The spray tanning is a relatively new sunless tanning method. Technically, the spray tanning method stands somewhere between self-tanning cosmetics and tanning beds. You enter a booth where you get tanned by a special mist. After several minutes, the process ends and after a short while you get the tanning you desire.
How does it Work?
The spray tanning mist contains ADH, a chemical product that reacts with the external layer of your skin and colours it. Technically, it operates exactly like a tanning lotion, but the tanning booth ensures an even ADH coverage of your body. The spray tanning does not require any additional tanning sessions – one appointment is enough for the tan that you are looking for.
How Much Does it Last?
As the tan spray reacts only with the external layer of the skin (the “dead skin”), the effects could last for about a week, usually fading away in four or five days. As you can see, the spray tanning is a perfect method to get a wonderful look for a short period of time. But of course, you could take weekly appointments with your favourite beauty salon in order to maintain your colour indefinitely.
Can I Make it last a Little Longer?
Well, the skin replacement process is inevitable, but you could increase the duration of your tan if you comply with several little steps before you start the spray tanning process. Here they are:
What is the Colour of the Tan?
Due to the chemical processes caused by the DHA, it’s almost impossible to get a bad brown colour. Of course, the tan spray will allow you to choose the best hue – by spraying the proper type of mist, you could obtain the entire brown palette – from light brown to almost black. This will not modify the duration of the tanning session.
Can the Tanning Spray be Dangerous to my Health?
The spay tanning eliminates the most common risks involved by the UV tanning methods: the aging of the skin or cancer are no longer a threat. The only possible risk is the allergy to the DHA, but as any type of allergy, it is not an actual life threat, as the cancer is.
Is Spay Tanning Dangerous for my Clothes?
No, it isn’t. The spray tanning method relies on the chemical reactions of your skin while the DHA is not just any colouring means! Even if the mist was excessively used, the spray will not leave any marks and is perfectly safe for your clothes (even for the people who might shake your hand).
Does it Leave any Unpleasant Odour?
That depends. If most of the water aerosols are odourless, many spray tanning salons use an oily mist that leaves an unpleasant smell. It is thus recommendable to avoid going to the tanning salon right before an important event. The smell goes away completely after several hours.
Are you interested in a nice look for a marriage, a New Year’s Party, a graduation festivity, or just for a special evening? Even if you don’t have to walk on the red carpet today, why shouldn’t you enjoy the best tanning you deserve? With the professional spray tanning, you would be able to.
Instead of worrying about the potentially dangerous effects of the sun, you could have a natural, sunless tan, lasting from 7 to 14 days. And you could have either a lighter or a darker bronze, your choice.
You could obtain a fantastic spray tanning either in your favourite salon or at home. Today, many salons offer, as an option, the mobile tanning spray.
So, how can you optimise your bronzing experience?
Prepare for the Tan
If you have never used the spray tanning method before, you might want to try it once or twice before your special event. With the help of your salon professional you will find the best tan level that perfectly suits your skin colour, the hue that makes you look amazing.
Once you have settled the date of your important event, make reservations for your spray tanning for one or two days in advance. It would be best to shave or wax at least one day before spraying. The waxing would leave your pores open for several hours or leave wax marks on your skin, which might obviously lead to an uneven bronze.
Exfoliate your entire body the day before your spray tanning. This would remove all the dead cells of the skin and help keeping the bronze for a longer time. Use a luffa sponge or an exfoliating glove, concentrating on the driest areas of your body, i.e. the knees, the elbows, the feet and the ankles. Do not use oil scrubbing, as this type of products could leave rests that might block your tanning.
The day of Your Spray Tanning Appointment
Take a shower short before your appointment and do not apply any type of body or face moisturiser. You should also avoid any kind of beauty products, including deodorants, body vaporisers, perfumes or make up. Anything on your skin could block the tanning lotion and prevent an optimal absorption.
Wear loose and darker clothes when going to your tanning session, just in case the tanning lotion gets to your clothes on your way home. Do not worry; even the darkest lotions wash out.
