Spray Tan Guidelines

Walking around with a golden glow is such a boost of confidence. It’s not so hard to achieve in summer (although this comes with risks), but what about the rest of the year?

A spray tan is a quick and easy way to flaunt an exotic look even in the middle of January. It’s the perfect complement to your new hair color and a great look for that special party.

You’re probably wondering about its cost, safety, and how it’s done exactly. We’ll tell you all about that plus a bunch of other details! This is your ultimate guide to acquiring an amazing spray tan.

How Long Does Spray Tan Last?

A spray tan works on the outermost layer of your skin. It’ll last as long as this layer is there, which is typically around a week. That’s the natural cycle for skin cells.

The rate at which this skin layer is renewed depends on several factors like age, skin type, and seasonal effects. Your tan could last for more than a week with good care.

Starting with exfoliated skin is like resetting the counter. Shaving your body hair is also good. It increases your tan time significantly.

Going easy on the makeup, creams, lotions, and perfume before the tanning session is essential. These cosmetics create a barrier between your skin and the tanning spray. Your tan will probably wear off faster in these cases.

Using a loofah in the shower or dry brushing also exfoliates the epithelial skin cells. As they rub off your body, they’ll take with them the tanning effect.

In general, making sure that you follow the before and after recommendations helps extend your tanning duration.

Spray Tan Tips

A good tanning experience doesn’t have to come after trial and error. Here a few tips to make sure that you get the best results from the very first time.

PREPARATION

Before The Tanning Session

Decide beforehand whether you want your full body exposed or just parts of it. Choose the bikini you’d be wearing if you choose a swimsuit look.

Having an even coverage is nice, but get ready for walking around in the buff for a few minutes, possibly with a few onlookers.

Before you go into the spray tan session you’ll find a few supplies: hair ties, hair mask, sticky shoe, and hand cream.

Remove all your jewelry and accessories. An unexposed ring and watch mark would look unsightly later on.

Tie your hair into a tight bun. You can put on a hair mask or skip it, that’s up to you.

There’s some advantage to going without the hair mask as it lets the tan spread nicely around your hairline, ears, and temples.

The sticky shoe is an item you’d want to use. It keeps the sole of your feet tan-free. If you don’t put it on and tiptoe inside the booth, you’d get a nice collection of tanning spray there. This isn’t a typical place for a tan.

The barrier hand cream is also optional. My personal advice is to skip it. The intent is to keep your hands tan-free, but usually, another part of your body gets smudged, or your hand looks artificially tanned and odd later on.

Study the required positions for best exposure. It’s not complicated choreography, just optimal front, back, and side positions to get even coverage everywhere.

During The Tanning Session

There’s an episode of friends where Ross Geller goes to a tanning studio and accidentally gets a double dose of the tanning spray. In the show, he failed to understand the instructions and didn’t turn around in time!

Whenever tanning booths are mentioned, I know that we all remember this hilarious scene when he comes out. We’d never act like Ross, right? Yeah, absolutely. We’ll just follow the instructions!

Most tanning booths require you to stand still and face the spraying nozzle. Maintain that position for a moment, then on cue turn around.

The side position is usually standing with your feet and arms apart. You might need to do a little twisting.

The backside positioning is next, and then onto the other side. Just follow the beeps and you’ll be fine. If this is your first time, maybe a talking booth would better.

Some booths require only front and back positioning. The spraying nozzle rotates so you wouldn’t have to.

The spraying booth self-cleans right after the session, so you shouldn’t linger inside it longer than necessary. Water isn’t a big deal in itself, but it’ll spoil your tan.

POST SPRAYING

After The Tanning Session

You’d want to wash your hands to take the extra spray tan off them, but resist that urge and reach out for the baby wipes.

You might want to go back home and hit the shower right away, but it’s best to resist that too. You should wait at least 24 hours, or you’ll lose most of the newly acquired golden glow.

The spray tan is usually easy to rub-off until it dries out completely. Choose a long and easy-to-wear dress and light undergarments.

When you go to bed, some of the tanning could come off on the pillow and sheets. Put on a big pajama with long sleeves and extra-long pants. That should keep the tan where it belongs. It’s also such a cozy outfit so enjoy it!

