Frequently asked questions for best spray tan results.
Frequently asked questions for best spray tan results.
We've answered a number of questions regarding spray tans over the years, and here we provide some answers to some of the more common questions.
You have a question we missed? Please feel free to contact us and we'll do our best to answer as quickly as possible.
Varying exfoliation rates due to metabolism, active lifestyle, and other reasons can greatly alter the life of your spray tan. On average, 7-10 days is the norm. Anything that slows the exfoliation cycle, like moisturizing often or avoiding dry environments will help it last a bit longer. We recommend any shaving, waxing or other hair removal be performed before your spray tan, ideally a few hours to the day before.
Some people like to wait until their colour is completely gone, where others will repeat their spray tan on a weekly basis, never quite returning to their normal colour. Each spray tan will penetrate down to the same original layers within your skin, so there is no need to wait to be a ‘clean sheet’. Repeating before your colour is completely gone will result in less dramatic changes over the week.
Clothing choices for after your spray / fake tan should be:
- Loose enough to allow easy movement and not remove the solution
- Cool enough to prevent sweating
- Dark enough so colour that will transfer is not immediately obvious. (Any stains will come out in the wash, but darker colours will have less people staring at unsightly stains.)
If you have experience and are happy with your results, then by all means continue as you do. However, if you’re new to fake tan a professional spray tan can help you learn how to avoid common errors, as well as avoiding what can be a messy clean up. Your spray tan will stay with you for around a week, and unfortunately, so will your errors.
For best results, spray tan 2-3 days before the event. This will allow you time to touch up any imperfections that can sometimes happen.
Although we have some products that can help remove fake tan, a simple lemon and sugar scrub will work. Just buy a lemon and mix it with some sugar and the lemon will lighten while the sugar exfoliates.
No! As with most new things, the original formulations of fake tan were, um, less than ideal. For more than 10 years we would say the colours are very reasonable, with many companies offering different shades and darkness levels to better match different skin types. You should be able to find a tone that is close to your own, or maybe even better.
Any activity involving chlorine, or other salts will probably cause you to lose your tan more quickly. We don’t recommend wearing white colours under such environments as you may see some colour transfer. However, under normal conditions your colour should hold very true.
Yes, although you look tanned, you are not offered any protection from the sun from your normal state. At one point there were some spray tan lotions on the market claiming SPF protection, but it was short-lived, most likely because the promises could not be kept.
We can’t think of any reason there could be a conflict, however any concerns should really be addressed to your medical professional.
There are no true 100% ‘organic’ spray or self tanning products, however many firms may market themselves as such. SunFX is about as natural as you’ll find, however there will always be some level of preservatives to maintain product shelf life. As the products are derived from sugar cane, shelf life is a big concern with spray and self tan. Always check to see if the smell has changed, or if you notice a bit of green in the product. If so, don’t use.
I don’t recall our studio having had any bad reactions over the +15 years we’ve doing spray tans. However, if you’re prone to reactions we suggest coming in for a very small patch test before fully committing.
Thankfully much of the bad smells associated with the original fake tan from many years ago have been removed. Most are lightly fragranced and odour is generally minimal.