Spray tan issues-new customer

Hi all, I sprayed a bridesmaid to be last week and have today received this email:

"I just wanted to get in touch about the tan I had the other week. When I washed the next day (no sponges etc just lightly with my hands, followed by moisturising) I found that my neck/chest/hands were quite white compared to everywhere else and my face also lost a lot of the tan and my legs/feet had a few uneven bits- the pores in my legs also picked up the tan resulting in what looked similar to freckles (but not to the point where I could get away with them as freckles). I was wondering if you know any reason this might be in case I've done something wrong before I book my wedding tan."

I have said that's it's hard for me to say as I can't see it and it's too late to see now, however I have asked her the obvious questions and she confirmed that:

1. She had not shaved for about 5-7 days before the tan
2. She didn't moisturise on the day
3. She exfoliated the day before but will a gentle exfoliator
4. She didnt scrub the tan when she washed it off

Any ideas what else could cause the issues above? I'm thinking I could spray her neck chest and hands twice next time, I have also asked her I she had a hot shower before I arrived as I know that can cause the dotty effect. I've also asked if she shaved when she removed the tan as this could cause the patchy look.

Any other input??

Thanks everyone x

Severnrose said:

Hi all, I sprayed a bridesmaid to be last week and have today received this email:

"I just wanted to get in touch about the tan I had the other week. When I washed the next day (no sponges etc just lightly with my hands, followed by moisturising) I found that my neck/chest/hands were quite white compared to everywhere else and my face also lost a lot of the tan and my legs/feet had a few uneven bits- the pores in my legs also picked up the tan resulting in what looked similar to freckles (but not to the point where I could get away with them as freckles). I was wondering if you know any reason this might be in case I've done something wrong before I book my wedding tan."

I have said that's it's hard for me to say as I can't see it and it's too late to see now, however I have asked her the obvious questions and she confirmed that:

1. She had not shaved for about 5-7 days before the tan
2. She didn't moisturise on the day
3. She exfoliated the day before but will a gentle exfoliator
4. She didnt scrub the tan when she washed it off

Any ideas what else could cause the issues above? I'm thinking I could spray her neck chest and hands twice next time, I have also asked her I she had a hot shower before I arrived as I know that can cause the dotty effect. I've also asked if she shaved when she removed the tan as this could cause the patchy look.

Any other input??

Thanks everyone x

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What make of shower gel does she use, I can never remember the name of the active ingredient but it's the one found in dove among others, if she uses one with that ingredient it will interfere with the dha absorption. Re the spotting, something caused the pores of her skin to be open, it's normally something like waxing or a sauna that causes that.
Beyond that, well I've had clients blow things up out of all proportion, which, as you know already is why we need to see things for ourselves.
Apart from that, I'm clueless!
Investigate the shower gel angle and then tan her 3 days before the wedding so you have time to correct anything before the wedding. Good luck x

Severnrose said:

Hi all, I sprayed a bridesmaid to be last week and have today received this email:

"I just wanted to get in touch about the tan I had the other week. When I washed the next day (no sponges etc just lightly with my hands, followed by moisturising) I found that my neck/chest/hands were quite white compared to everywhere else and my face also lost a lot of the tan and my legs/feet had a few uneven bits- the pores in my legs also picked up the tan resulting in what looked similar to freckles (but not to the point where I could get away with them as freckles). I was wondering if you know any reason this might be in case I've done something wrong before I book my wedding tan."

I have said that's it's hard for me to say as I can't see it and it's too late to see now, however I have asked her the obvious questions and she confirmed that:

1. She had not shaved for about 5-7 days before the tan
2. She didn't moisturise on the day
3. She exfoliated the day before but will a gentle exfoliator
4. She didnt scrub the tan when she washed it off

Any ideas what else could cause the issues above? I'm thinking I could spray her neck chest and hands twice next time, I have also asked her I she had a hot shower before I arrived as I know that can cause the dotty effect. I've also asked if she shaved when she removed the tan as this could cause the patchy look.