Spray tan takes about 24 hours to dry out and develop. The day after the spray tan session should be your chill-out day. Call a friend if you like and binge-watch movies.

You could also catch up on your domestic chores, but make sure you don’t do anything that causes you to sweat.

Stay away from doing the dishes, washing the bathroom, or watering the garden.

After that first 24 hours, you’re a free agent. That’s as long as you don’t use tight garments, any scratchy fabrics, or powerful cosmetics.

Another tip is to use moisturizing cream to keep your skin in good condition. Dry skin cells fall off more readily than nourished supple skin cells.

You might want to renew your look when it starts fading. People usually like their sun-kissed style so much that they redo it as often as it takes to maintain that glow!

How Much Does Spray Tan Cost?

Getting spray-tanned costs somewhere between $20 to $200. It could be as economic as $10 if you opt for self-spraying. The best option here is to go for the best spray tan machine that you can afford.

There’s a long menu of options when it comes to spray tanning. Would you have it at a tanning salon? Would you get an airbrush tan? Is it a full-body affair or a partial tan? The list of questions is long!

Location

Your address actually gets into the equation as well, New York tanning is quite costly. LA is quite moderate, and the same applies to districts.

The usual and best practice when it comes to spray tanning is going to a good salon. Choose one that’s close to you. Ask your friends, do a little digital research, and pick one with good reviews.

A long commute will add to the cost, and it’ll also present some challenges to keep the tan from rubbing off all the way back

You can choose to be a Diva for a day, and book a home tanning session. This often adds around $50 more to your bill, but it’s totally worth it sometimes.

Special Packages

Tanning salons usually offer packages for groups. You’ll get about 20-30% off if you bring your friends along. This is especially nice for a bridesmaids session.

Tanning doesn’t last too long. You’ll need frequent visits to the tanning booth if you like the look. The salon people know that too, and they have special packages for regular customers.

There’s also a membership offer in most tanning places and a VIP card.

Coverage

Inside the salon, you usually get further choices of how much tanning you need. Some people like to do only parts of their bodies. I know people who only do their face and neck in winter.

There’s also custom tanning where clients ask for special effects, like highlighting parts of their bodies. More rounded parts or extra toned muscles are possible with professional airbrush spray tanning.

It’s a matter of light and shade after all. Custom tanning costs approximately $50.

The cost will vary significantly for these services, but doing just the face and neck could be done for about $5. A legs-only tanning session costs around $20.

The Tanning Process

There are also some options in the tanning process. Some booths talk to you, as they tell you when the spray will start, when you need to change your position, etc.

Other booths just beep. There’s an assumption here that you’re seasoned and know exactly what each beep is cueing you to do.

The talking booths are about $20 more expensive than the beeping ones. If you’re new to the tanning thing, maybe an interactive machine is better. It’ll relieve the anxiety of the first time significantly.

The differences between an ‘okay’ tanning studio and a ‘top-notch’ place aren’t too big, but the difference in the outcome could be significant.

What to Do Before a Spray Tan

Your skin should be primed for best results, so take a long leisurely shower, and exfoliate diligently. Do this the day before your tanning session.

If you didn’t get the chance to shower and only have an hour before your tanning session, go ahead and splash on, but make sure to close off your pores by spending a good two minutes under cold water.

Not all of us fancy cold showers, so you could use an ice cube. Don’t go for a toner or other lotions to seal off your pores. You don’t want chemical barriers on your skin.

Remove your body hair a few days before your session so your body would heal from any micro-scratches or itchy spots.

Don’t wear any makeup. The people at the salon can help you better in choosing the right tone if they can see your skin tone.

It’s also recommended to steer clear from perfumes, deodorants, creams, and cosmetics in general. They could cause uneven coverage or a tan that fades away quickly.

Wear a dark flowing dress and as little undergarments as possible. Make it something easy to slip on and off.

How to Get Spray Tan Off Your Hands

Tanning spray takes a few hours to set. You don’t want to get in contact with water during this time at all. To remove spray tan off your hands, just wipe it off with baby wipes.

