How to get the best spray tan of your life
At The Dolly Byrd, spray tans are offered on certain days of the month to make our little community of Dolly Byrds feel their best and most confident during the important moments. Here are some tips on how to get the best tan and keep it the best as long as possible (up to 10 days).
Pre-Appointment Tips:
Wear loose clothing to your appointment
Jeans or leggings can ruin your tan before it is fully processed. I recommend wearing sweat pants and a loose top. Skip the tight socks and sneakers in favor of crocs, flip flops, or other open and airy shoes.
No lotions, potions, or shaving the day of your service
Just clean, dry skin. If you have any skin concerns or questions, please reach out! I have dehydrated skin a lot of the time since I have eczema, so I personally will use Aveno lotion the night before my spray. Avoid oil-based products.
The day before
Exfoliate and shave if that is your preferred form of hair removal. Make sure you exfoliate all of your previous tan off to make way for your fresh one! I recommend using an exfoliating mitt and an exfoliating body wash like Naturium’s Glycolic Acid.
48 hours before
Wax no later than 48 hours before your service. Discontinue any retinols or chemical exfoliants if you plan to get your face and neck sprayed a MINIMUM of 48 hours before, but more like a week before.
Stay hydrated
Spray tans look much better on hydrated and well-cared-for skin. Drink plenty of water (as a life rule) and moisturize well 24 hours before your appointment.
Avoid harsh soaps
When prepping for your tan, don’t use Dove soap or other harsh cleansers. This can cause you to have spots, streaks, flakes, etc. If you are on a skin care routine, we can always skip spraying the face if that is your preference.
Come to your appointment deodorant-free
Unless you are okay with having green underarms (this should not last more than 24 hours)
Post-Appointment Tips
No sweaty activities for the first 24 hours
You will have a rinse time assigned to you that is customized to your tan goal, but a tan is not fully finished developing until the 24 hour mark. We want to disturb the tan as little as possible until that time.
Rinsing
When rinsing your tan, rub your skin gently with your hands and rinse until the water runs clear. I recommend using lukewarm water as hot temperatures can damage your skin and lead to dryness/flakiness.
24 hours after
This is when you take your soap shower and moisturize. Remember when I said that hydrated skin looks the best? If you felt like all of your tan washed away at your rinse, you should be feeling much more developed and glowy now.
Avoid exfoliating
Your spray tan lives only in the very top layer of skin, which gets scrubbed off when we use enzymes, scrubs, or exfoliating mitts. Oils also soften the skin, making it slough off more easily, and taking the tan with it.
Don’t
Don’t use products with ingredients such as: petrolatum, AHAs, BHAs, fragrance, mineral oil, or sulfates once your tan is applied, as they will strip it off quickly.
Bonus tips:
Hormones
Hormones play a role in how a tan turns out. Pregnancy, menopause, and hormone imbalances can cause a tan to not appear at all or not adhere to specific places on the skin.
Fungus
Versicolor tinea is a very common fungus that many people do not know they have until they get a spray tan. It looks like pale spots that the tan doesn’t adhere to. While this fungus clears fairly quickly with treatment, the spots can still show up with a spray tan for many weeks (I recommend waiting 6 weeks to try a spray tan again).
Don’t forget to wear sunscreen! Spray tan does NOT protect your skin from the sun!
Products that make tans even better:
Tan extending lotion- apply daily to keep the glow going!
Nuda body shimmer- makes your body reflect the light and look luminous.
Body washes and body butters made by spray tan brands (Nuda, Sjolie, Glazed Sunless, The Glow Doctor, etc.)- spray tan brands have a vested interest in turning out beautiful tans and keeping them that way.
Tan remover- for when you are done with your tan and are ready for a new one.
Tanning water- great for spritzing the face since it fades the quickest, or for spot fixes.
