How to Prepare Your Skin for a Spray Tan

Exfoliating

Not only is exfoliating great for brightening and evening out the skin tone, but it’s a fantastic way to set yourself up for a longer lasting tan. We recommend exfoliating one or two days in advance of your appointment, with a tool in the shower, like a mitt or loofa, as opposed to using an exfoliating scrub. Scrubs are likely to contain emollient ingredients that leave a thin film on the skin, (which we attribute to the silky soft feeling post exfoliation) but can prevent the tan from adhering evenly to your skin. Physical exfoliation simply speeds up the turnover of dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin, making way for new skin cells to shine. Since our skin naturally turns over every 7-14 days, tanning new skin cells can mean enjoying your spray tan for longer.

Dry, Clean Skin

A spray tan solution will adhere most successfully to dry, clean skin. This does not mean that you must shower prior to your appointment, but rather refers to skin that is free from any products like moisturizer, makeup and perfume. A little dried perspiration from the day never hurt any of our tans, and you’ll only need to wait between 5-7 hours until showering next.

Free of Moisturizer

We recommend skipping body moisturizer on the day of your tanning appointment. Moisturizer is likely to prevent the tan from adhering and developing evenly, so we don’t recommend taking any chances. If you must start your day with face moisturizer, you can always remove it with one of our paraben free makeup wipes when you arrive to your appointment. 

Prepping Your Skin for Your Weekly Tan

If you’re tanning more regularly with us, whether that be every seven days or every 14, there are a couple additional tips or tricks to be mindful of. 

Moisturizing Correctly

If you’re consistently moisturizing once or twice per day with a Pure Glow approved product (one we make available in studio or verbally recommend), it’s likely that when you’re ready to prepare for your next tan, that you will still have some great color on the body. When this is the case, do not scrub off your remaining tan! We recommend a gentle exfoliation all over to remove the dead skin that is on its way out, and adding a touch more muscle to the areas with visible fading, if any exist. When you come in for your fresh tan, we’ll have no problem getting you to whatever level of color you choose! Moisturizing correctly allows you to do less and worry less in regards to maintenance, and spend more time doing all the things that make you glow!

If your thinking that this is a lot to remember, we’re here to ease the stress. We’ll send you all of our pre appointment recommendations via email once you secure an appointment, as well as once more 48 hours prior to your scheduled date. Leave it to us to keep you on your toes, and we look forward to seeing you soon!