There’s usually a pack of wipes right outside the booth, so use it but try not to go too far up your fingers and the back of your hand.

How Does Spray Tan Work

The magic substance that changes your skin tone is called Dihydroxyacetone (DHA). It’s an organic substance that resembles carbohydrates.

When DHA touches the skin, it ties itself to the protein part of the cells. It can’t penetrate any deeper than the outermost layer.

A sequence called ‘Maillard reaction’ begins right away, and a pigmented byproduct is released. This development takes about 2 hours to be noticed and around 72 hours to be complete.

The effects of DHA wear off after about 7 days, but there would still be traces on the skin a few days after that.

Here’s a fun fact: spray tan has been around for decades, but it wasn’t widely used as it gave an orange tan. Recently, cosmetics manufacturers adjusted the formula to render golden skin of various tones.

How to Remove Spray Tan

Sometimes a tan isn’t exactly what you were expecting, or it has some defects and odd exposure areas.

Removing spray tan isn’t a tough task. The easiest way is to scrub it off by exfoliation. There are a few short cuts you could use.

You can use a DIY paste of lemon and baking soda. Spread on your skin, wait a few minutes, then scrub the paste off your skin.

Another way is to exfoliate with a Morrocan glove, a loofah, or a brush. The spray tan usually comes off after a few rounds of gentle scrubbing.

Use an exfoliation product; apply it on your skin as directed on the package, and then take a regular shower.

You could soak in a leisurely long bath with your favorite shampoo and bathing oils. This should loosen up the skin cells. Most of the tan will come off by the time you’re done.

Don’t forget to remove the pigment from around your nails with nail polish remover.

Is Spray Tanning Safe?

Spray tanning utilizes an organic substance that alters the pigment of the skin temporarily. It works on the outermost layer of your skin cells only.

DHA has been around for almost half a century, and it has FDA approval for topical use.

Using DHA has some limitations which include using it on or around the eyes, and any place with ‘mucous membranes’. In plain English, this is the nose, mouth, and private parts.

This sounds logical enough. I mean who wants to inhale spray tan, swallow it, or get it in their eyes?

Salons supply nose filters and eye protection gear for this reason, and if they don’t, you should ask for it.

How to Shower After a Spray Tan

You need to wait for a day before getting a shower. Spray tan takes a bit of time to set, and water isn’t its best friend at this point.

The next day you can take a nice shower but try to use pH neutral products. Also, don’t use any rough brushing or exfoliating loofah. These could take out a significant portion of your new tan.

You might want to wash your hair thoroughly to remove any residual tanning spray. Some people use a hair mask while tanning and some don’t. Rinse your hair according to which option you’ve chosen.

Spray Tan vs. Tanning Bed

The spray tan is an organic chemical that’s been FDA approved for use on the skin. It changes the skin tone for just a few days, then everything goes back to normal.

A tanning bed uses concentrated UV light to give the skin a darker shade. It’s like sitting in harsh sunlight for a few hours.

The UV light is clinically proven to be a potential carcinogenic factor. This alone is a high-risk situation. It also contributes to early aging of the skin and sometimes uneven discoloration.

Sunless-tanning doesn’t come with this host of issues.

Spray tanning is a bit quicker to do, as it takes about 3 minutes in the booth, and maybe throw in half an hour of prep time. A tanning bed could take anything from 7-20 minutes for a good tone.

The only parameter where a tanning bed gets a high score is its duration. It lasts from 1-2 weeks, while spray tanning gets one week on average.

You’d probably pay a little less for a tanning bed than a full body spray tan. So this too is an advantage, but the difference isn’t huge.

Conclusion

Getting a spray tan is a wonderful treat that could easily cheer you up for the whole week. It’s an easy new look.

There are many ways to have a spray tan. The one we prefer is full-body tanning in a salon. Usually, this gives you the best results with an even glow all over.

There are a few tips before, during, and after spray tanning. Make sure that you follow them, this should increase your enjoyment factor by tenfold.

We hope this covers everything you wanted to know about getting a spray tan. Enjoy your tan!