Are hand application tans a dying breed?

[Miss Sylk]

I still use good old St tropez mousse and i apply it by hand to my clients.

I have worked in 3 salons all of which had spray tan machines, all different, cost and products etc. Non of which i believe gave as good result as my hand application, however they were darker, but more problems.

So, as for now im happy with my st tropez mousse, but in future i was thinking of getting a spray tan machine, i will use st tropez in it though, cant fault that stuff. Every salon around me seems to have one. Its quick and with it being quick it can then be cheaper! So i can see exactly why clients love them. But in all the ones ive had, ive never had one as good as the hand application St tropez.

I know im going to be extremely out voted here LOL but i speaka the truth from experience.

Hmm.....what to do? follow the crowd and get more clients interested or stick to my guns and give a good result to less clients?

 

[Beautician29]

I was training in both hand application and spray tanning in St tropez and did find the spray tanning a lot quicker and easier with better results (darker) but use the hand application for myself at home, i think you should try the spray tanning along side the hand application if you dislike it that much you can always re-sell your kit

 

[collin]

If we look at market stats (speaking from the perspective of the UK ) spray tanning has most certainly eroded heavily into the number of therapists applying a manual application

I guess it because its much quicker and more variants available :hug:

 

[kezza*]

Hi ya
I'm so glad I saw this thread because I have been thinking the same. I trained with st tropez and I used the airbrush in the last salon I worked and would love to use it again only thing is I'm working from home and don't think I have the room in my room to do a spray tan and I'm also worried about the over spray, I have recently been thinking of going back and doing the manual tanning but wasn't sure if it's still popular and worth doing.

 

[Miss Sylk]

I really feel everyone wants a spray tan now rather than hand tan, that means they will probs look elsewhere if its not on my list before i can say "but you wont go orange or get streaks"

Really sad, but i think its true. I always say "if it aint broke, dont fix it" but unfortunately, i must move with my customers.

I cant lower the price of a hand application to compete with spray tans, 10 mins for £10-15 is perfectly acceptable. 30 mins is not :-(

I like that idea Beautician29, i can always sell the kit on, but i dont know where to start looking for a decent machine or one i can use well. 1 i used sounded like a jet engine, another splattered then broke lots and the other was so fine and accurate i could never manage to do one without patches missing (that probs didnt make sense) All i know is my hands are the way they always were and i cant go wrong with them!!

 

[ukfaye]

Hi if you do decide to try spraytanning I would get lots of samples hun, as I certainly dont turn anyone orange and leave no streaks!! I would say out of all the spraytan solutions I have tried, St tropez is not the best, the main reason being there is only one colour so you can not match the solution to the skin type, this then means no orange.
I think the same if it aint broke etc... but times change, and time is money.
I bet you'll end up loving it, its just finding the solution you like to work with.xx

 

[Martin Duffy]

I still offer hand applied St Tropez, but use the cream rather than the mousse as it's darker & lasts longer. I personally don't find it an issue as there are loads of spray tan places & no hand applied salons other than mine, so I have a niche market.

A lot of the clients I get for the hand applied tan come in because they don't like the experience of the spray tan & prefer the more 'treatment' based style of the cream (i.e. laying down, getting a full body scrub & the cream massaged in). Most of my clients also find the hand applied tan lasts a lot longer than their spray tans & the finish looks more naturally blended, when properly applied.

Ultimately it depends on the type of salon, but as I aim for a more luxury market, not an in & out type service, the hand applied tan is more suitable for my clientelle.

 

[Bed Bunny]

I used to work in a salon and did spray and manual tanning. Now i have a small home salon with no space for spray tanning so i just do the manual, lotion tan.

I must say i think the manual results are better than spray tanning. However, i know that lots of clients like the speed of spray tanning and if i had the space, i would be offering it but would still offer the manual tan. I think it's best to offer both, then you don't lose any clients to other salons and your clients can make a choice, with your help, as to which tan is best for them.

BB
x

 

[Beautician29]

Well as ive only recently qualified and was looking for something that looked good but also was affordable so ive bought the Shadez tanning set, i got the pop up tent, the machine..which isnt really noisy and 1litre of tan with next day delivery for £215, only just got it today so havent had the chance to try it but for the money i think ive done really well.

 

[Eyekandi]

I trained in the hand tan from St Tropez which i loved but then the salon i worked for went with Sudo for spary tanning..it is so much quicker but personally I love the colour of Sudo now which is why I have chosen it for my own business.

 

[Miss Sylk]

I still offer hand applied St Tropez, but use the cream rather than the mousse as it's darker & lasts longer. I personally don't find it an issue as there are loads of spray tan places & no hand applied salons other than mine, so I have a niche market.

A lot of the clients I get for the hand applied tan come in because they don't like the experience of the spray tan & prefer the more 'treatment' based style of the cream (i.e. laying down, getting a full body scrub & the cream massaged in). Most of my clients also find the hand applied tan lasts a lot longer than their spray tans & the finish looks more naturally blended, when properly applied.

