GO sunless!

GO sunless!
Profit From the Newest in Tanning Technology

by Hollie Costello

While most salon owners would hate to admit it, there are some people who can't tan and some people who never will achieve their personal goal of a deep, dark tan from an indoor tanning bed. Now, however, salon owners do not need to turn away customers because the new wave of sunless tanning lotions on the market are working with better technology, cleaner fragrances and faster results.

A Sunshine Day

Sunless tanning lotions have come a long way from the orange-palm, color-streaking, smelly lotions of the past. With quality innovations in the indoor tanning industry, as well as chemical innovations in the lotion industry, it makes better sense than ever to encourage customers to buy a sunless tanning product.

According to Inge Glees, director of marketing for John Abaté International™, the company decided to add sunless tanning lotion as another way to help care for its clients' skin. The JA™ Sunless Tanning Lotion is formulated with a large quantity of vitamin E for deep moisturization--one of the many things that cut down on streaking color.

"Due to its moisturization properties, the lotion leaves a slight sheen on the skin when it is applied--making it easier for the customer to see where the product has been applied and harder for clients to miss areas," says Glees. "The JA Sunless Tanning Lotion can be used by any skin type and, with regular use, can build a deep, rich color."

Glees says the same ingredient, Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), is used in most, if not all, sunless tanners to create color; however, it is the right amount of that ingredient that creates substantial color in an even, rich tone. Only the proper ingredients, will create the proper color in an easy to use, non-streaking, non-smelly formula.

Other companies agree that adding a sunless tanner to a product line only serves to enhances the line.

"Our new Sunless Shimmer tanning mousse has beaten every one of our projections," says John Alexander, vice president of Supre, Inc. Alexander says the company decided to add sunless tanning to its already successful indoor tanning product line after noticing growth in the retail market for sunless tanning lotions.

"There were sunless tanning lotions everywhere--in major department stores, drug stores, even grocery stores," he says. "We felt what better place to sell a tan than in a tanning salon?"

Alexander says salon owners were apprehensive at first about adding sunless tanners to their product shelves--feeling the lotions were in direct competition with the indoor tanning packages. However, after much consideration, salon owners soon believed what Alexander was selling--which is clients are sometimes unable to keep regular appointments and sunless tanners help augment an indoor tanning session, not take the place of an indoor tanning session.

In addition, three levels of facial bronzers were added to the Colour line, giving each skin type its true maximum color. Alexander says the additions were well received because, he believes, every person can work toward the deepest, darkest color their skin can achieve with the help of a sunless tanner.

"We chose to introduce sunless tanners to the California Tan and Touch of Bali lines as a response to the growing popularity of the 'bronzed skin look,'" says Sabrina Little, marketing director for California Tan. "We wanted to keep retail dollars in the salon, providing owners with the opportunity to increase sales and satisfy all their customers."

Little says the products really sell themselves--people are looking for any way they can achieve a dark, even color and sunless tanners help in the sensitive areas and in areas some people do not like to tan, such as their face.

Other companies agree--it is not fear of the sun's rays or of indoor tanning that fuels the sunless lotion craze, it is the opportunity to get even darker by using the lotion. DHA, the active ingredient in most sunless tanning formulas, has been around for more than 30 years; however, new technology from the indoor tanning industry has made it easier to use--and has worked to make them smell better as well.

"There always will be people who believe they can be darker than a few tanning sessions could ever make them," says Stacy Kaufman, president of Pro Tan/Professional Brands. Pro Tan® offers not only a sunless tanning lotion for the masses but also a sunless tanning lotion for competitive body builders. "This offers an alternative to tanners who will tan too frequently despite salon owners' warnings--and burn or hurt their skin."

Kaufman says those in the industry recognize that in the hot summer months, people are not looking to get into hot tanning equipment to come out with dark color--they want to take the easy way out.

"Sunless tanners also are available for those that don't or can't tan in the sun or in an indoor tanning bed," he says. "People with sensitive or fair skin can use the sunless tanning lotion to achieve a color they never had been able to achieve before."

Kaufman says the paint-on tanning, or competitive sunless tanning lotion, is rarely sold at salons--stocked instead at gyms or health clubs.

"The paint-on color is much more popular with competitive body builders than with the average tanner," Kaufman says. "It really is an instant color for only a short period of time."

Other companies simplify the indoor tanning process by accentuating their existing indoor tanning lotion line with sunless products that can aid or complete an existing tan.

"Two of our products are both sunless tanners and indoor tanning accelerators," says Ken Dion, president of Power Tan. "That enables tanners to get the color they want with or without ultraviolet rays."

Dion says his lotions contain the active DHA ingredient, as well as bronzers that aid the user in application. He believes that if people are using sunless tanners correctly--rubbing in a circular direction, not up and down, moisturizing before application and washing hands directly after application--the sunless tanning lotions can be the answer to any tanning problem. However, he also stresses that skin type should be taken into account even when using sunless tanners.