Any other input??

Thanks everyone x

Click to expand...

Before you go any further I would stronly sugest you invite this customer in so you can see fully for yourself and then make a call as to what the possible problems were and how they can be rectified.

Of course when she first showered she would have seen a lot of tan going down the drainhole and as we all know this is simply the initial colour guide
In terms of hands ...well washing up can cause these problems
In terms of the prickles on her legs...simply a shaving issue

I think by the sounds of it that these problems are probably client driven so important to get her in and look for yourself
HTH and good luck

First it sounds like your client is genuine, not just looking for a refund etc.

A lot of what you describe could be down to 'Post Shower Disappointment' ie. the guide colour is nothing like the DHA tan. We supply 8 products in our range that are WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get.) That is the guide colour matches perfectly to the DHA tan so when your client walks out of salon looking great, they remain so after their first shower.

We always recommend that your first shower is literally just with water.

Once the DHA reaction (The Maillard Reaction) has occurred the only issue is the rate with which dead skin cells are shed by your client. The pigments created in the reaction are called melonoidins and they are part of the skin cells they are not a dye the only way the colour comes off is with the cells. As another contributor pointed out there are products that accelerate this process - Dove being one of them.

So in the circumstances you describe the reaction appears not to have taken properly in certain areas. This can be for a number of reasons the most common being some kind of barrier at the time of tanning. Exfoliation the day before should always be done with an exfoliator design for spray tanning. Many products contain oils and moisturisers that act as a barrier, even if used the day before. Or it could be not enough tan has been applied to those areas.

Another reason can be hormonal. For example if your client were to be pregnant this can cause the Keratin in the skin to react in dramatically different way than normal. This can give rise to the speckling as well as shaving. I am sure you ladies will be familiar with Linea Nigra the dark line down the centre of your tummy that many women experience when they are pregnant. It is due to increased melanocyte-stimulating hormone made by the placenta, which also causes melasma and darkened nipples. Fair-skinned women show this phenomenon less often than women with darker pigmentation.

Hope that gives a few avenues to explore.

collin said:

Before you go any further I would stronly sugest you invite this customer in so you can see fully for yourself and then make a call as to what the possible problems were and how they can be rectified.

Of course when she first showered she would have seen a lot of tan going down the drainhole and as we all know this is simply the initial colour guide
In terms of hands ...well washing up can cause these problems
In terms of the prickles on her legs...simply a shaving issue

I think by the sounds of it that these problems are probably client driven so important to get her in and look for yourself
HTH and good luck

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Thanks, unfortunately there's no point in seeing her as it will have almost completely faded by now. WISH she would have told me at the time so I could actually see it.

Re the prickles she said that she shaved 5-7 days before the tan?! And noticed the marks before shaving (after the tan).

I have thought of all the issues and can't see any other reasons, very frustrating indeed!

AvivalabsUK thanks for your reply, I agree and think she is genuine which is why I want to get to the bottom of this.

I don't think it's an issue of it being too light for her because it seems as tho her legs were a good colour (just patchy and dotty) it's just her neck chest and hands that were not as dark.

She only exfoliated once the day before I have since found out so maybe she didn't exfoliate well enough. I could say that if she wants her wedding tan then she should exfoliate in the days leading up to the tan, not just the day before.

I am also going to ask her above Dove....this seems to have a lot to answer for!

One thing strikes me...Im not disputing the clients word, but if you knew you were having a spray tan, wouldn't you shave a darn sight closer to it that 5/7 days before, as the hair would have grown quite a lot by the time the tan was applied, and certainly by the time it started wearing off? And if its freckle like, I would suspect waxing more than shaving..just a thought...
A bit too much barrier cream and hand washing with harsh products/cleaning products may explain the hands thing...and the chest / neck perhaps she put perfume on? That usually has oils of some sort in it which would create a barrier..
I recommend Simple shower gel or supermarkets own version of it both before and after tan, using those exfoliating gloves rather than a specific exfoliating product. Sometimes though, its just a mystery as to why..peoples skin can vary..x

tiggerlady said:

One thing strikes me...Im not disputing the clients word, but if you knew you were having a spray tan, wouldn't you shave a darn sight closer to it that 5/7 days before, as the hair would have grown quite a lot by the time the tan was applied, and certainly by the time it started wearing off? And if its freckle like, I would suspect waxing more than shaving..just a thought...
A bit too much barrier cream and hand washing with harsh products/cleaning products may explain the hands thing...and the chest / neck perhaps she put perfume on? That usually has oils of some sort in it which would create a barrier..
I recommend Simple shower gel or supermarkets own version of it both before and after tan, using those exfoliating gloves rather than a specific exfoliating product. Sometimes though, its just a mystery as to why..peoples skin can vary..x

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I was unsure about the 5-7 days shaving thing, but I just thought maybe her hair doesn't grow that fast. I didn't notice that her legs were hairy and I know mine would be after a week of not shaving! I do recommend supermarkets own shower gel on my website and as far as I know she read it all. If she is telling the truth then it seems clear there's not much more she or I could have done (apart from her exfoliating more rather than just the once)

I can't offer any technical advice other than what's been said, but can you get her in for another tan now in plenty of time before the wedding only this time give her a strict list of do's and donts and arrange to see her the following day after its washed off so u can see any issues/put her mind at rest before the wedding?
Tell her if she pays for this second one she can have her wedding tan free (so she doesn't just cancel)
She didn't get in touch with u straight away and we all know the longer we leave something thats on our minds, the bigger and worse it gets in our head...it probably was nowhere near as bad as she remembers it to be.
Being for her wedding she will already be panicking more than usual anyway so this may set her mind at rest?

Good luck
X

Jigglyb4ll said:

I can't offer any technical advice other than what's been said, but can you get her in for another tan now in plenty of time before the wedding only this time give her a strict list of do's and donts and arrange to see her the following day after its washed off so u can see any issues/put her mind at rest before the wedding?
Tell her if she pays for this second one she can have her wedding tan free (so she doesn't just cancel)
She didn't get in touch with u straight away and we all know the longer we leave something thats on our minds, the bigger and worse it gets in our head...it probably was nowhere near as bad as she remembers it to be.
Being for her wedding she will already be panicking more than usual anyway so this may set her mind at rest?

Good luck
X

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Thank you for the advice. I gave her a list of do's and dont's and said that although she followed them all before this is what I would recommend next time (because although I DO believe she is telling the truth, only she knows if she truly did prepare properly). However she hasn't got back to me and from memory the wedding tan was supposed to be tomorrow. It's not her wedding, think she is a bridesmaid (having said that she may even just be a guest but she's definitely not the bride).

When she was booking her first tan with me it took her about a week of going back and forth before she actually booked it. Right from the start I had told her that she needs to prep for a tan and she then decided the day before that yes she did want it. Which is why she said she only exfoliated once beforehand. She is taking a little while to decide this time too so I can only presume she would exfoliate just the once again, whereas to me the leg issue Can only be down to lack of exfoliation IF she is telling the truth about shaving 5-7 days before!

I'm going to contact her once more today as I would really like to have another chance to give her a good tan but I'm not going to chase her.

By all means contact her...but I think she's just one of those customers u have to take with a pinch of salt and not lose sleep over. She's clearly not that fussed and I'm sure everything u done was fine, and even of u didn't do the perfect tan...its all good practice
Xx

Jigglyb4ll said:

By all means contact her...but I think she's just one of those customers u have to take with a pinch of salt and not lose sleep over. She's clearly not that fussed and I'm sure everything u done was fine, and even of u didn't do the perfect tan...its all good practice
Xx

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Yeh, I think you're right. Thank you x

So....she contacted me and asked me to spray her tonight (wedding tomorrow). She has assured me that she has been exfoliating like mad all week! I will do the best tan that I can, as I always do, and keep my fingers crossed for her!