If you are a woman, you may give up wearing tight clothes, such as the bras, on your way home – tight items may leave unwanted marks.
Therefore, what should you expect during a spray tanning session?
During Your Spray Tanning Session
Unfortunately, you cannot wear just anything during your appointment. Don’t be shy, as the less you wear, the better the results. If you are looking for a minimum coverage, wear a bathing suit or older clothes.
Before starting, your technician will provide you with a short consultation in order to understand the results you expect and to choose the best solution for your skin type. The application would take approximately 10 minutes and the lotion starts drying immediately.
You will see that your hands and legs would seem lighter than the rest of the body, as these parts develop more (turn darker than the rest of the body) than other parts of the body.
How to Maintain a Longer Tan Duration?
Wash only the palms of your hand before your first shower after the tanning session. Your technician will tell how much time to wait, based on the specific bronzing products used. Generally, you should wait for 5 to 8 hours before your first shower.
Keep water warm, but not too warm, wash your body delicately (without rubbing), and dry out by slowly tapping with a towel. Finding a rusty colour draining during the first shower is a normal thing – it’s the last layer used to calibrate your tanning colour.
Do not practice any physical exercises immediately after this first post-tan shower. Avoid any activity that causes excessive perspiration until the tan has the chance to develop.
Moisturising your skin is the key to extend the life span of your bronze. Ask your salon technician about the hydrating products that can prevent the fast fading of your tan. You could also try a moisturising amplifier, designed to extend the life of your bronze.
Any exfoliating product would make your tan fade away faster. Therefore, you should avoid shaving the bronzed area for at least 48 hours after the application of the tanning solution. Taking baths or diving into thermal tanks, salty water or chlorinated pools would equally fasten the fading.
Follow this advice before your next spray tanning session and get ready to walk on the red carpet. Your magnificent sunny look would attract the envy of all of your friends. And you would be and feel beautiful.
Although we all need sun to survive, in order to get the healthy light of a tan, one needs to sit under the sun beyond our vitamin D exigency. An excessive exposure to sun causes the rapid aging of your body, damages to your outer skin layer and can finally leads to cancer. Fortunately, the technology comes to rescue those gods and goddesses of the sun. With the advancement of a more natural bronze of these sunless tanning products, we have the chance to get a more realistic tan, without having to go outside.
DHA
The greatest progress in the field consists in this chemical product we call the dihydroxyacétone (DHA). It is the active ingredient of all the spray tanning products on today’s market that helps them achieve the natural bronze they announce. The DHA is practically a sugar molecule that reacts with the amino-acids at the surface of your skin. This product typed by the FDA as a colour additive for the body, has been found in the formula of numerous cosmetic products for over 30 years. It is entirely non-toxic and non-absorbed by the organism. Designed solely for an external use, you should avoid any contact of the DHA with the lips, eyes or mucous membranes.
The quantity of DHA in the tanning mixture is highly important. Too much DHA gives a rusty look while too little gives a light hue that fades rapidly. The effects of one spraying session last for five to seven days, starting with the chemical reaction of the DHA at the outer skin layer. Therefore, as the dead cells of the tanned skin fade away, you will get an orange colour.
Tanning Process
The DHA does not turn your skin into black instantly. The process is in fact an interaction response that darkens your skin progressively during the day, with the maximum colour level usually reached in twelve hours.
Sunless Tanning
Before applying a spray tanning product, it’s best to prepare the skin. Six or twelve hours before your session, exfoliate the skin areas you want to tan, especially, the most exposed ones. Take a shower and cleanse the skin right before the application. Avoid any lotion or cosmetic product that might prevent the chemical substances from being absorbed by the skin. It would be better to avoid showers for about 5 to 8 hours after the application.
Remember that the spray tanning is not a real tan and cannot offer a natural solar protection, as an authentic bronze does. Keep your DHA tan well moisturised for a maximum performance and always apply a sun screens outside.