Self-Tanners

Imagine this dilemma: One of your customers is leaving on a cruise in less than one week, and she has been so busy that she has not had time to tan. What to do? Being the knowledgeable salon operator, have the perfect solution—suggest a sunless tanner or a sunless tanning experience in a automatic stand-up booth or from an airbrush or HVLP unit.

Afraid that offering a sunless tanner is counterproductive to selling indoor tanning? Think again. What better way to secure customer confidence than by showing them how to even out those unsightly pressure points and uneven tan lines? You already offer a complete line of skincare products to keep your customers’ skin moisturized and provide darker, more beautiful tans. So round out that skincare promotion by offering sunless tanners and you will find it will shed new light on your profits.

Better Ingredients, Better Results

Self-tanners have gained popularity in the past few years for a number of reasons. The medical community’s condemnation of UV light has caused some sun worshippers to seek refuge indoors. And while indoor tanning offers a controlled environment and all the comforts one could want, the media’s incisive industry bashing has caused some fear to getting in a tanning bed.

Another reason self-tanners are popular is the ease of application and upkeep. Years ago, self-tanners were messy and difficult to apply. Today, application has been refined and products have gained a respectable place in industry.

In addition, many salon owners are noticing a trend toward clients covering their faces with towels to avoid premature wrinkling. Sunless tanners are the perfect remedies for those telltale towel lines on face and neck. In addition, it is a great product for those people who have problems tanning or for those difficult areas to tan such as the feet and hands. Sunless tanners also can be used to fill in pressure points and even out tan lines. And, for some fair skin people, sunless tanners can be used to augment the tanning process.

How Sunless Works

Years ago, sunless tanners didn’t live up to their promise of deep, golden tans. Instead, they left the skin streaked and splotched with a distinctive orange cast. Today’s sunless tanning products are far more sophisticated than those introduced nearly 30 years ago. In fact, in the last few years, these products have undergone a sort of metamorphosis—streaks, splotches and orange are out; smooth, bronze and beautiful are in.

The key ingredient to the products’ evolution is Dihydroxyacetone, or DHA, which is an extract of sugar cane. DHA reacts with proteins in the skin to produce a bronze coloration on the top layer of skin—in essence, a cosmetic effect that does not saturate the skin.