• Optimum settings on your mist applicator/gun is essential for excellent even tanning. The flow control screw is located at the back of your mist applicator/gun. Remember Right is tight and left is loose! Turn the screw right until it stops turning. Your mist applicator/gun will now not spray any solution out and you won’t be able to pull the trigger back. (Don’t panic!) Now get a length of couch roll, and pour some solution into your cup and screw it back onto the mist applicator/gun. Turn the screw left a bit and spray your couch roll as if it were a body (just a few *stripes*) Now, the way to know you have your screw control flow open to exactly the right setting, you should see when you spray your couch roll, that the front part of the couch roll is damp and stippled in texture but the back of the couch roll ought to be totally dry! If you get these settings correct you shouldn’t have overspray problems at all.

• Mark your control flow screw with a marker pen or a line of nail enamel and pay attention to where the line is so you can ensure your settings always correct (as sometimes they got knocked in transit etc)

• It’s worth doing the couch roll test before every tan, it literally takes seconds to do but will ensure your your settings are accurate.

• Hands are generally a dry area so pre tan a spot of moisturiser rubbed in to the palms and the hands will act as a slight barrier (not a total barrier) so as opposed to the hands “grabbing” the solution due to being dry, they will tan nicely and when you wipe the palms at the end of the tan any collected solution will be on top of the moisturiser.

• Feet are a notoriously dry area of the body so it can also be a good idea to pop a bit of moisturiser on these if you have had problems with over tanned feet.

• For areas like the knees and elbows that are also notoriously dry you can pull the mist applicator/gun back slightly so as to give a lighter mist on these dryer areas.

• When doing the backs of the legs bend your knees and keep your back straight not only is this good posture for yourself but it stops you having the urge to tilt the mist applicator/gun when you get to the bottom of the legs.

• Cuticle oil on the fingernails and toenails is a nice luxury touch and also stops the clients nails from being stained with tan, as well as giving them a mini treat. These things topped with an excellent pro tan will make you stand out from the others and keep your clients coming back for more.

• Fold and Grab areas (creases) commonly found on the tummy, back, under the bottom cheeks, under the bust/pecs need to be stretched out and tanned first on each area with a light mist. Getting the client to stretch in the opposite direction of the fold and grab area will be enough to stretch it out for you to tan.

• Remind clients not to touch there new tan as this WILL cause orange palms!!

• At the times you are tanning the back of the body but not tanning the arms, you can ask your client to put their arms in front of them palms touching. This ensures no hands will get in the way of the mist applicator/gun!

• Prior to the tan talk a new client through the entire treatment, tell them it may be cold, they will feel a bit damp, they will need to move into positions instructed and explained by you. It sounds obvious but sometimes we get so used to tanning we forget what it’s quite a daunting treatment to a newbie client.

• When explaining to your clients what to wear during the tan I have found it best for the client to say “ remove your clothes down to whatever you would like to be tanned in” this avoids the embarrassment for the client if they want to be topless or top and bottomless!! It leaves it down to the client.

• Always remember to wipe over toenails and fingernails and palms at the end of every tan.

• Try not to lose concentration when tanning, keep focussed on your method and technique chatting to your client about their impending night out can make you forget where you have just sprayed!!!

• Try to get a print out of your spray tanning routine and have it up in your tanning area, not only does this remind you but it can be a guide for clients in terms of positions particularly if you have it in picture guide. (those who don’t have one of these PM me and if I get enough interest I am happy to create one just for the geeks!!)
It is advised to protect/cover the client’s lips when tanning, according to the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), "externally applied" cosmetics are those "applied only to external parts of the body and not to the lips or any body surface covered by mucous membrane". Lips can be protected using Vaseline or similar lip salve applied with a fresh cotton bud each time.

Below is some information on a recent study I found interesting. What this means to you as a tanning technician is after a spray tan the client is advised not to put anything on the skin until the guide colour is washed off . In short this includes sunscreen, so on hot sunny days or even non sunny days (where UV light is present) gently remind your client they are not at all protected and more susceptible to damage from sunlight.

“For the 24 hours after self-tanner is applied, the skin is especially susceptible to free-radical damage from sunlight, according to a 2007 study led by Katinka Jung of the Gematria Test Lab in Berlin. Forty minutes after the researchers treated skin samples with active ingredient in self-tanners, Dihydroxyacetone, sometimes termed under the acronym DHA, they found that more than 180 percent additional free radicals formed during sun exposure compared with untreated skin. Another self-tanner ingredient, erythulose, produced a similar response. The interaction between the chemical-bronzing process and UV light overloads the skin's free-radical defense system, according to Jung and her colleague Thomas Herrling. For a day after self-tanner application, excessive sun exposure should be avoided and sunscreen should be worn outdoors, they say; an antioxidant cream could also minimize free radical production. Although some self-tanners contain sunscreen, its effect will not last long after application and a fake tan itself will not protect the skin from UV exposure.”

Happy Tanning Geeks!!!

Tonilee