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Airbrush
Tanning: A 3 Step Process
To acquire a flawless,
long-lasting airbrush tan requires a three step process:
proper exfoliation, the tanning procedure itself, and
Moisturization. If you are engaged in providing an
airbrush tanning service, it also offers additional
revenue opportunities -- through the resale of individual
products to your clients.
Exfoliation
A sunless tan is produced
on the outer layer of the skin's epidermis and is subject
to the normal skin shedding cycle. At any time, some of
this exposed layer may be ready to slough off while other
parts may be freshly renewed. The use of a physical dermal
exfoliator provides a consistent, fresh layer of skin to
serve as the base for a sunless tan. Exfoliation should be
performed the night before or on the morning of an
airbrush tanning session. Another excellent product of
this type can be applied at the point of service. Called
by various names, this Pre Tan Skin Preparation, is
applied by airbrush, trigger bottle, or sponge and then
wiped down with a towel -- a paper towel works well. About
1 Oz suffices. This product balances the skin PH, removes
excess oils and perfumes, and enhances the ability of the
DHA to penetrate the outer skin layer. Ideally, both types
of exfoliation should be performed. But the point of sale
skin prep solution allows spontaneous walk-in traffic to
be served and ameliorates inconsistent or improper
exfoliation by the client. The tanning store caries
several brands of both types of products.
Airbrush
Tanning Process
An airbrush procedure is
explained in another section of this manual. Airbrush
tanning solutions typically contain two bronzing agents:
an immediate bronzer and the active tanning agent, DHA. In
most solutions the DHA takes about 10 hours to fully
develop. The first shower is recommended no sooner than
10-12 hours for most solutions. Accelerated tanning
solutions such as our NOW! label fully develop in 4 hours,
so the shower can be taken sooner. Much of the immediate
bronzer will wash off in the first shower, revealing the
developed DHA tan beneath. The solution should be matched
to the client skin type to the degree possible. A lighter
skin type should not receive greater than a 10% solution.
A 12% solution may be indicated for a darker skin type.
The application amount should be carefully controlled. A 4
Oz application of 6% DHA solution is equivalent to a
normal 2 Oz application of 12% DHA solution. One of the
common causes of the dreaded orange color is
misapplication. A stronger solution can be diluted if
necessary to match the solution to the client. Adding
about 1/2 Oz of distilled water to a 2 Oz application will
result take a 10% solution to an 8%.
Moisturization
The active ingredient in
sunless tanning solutions, DHA, has a drying effect.
Proper Moisturization offsets this effect and prolongs the
skin renewal cycle -- resulting in a long lasting sunless
tan. There are two categories of moisturizers for sunless
tanning: moisturizers without DHA and those with DHA,
essentially "light" sunless lotions. These approaches can
be used separately or together for good effect. Tan
extender moisturizers with DHA contain 3% or less DHA on
average. Compare this to a SUN labs sunless lotion which
may contain about 8% DHA. The tan extender, with a lower
DHA %, is appropriate for more frequent use while a true
sunless lotion would not be applied daily. This type of
moisturizer can be used to deepen and prolong a tan.
Someone with lighter skin may opt not to use this type of
product heavily -- if they received a normal application
amount in their tanning session. Or, if they received a
less concentrated DHA solution on application, they could
use the extender lotion to gradually darken their tan in
accordance with how well they tolerate additional DHA. The
tanning store offers several brands of quality, economical
moisturizers with and without DHA.
Please note
that due to import some packing may be different than the images
used on this website.
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