​Why It’s Essential to Prepare Your Skin for a Spray Tan

If you want to be a glowing goddess this summer, then it’s time to stop waiting around and get ready! If you’re already grabbing your tanning passes and want to jump in and get bronzed up, we’re all for it. But first, prepare. And here’s why.

Evade Blotching

To achieve a flawless sunless tan without patches and blotchiness you need to exfoliate. If you tend to have dry skin in certain areas, or haven’t exfoliated in a while, it can result in a very blotchy spray tan. Although moisturising before a tanning session isn’t recommended, make sure to moisturise religiously the day before. With proper and consistent moisturising, as well as exfoliation the day before the session, you’ll be able to avoid these patches. Nobody likes a fake spray tan, right? You want to look all-natural, but without the darker dry patches.

Create a Smooth Surface for Even Distribution

You’ll probably hear us advocate for exfoliation a lot in this blog post, and that’s because it’s one of the most important prep steps. Lose the dry skin and dead cells, not just to avoid blotchiness. You need to create a smooth surface and a clean base for the spray tan to actually apply evenly all around your body. It’s easy to fix a few drips and drops, but uneven distribution due to lack of proper preparation can’t be fixed after the spray tan has been done. This is because your skin reacts to certain ingredients in the spray tan, and exfoliation enables cells to be fresh and ready for an even application of the tan formula.

Close Off Pores and Prevent Dots

We recommend waxing and shaving at least 24 hours before your next tanning session. This will help the tan simply stick to your skin. If you shave or wax right after, you’re going to basically exfoliate your skin, which is detrimental to the glistening tan you want to achieve.

Not only that, but in order to prevent any darker dots of colour in places where your pores are open, make sure to remove all body hair in due time.

Longer Duration

The better you prepare, by moisturizing regularly, exfoliating, shaving, waxing and the longer your spray tan will last, as it will have a very suitable environment for sticking entirely to your skin and acting as if it was your real tan. If there’s no barrier between your skin and the layer of tan, that means your tan is going to last longer.

Avoid Discolouration of Nails

Although you shouldn’t go with a full face of makeup, decked out in a cloud of your favourite perfume, nail polish is A-Okay. It’s completely fine to put at least a clear coat on your nails. This will prevent any possible discoloration.

Ready to get your glow on? We’re completely ready to hook you up with the greatest tan you’ll ever have. Help us by preparing properly, and you’ll have a tan that’s on point.

For full prep instructions check out our tips for tanners