Ultimately it depends on the type of salon, but as I aim for a more luxury market, not an in & out type service, the hand applied tan is more suitable for my clientelle.

Thank you martin, well said, i totally understand you there.

 

[Miss Sylk]

Hi if you do decide to try spraytanning I would get lots of samples hun, as I certainly dont turn anyone orange and leave no streaks!! I would say out of all the spraytan solutions I have tried, St tropez is not the best, the main reason being there is only one colour so you can not match the solution to the skin type, this then means no orange.
I think the same if it aint broke etc... but times change, and time is money.
I bet you'll end up loving it, its just finding the solution you like to work with.xx

Its the machine that i have the biggest problems with. tbh hun. and i cant sample them can i :-D x

 

[Miss Sylk]

I trained in the hand tan from St Tropez which i loved but then the salon i worked for went with Sudo for spary tanning..it is so much quicker but personally I love the colour of Sudo now which is why I have chosen it for my own business.

I used Sudo at my previous salon, i got so frustrated with the machine, its not foolproof. The colour was very nice, but my boss did my legs stupidly orange twice! and she thought she was an expert! worrying because she was a trainer. Perhaps she selected the wrong colour for me as ive seen other people go a nice brown.

Ive been quite lucky to try 3 machines, i wouldnt buy one without trying, but seen as i disliked all 3, i am a bit confused. I a very even one done recently but the colour was terrible, was fake bake, no mixing, just totally orange & heavy :-( Machine was good though, looked for it online and cant see where they got it from, said Weils-trade on it????

 

[Martigirl]

I am trained in St Tropez manual application but I am also an accomplished Spray Tan technician.

In 3 years I have never been asked for a manual application which I am personally glad about as it takes 45-60 minutes for slightly more than I charge for a spray tan and have done in 20 minutes.

Strangely any clients who have complained of a bad previous experience invariably have been with a manual application.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that the result is probably more to do with the technician as they should have a clear understanding of the principles of self tanning as well as offering a wide range of solutions to suit their client base thus ensuring that their client has a flawless and natural long lasting tan.

hth's:hug:

 

[jo1983]

Just a quick note, if anyone is looking for a spray tan gun, LA Tan are selling on ebay and they have fantastic offer: buy 2 litres of tan and get the gun for FREE!

 

[allyballybee]

We are now doing just manual tans after offering spray tanning for years. I just felt like I was redecorating the salon all the time, because the walls and everything else was covered in the spray. If I could get a spray tan that didn't make a mess, then I would do it again, but the company I was with were never very helpful.

 

[Sunless Tanning]

Hi guys,

I must say that spray tan solutions are preferred because of their efficient and less time/effort consuming in terms of usage. I also can't deny that the sensual application of tanning solutions are much more desired because of noticeable effectiveness. Via my personal experience, I can tell hands on usage is so much preferred when you have the time or the right people to meet with, very nice and sensual. Otherwise tan sprays do make good use when it comes to hectic people who are in a very busy schedule.

 

[Miss Sylk]

So far im getting the idea that hand application and spray are almost like 2 different treatments!

Hand - like a treatment, for people who are not afraid of touch, time & attention.

Spray - quick and cheap, for those who may not like to be touched & dark colour lovers.

Both good i guess, in their own ways. But as custom tells me, i should really get a machine if i want tanning to be a big part of my business.

I wish we had a statistic here like 75% of salon tanning visits are spray and 25% hand etc etc btw thats just an example.

 

[Martin Duffy]

I agree with your summary, and it's a useful thing to consider to help decide whether to do one or the other or both. I think the key question is how much of your business do you want to be tanning. Personally I'm not really that interested in tanning, especially spray tanning, as body treatments & facials are more my interest, hence why I'm quite happy just offering hand applied!

 

[BABSann]

When I did my training some years ago with St Tropez we were taught to use the cream only,the mousse was just for retail not to use in a treatment as it wasn't as dark,cant be blended down for people who need/want a lighter tan and it doesn't last anywhere near as long as the cream.

I think it's good to use both spray and hands on method if possible because as already mentioned some like the pampering feel of the hands on method.It's a full hour of exfoliation,moisturising,tanning then buffing.Some prefer the hands on method and when applied by a good therapist should be streak free...unless of course the client doesn't follow their aftercare:irked:

Then you have the spray tan,quick and easy for the client who just does not need,want nor have the time to have a hands on tan.We have clients who decline a tan because we dont do sprays and we have clients that will only come to a salon who uses the hands on method

I would love to be able to have room in the salon to have a spray tanning booth or even to be able to use a pop up tent but even though we have two rooms there just isn't the room.

Personally I think that the hands on method isn't as favoured as much as spray tanning but given the choice I would like to be able to offer both to suit all needs.
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