Global tanning expert Jayne Cooper tells all on what to expect when getting a professional spray tan …
Prep
All the celebrities, influencers and beauty editors I tan will tell you that I bang on about spray tan prep! Exfoliate and remove any unwanted hair the day before to give a good clean base. If you have more time, you can start exfoliating every 2-3 days and moisturising daily to ensure your skin is super-hydrated.
On the day of your appointment, ensure your skin is free from moisturiser, deodorants & makeup.
What to expect
Firstly, what happens in the salon, stays in the salon so don’t be concerned!
You will be offered disposable underwear or you can bring your own, just make sure they’re not your favourites and go for black. Your therapist will give you some sticky feet (tanned soles of the feet isn’t an ‘in’ look), a hair towel and will apply moisturiser to your ankles, elbows, knees, feet, hands and any other drier areas of skin.
Your spray tan should only take around 15 minutes, simply spray and glow!
Development time
Spray tans take 4-8 hours to develop, so be careful not to get wet beforehand. If you opt for Express however, we can get you from desk to dancefloor in just 1 hour! Express allows you to control your depth of tan so you can rinse it off after 1 hour for a sunkissed glow, 2 hours for a medium tan or 3 hours for a dark bronze.
Don’t panic when you rinse off and all that colour goes down the drain – we call that guide colour, your tan will not wash away!
Choose your tan
We have a collection of tans that suit all occasions – but if you’re unsure, I’d recommend going for Express. You can choose your depth of tan – from a light sunkissed glow to a deep, dark tan just by choosing when to rinse it off! Definitely my favourite!
Maintain your glow
Now you’re glowing, you want to make sure you maintain it for as long as possible and ensure you have that even fade St.Tropez are known for! For a long-lasting tan, make sure you moisturise daily, and if you feel you want to top up the colour I always use one of our Gradual Tans to prolong it those extra few days.
For the most even fade, I’d recommend lightly exfoliating after a couple of days and doing so every other day thereafter – don’t worry, it won’t remove your tan, it will just gently buff away any dead skin cells and smooth out your glow!