California Tan Redefines Spray Tanning
Suddenly Sun Line Expands With TurboBronzer Equipment, Prep
Products
by Matt Morgan
California Tan’s Suddenly Sun® Collection debuted in mid-2003 with a booth spray solution, barrier cream, sunless primer and sunless tan extender—“pretty much the minimum that you’d need to start off in the business,” says Wolf Heim, the company’s vice president of sunless products. “It was the first half-step into a business that has been exploding over the past two years.” That half-step may turn into a giant foothold in the sunless market with the recent introduction of the TurboBronzer™ 3000 Spray Tanning Center and complementing new Suddenly Sun consumer products.
California Tan® took longer than others to develop its first sunless spray products because they had to live up to the Cal Tan brand’s quality and standards, Heim says.
Suddenly Sun was designed to help people get the high-quality, long-lasting sunless tan that they expect with a minimum of work, he says. The TurboBronzer 3000 spray-tanning system, California Tan’s introduction to equipment, continues the mission of quality.
First off, the system is vastly different than the airbrush units on the market today—in fact, it’s not an airbrush at all. The machine is driven by a turbine motor rather than a compressor seen in most airbrush systems. The turbine motor delivers a high volume of lowpressure “soft” air flow instead of a concentrated high-pressure blast found in compressor-based airbrush systems.
The combination of high volume and low pressure results in a faster application time, which is what tanners want, as well as quicker returns on investment, which is what salon owners want, Heim says.
“It is a very soft kind of air that deposits the solution much more efficiently on the skin,” Heim says. “What this means is instead of an airbrush session that may last anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, you’re able to get an outstanding full-body tan or body detailing in under 4 minutes.”
Because the solution dries almost as it’s being applied, there is no need for drying fans, plus any spots that need reapplication can be addressed right away.
“It’s an enveloping soft air that is helping to dry the solution just as it’s transferring solution particles to the skin,” he says.
“You’re getting very fine and even coverage. It’s a coverage that’s very efficient with very little wastage and messiness.”
The high-volume air flow permits some 85 percent of solution from the TurboBronzer 3000 to adhere to the skin. By contrast, nearly 70 percent of solution sprayed by other airbrush compressor systems is lost in overspray and by bouncing off the skin.
The TurboBronzer 3000 system includes a turbo motor, air hose and air gun, and spacesaving workstation, and is affordably priced, Heim says.
California Tan also has produced a training manual, 40-minute training video/DVD and training tips that include spray-tanning etiquette.
The Suddenly Sun Handheld Spray Solution, made for use in the TurboBronzer system, is available in cosmetically tinted and clear variants.
In conjunction with the TurboBronzer 3000, California Tan is releasing two new Suddenly Sun consumer products: the fast-absorbing DHA Self-Tanner Lotion and DHA Self-Tanner Spray for a natural, sun-kissed glow without the sun.
