New to Spray Tanning?

If you've never got had a spray tan before you might feel a bit anxious about what it involves! Here is all the information you need to know to prepare for your appointment.

1. Make sure you follow all the pretreatment advice as listed above, but if you forget to take your makeup off or don’t have time, don’t worry, we will give you remover and wipes. Always ensure you remove deodorant and moisturiser as it can act as a barrier to the spray tan and will turn your armpits green if left on!

2. We will ask you to get undressed whilst we wait outside. It is completely up to you what you want to wear, some people choose to go completely naked, most people go topless with pants on but if you want to wear a bikini or something more then you can, just remember anything you wear will result in tan lines and will be stained by the tan. We will give you a disposable thong which is most peoples preferred option as you can wear it home then chuck it in the bin and nothing is ruined!

   Make sure you remove all jewellery as well.

3. Protect your hair. We will give you a hair net to put on to cover your hair, make sure you keep your ears out though!

4. Sticky feet are pads that go on the bottom of your feet to prevent you getting tan on the soles of your feet and stop you from slipping inside the tent.

5. The therapist will then go through the colour you’d like to achieve. This is your chance to explain what you would like and how dark you’d like to go, if you just want something more natural etc. It also helps us to know the occasion your spray tan is for, i.e. if it's a 10-day holiday you may want to go dark so it lasts longer, or if it's for a wedding the very next day, you may want to stay lighter so it looks as natural as possible in pictures.

6. The therapist will then put some barrier cream on your hands, feet, elbows and knees. These are areas that absorb the tan a lot more than other parts of your body. The cream acts as a barrier, which still allows the tan through, but just not as much, resulting in a nice even finish.

7. You will then be asked to adopt the first position in the tanning tent (which the therapist will show you). We will then start to apply the tan using a spray gun. It will feel cold, so prepare yourself! You will need to stay as still as possible whilst we spray.

8. You will then be directed into different positions to ensure we can get a full and even coverage all over your body. When it comes to your face, we will ask you to close your eyes and hold your breath for a few seconds

9. Once we have finished spraying. You will need to dry off for a minute or two, so just remain in the tent until we ask you to get dressed.

10. Bring loose fitting, dark clothes. The tan we have sprayed onto you will transfer onto anything you put on whilst it develops, so avoid anything tight that may rub it off. No bras, skinny jeans, socks… bring flip flops or sliders.

11. You will need to allow time for the tan to develop. Depending on which tan you have had, we will advise you on how long it will need to develop, normally it is 6-8 hours or 3-4 for express. The tan will get darker over this time, so it is best not to plan anything for the rest of the day unless you have gone for the clear tan. It will appear darker by the time you wash it off than you might of hoped… don’t panic! It will not be this dark once the colour guide has washed off!

12. When you shower after the appropriate development time. You will notice the water turns brown and you may worry you are washing off all of your tan! It’s ok…this is just what we call the “colour guide”. This is a brown pigment added to the tan solution to allow us, as the therapists, to visually see where we are spraying the tan. Spray tanning solutions all contain a chemical called dihydroxyacetone, or DHA for short. This chemical reacts with the outermost layer of your skin and causes the skin cells to darken. On its own, DHA is colourless. The browning of your skin cells is purely from the reaction, so what you are washing off is just the product, not the tan. SO do make sure you get it all off as this is what will transfer onto clothes and bed sheets!

    Do not scrub or use any kind of exfoliating or abrasive products, just use moisturising shower gel with your hands to wash the skin.

13. If you do leave it on longer than the prescribed time, then that’s totally fine, just be aware if you sleep in it, it will transfer to bedsheets. You can also wash it off before the full development time, but it just may result in a lighter finish.

14. Always remember to moisturise! We can’t emphasise this enough! Moisturising will help keep the tan lasting as long as possible and will encourage it to fade evenly.

15. When the tan starts to fade (usually after 5-7 days) you may notice it becomes patchy, gently exfoliate your whole body to ensure a more even fade.

If for any reason you are not happy with the colour or think it is too dark, we do stock tan remover which will take off the tan, this is also useful for when the tan has nearly all faded for any stubborn patchy bits. Please contact us and we can advise.

We are confident that having a spray tan will make you look and feel AMAZING!

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!