likely to last longer than if you hadn’t exfoliated. If you do not exfoliate before a tan then your tan can look patchy and will definitely not last as long. If it doesn’t look patchy straight away then you are lucky, however I would almost guarantee that it will go patchy after a couple of days.
“Don’t have any deodorant, lotions, perfume, make-up on your skin at your appointment” I advise this is for a few reasons. Firstly, all these products can cause a barrier on your skin, this means the tan may not take in areas where these are present, meaning your tan will look patchy. Secondly, if you have something all over your body, for example lotion or residue from a bath bomb or exfoliating scrub then you will have a barrier all over your body and you may find that the tan will not take to your skin at all. Thirdly, deodorant and perfume will react with the solution and show up green when I spray you, it is unlikely that you will have green patches when the solution is washed off but it is a possibility and definitely not a good look!
“Don’t use an exfoliating scrub, a moisturising shower gel or bar soap in the last shower before your tan” A simple exfoliating glove, body puff or a good scrub with a flannel is perfect. The reason for this is because all of the above can cause a barrier on your skin and the tan will not take. Steer clear of Dove, Imperial Leather, bath bombs, bar soaps and exfoliating scrubs as these are generally very oily. A cheap supermarkets own brand of shower gel is best for use both before and after your tan.
“Shave or wax more than 24 hours before your tan” If you do not follow this advice then you may end up with little ‘pin prick’ dots over the area’s where the hair was removed. You may also see lines in the tan where the razor has been or the wax strips have been removed.
So there it is, the most important parts of preparing for your tan and the main reasons why. I hope this helps everyone to understand the importance of correct preparation, I am a little bit of a perfectionist and really want you to have a perfect tan but unfortunately a lot of it is down to you! If you are ever unsure about anything with regards to what to do before a tan then you can always ask me and also look at preparation on my site, I am here and happy to help, Letalya xx