"People can use sunless tanners no matter what their skin type, but the color really varies, just like with conventional tanning methods," he says. "Sunless tanners are not going to look as natural on a Skin Type 1 as they are on a Skin Type 3--it is just a matter of skin tone."

Salon owners also can market sunless tanners to people who chose not to tan their face or who are looking for instant color for a weekend getaway or event. According to John Keiffner, executive director of business development at Swedish Beauty and Australian Gold, everything relies on the marketing of the lotion.

"There is the definite potential for a large market for sunless tanning products," he says. Both the Swedish Beauty and Australian Gold lines offer a sunless tanning lotion to augment their existing lines. Often salon owners only purchase the sunless tanners close to the spring and summer seasons; however, Keiffner believes that salons can capture a larger market by stocking sunless tanners year-round.

"People always are going on vacations or attending special events," he says. "By asking the proper questions of your customers and by paying attention to the events of the season, sunless tanners can move all year--just like indoor tanning."

Jill Steffey, director of sales, marketing and development for MOST Products, agrees that sunless tanners have become a huge marketing tool for indoor tanning salons.

"Our company felt long ago that sunless tanners were a large part of any skincare regimine," says Steffey. "We have since encouraged salon owners to mention sunless tanners as an addition to a visit to a booth or bed."

MOST Products has a number of marketing tips that it releases to salons for employees and owners to use when advertising products. Information such as using sunless tanning lotions to eliminate goggle marks or to blend out tan lines could bring a second sale to any salon.

"We have a very natural color that we have developed through years of research and testing," Steffey says. "Sunless tanning lotion is for more than the indoor tanning industry--it is for everyone."

Tan from a Booth, Not a Bottle

Though companies are getting more technologically advanced with their sunless tanning formulas, the true test of any lotion is application. Without the proper application, there are going to be streaks, no matter how great the formula. That is why manufacturers now are coming out with booths that spray sunless tanning lotion on the tanner, providing glowing color all over the body without the streaks.

Currently, there are two sunless tanning booths on the market--Mystic Tan® and Mist-On Systems. Though both booths use a spray technique to evenly coat the body, Mystic Tan, which was developed by Palm Beach Tan, Inc., a Dallas-based indoor tanning salon corporation, uses special technology called MagneTan® Technology that atomizes the formula to create a bond between the spray and the body. The atomized lotion then collects on the body evenly, with a limited amount left to towel off after application.

"The drops work as little magnets, collecting on the body and repelling other drops so the tan lays evenly on the skin," says Troy Cooper, president of Mystic Tan. "By having the equipment spray the formula for 14 seconds on each side of the body, tanners can achieve a dark, tan appearance without ultraviolet rays."

In addition, the MagneTan formula contains bronzers that instantly provide color to the tanner--the DHA ingredients take a little longer, with a tan developing in three to four hours. According to Cooper, depending on the tanner's skin type, MagneTan can last up to four days without re-application.

"We recommend using Mystic Tan in a similar manner to using tanning beds or booths," says Cooper. "Two visits within two to three days and then maintain the color with visits every four to five days. Because it is non-staining and non-greasy, tanners can visit the Mystic Tan on their lunch break, before work or even before an evening out without just like with regular tanning equipment."

Tom Laughlin, president of Mist-On Systems, says his units have been going strong since their introduction on the market two years ago. With nine in operation and nine currently being installed, as well as orders for 12 more, Laughlin has seen business grow by leaps and bounds.

"Our system is an automated sunless tanning process that uses an eight-nozzle arm to evenly distribute our lotion over the entire body," he says. Users of the system step into the booth, adjust the nozzle so it is in front of them and press the button for activation. After rotating four times (a five-minute tan time according to Laughlin), the user towels off the excess lotion, dresses and is ready to go. In addition, his formula will not affect the tanners hair or clothing.

"A computer program varies the spraying to match a person's body type," Laughlin says. "Bald people love our system because it tans the top of the head."

The Mist-On System also includes the bronzer and the DHA active ingredient, producing instant and long-term color. In fact, he says testers could watch the tan appear before their eyes in only 30 minutes, and it would last for up to seven days depending on a person's pigment and skin type.

"Like any kind of tanning, the amount of pigment in your skin will determine the color that you receive from the Mist-On System," he says.

According to the companies, both systems are easy to care for and easy to clean, similar to regular tanning equipment.

A Golden Glow For Those With No Color

According to the lotion and booth manufacturers, the most important aspect of sunless tanning is being able to provide color to anyone. From the most pigmentally-challenged to the darkest tanner, sunless tanning lotions provide a new way to even out skin tones and create a tan 365 days a year.

"In the past, people have worried about looking orange or getting some sort of strange color mix from the sunless lotions," says Laughlin. "Now, with new technology, and better education, everyone can be happy using sunless tanning lotions--to create or to augment their tan."