PRE & POST CARE
HYDRATION
In the days leading up to your appointment, make sure you are well hydrating by drinking 8+ glasses of water per day.
24-48 HOURS BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT
Plan all hair removal services 24-48 hours before spray tanning. This will minimize possible irritation and allow enough time for the hair follicles/pores to close and will reduce the chance of your tan appearing dotted. If you are getting waxed, make sure to remove all wax residue. Laser treatments should happen at least 48 hours before your appointment.
12-18 HOURS BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT
Skin must be well exfoliated 12-18 hours before your appointment. Use a gel soap with a nylon exfoliating mit or cloth or an exfoliant scrub with salt, sugar, or jojoba microbeads. Make sure to thoroughly exfoliate all surfaces of body, including arm pits, chest, and back. Focus on the driest areas, such as knees, elbows, hands, and feet.
4-8 HOURS BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT
Shower 4-8 hours before your appointment. Use a gel cleanser. Do not use oil-based product, DOVE soap, bar soap, or milky/opaque cleansers. Your skin must me clean and clear sweat and all cosmetics, body oil, lotion, deodorant or antiperspirant, perfumes, micellar waters, etc.
APPOINTMENT DAY
Wear flip=flops or slides and clothing that you do not mind getting tanning solution on. Keep in mind that nylon, lycra, spandex, silk, and wool are all likely to stain from self-tanning products. Tight garments, jeans, undergarments, socks and shoes can rub against your fresh tan, and create lines.
If it is raining, use an use an umbrella and avoid splashing the skin with water.
8 HOURS AFTER APPOINTMENT
Use a towel to protect car seats and other fabrics, leather, or porous surfaces you may sit on. Clean toilet seats post use, if needed to prevent stains. Use dark sheets on bedding to prevent color guide bronzer transfer stains.
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Avoid sweating, or water exposure until the time of your rinse and shower. Hands may be cleansed by wiping palms only with a wet cloth or wet wipe.
We recommend not using any makeup until after your post-treatment shower. f makeup application is desired, limit products to powder based items only.
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Avoid touching your freshly tanned skin, during development time. Clean palms if product transfers to them, using alcohol based facial toner, or nail polish remover.
POST-TREATMENT SHOWER
Please rinse/shower at the time recommended by your spray technician. During your first shower, you may see a brown tint wash away in the shower water. This is not your sunless tan, but only a cosmetic “guide”. The tanning solution includes is the temporary cosmetic bronzer colorant in the tanning solution, which is used to show an immediate coloration during the appointment. It is normal for this to wash away upon showering.
COLOR CHECK
The tanning solution will continue to darken your skin for up to 48 hours after your appointment. We recommend that you do a color check no earlier than 24-48 hours after your spray tan application and AFTER showering so you see the true results of your tan. The result of your spray tan may not match the color seen in the bronze color additive in the tanning solution. Your sunless tan reacts with your unique skin chemistry, creating an individualized color, that is unique to you.
MAINTAINING YOUR TAN
It is important to that you keep your skin hydrated and moisturized, avoid anything abrasive, and avoid hot water and excessive time in water.
Avoid showering in very hot water. Use a soft sponge, shower poof, or wash cloth to gently apply a gel cleanser. Do not use bar soap or DOVE. After you shower, pat your skin dry with your towel, rather than rubbing. Then apply lotion to help lock in moisture. You do not need to avoid oil when maintaining your tan.
When shaving, use ample lubrication and fresh blades or an electric razor.
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If there is not much humidity, reapply lotion later in the day.
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Hot tubs and pool swimming can lighten or remove your tan. To reduce fading, you can use a water resistive lotion-based sunscreen and limiting the amount of time spent in the water. Remember to pat dry when toweling off.
4-5 DAYS AFTER YOUR APPOINTMENT
After 4-5 days, you can lightly exfoliate skin then apply a product with DHA to maintain and rebuild color. Please speak to your tanning technician about recommended products.
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Before your next spray tan appointment and before this tan has fully broken down or become patchy, please exfoliate the skin per the prep steps above. The time for a tan to break down is different for each person, as it controlled by your skin health, dryness, habits, DHA level used, product used, age, environment, etc. For most people this is once every 5, 7 or 10 days. During exfoliation, you will not be able to completely remover your tan. This is normal, as some tanned skin is still attached to the skin surface, this can take 2-4 weeks to fully separate. Exfoliation will simply lighten and even out the tan and will remove the dead and loose skin cells without harming or irritating your skin.
TAN REMOVAL
If you would like to completely remove your tan, this will require repeated exfoliation, paired with tub soaking, and will take a period of days to complete. Please discuss this with your spray tanning technician for additional information.
TAN RESULTS
The spray tanning product used by your technician is a professional level product. As such, it is not unusual for a technician to make some adjustments of the product and application to customize it for your perfect tan result. Everyone has a body chemistry and amino acid makeup that is unique and so we all react to tanning solutions differently. The color, shade, and appearance will be unique to you, and no two tans will look the same, if when using an identical tanning solution formula.
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Many things can affect the how well a tanning solution develops, the color that is produced, and how long the tan lasts, including skin pigment level, health, normal color tone, porosity, oiliness, age, life style habits, diet, medications used, hormonal fluctuations, and more. Your technician can make adjustments to the tanning solution color and DHA levels and the schedule for your post-treatment shower to provide you the optimal tan. Please discuss your needs, concerns, and questions with your technician.