Airbrush Spray Tanning Preparation

If you have never had an airbrush tan and are looking to have an airbrush tan for a special event, we suggest you come in at least one week prior to the event for a trial run. That will help us to determine the exact color tone that is best for you. The tanning session for any other event is best to be scheduled one or two days prior to the event.

What to Expect During a Tanning Session

If this is your first visit, we ask you to come 10 minutes earlier. What you wear or choose not to wear is your choice. You may wear bathing suits, underwear, disposable spa wear or have opted for no tan line. The disposable bra allows the entire back to spray tanned without tan lines. During the airbrush spray tanning session technician will instruct you on how to position your body to allow for an even application. The spray session will take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Then an air dryer is used to help the tanning solution to dry faster. It generally takes another 10 minutes for the drying process. Loose, dark clothes should be worn after tanning as the solution may stain clothes if not completely dry. Any color that does rub off on clothing usually washes out. However, please wear clothes that you do not mind the possibility of staining.

After Tan Care

Immediately after your spray tanning session avoid activities that may cause you to sweat excessively to avoid streaking of the cosmetic bronzer. The cosmetic bronzer in our tan solution provides an instant radiant tan while the active ingredient DHA continues to develop over the next 6 to 8 hours.

It is advisable not to bath or shower for 8 hours after a spray tanning session. When you shower, the water may run red-brown. This is the bronzer being washed off, revealing a great, natural looking tan that your own skin developed underneath.

Airbrush Spray Tanning FAQs

The Tanning Process

The skin is composed of two main layers. The Dermis provides the structure with the collagen fibers, elastin and blood vessels. The Epidermis, the protective outermost layer, is made up primarily of keratinocytes constantly dividing and pushing the cells above them to the surface. We produce over one million new keratinocytes each day. As they move towards the surface, they loose their organelles and fill with keratin proteins. At the surface, they are flattened and are mere scales of keratin, which eventually flake off.
The UV rays of the sun stimulate the melanocytes in the bottom layer of the skin’s epidermis to produce a substance called melanin, which protects the skin and gives it color. The melanocytes increase in activity producing more and more melanin but the melanocytes themselves do not increase in number. The more skin is exposed to these UV rays, the darker the tan becomes. A tan is our body’s desperate attempt to protect itself from these harmful rays. A sunburn results when not enough melanin can be produced to counteract the UV rays being absorbed by the skin. Melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, is caused by UV damage to the melanocytes.

UV rays are the archenemy of skin, regardless of whether from the sun or indoor tanning devices. UV exposure irritates the skin and deprives it of moisture, leading to a thicker texture, lower metabolism and further deterioration. Both types of ultraviolet light, UVA and UVB, will cause photodamage to the skin which can result in wrinkling, premature skin aging, as well as injury to the eyes and the body’s immune system.

But that’s not the worst of what they do. While UVB rays cause the surface burning of the skin, UVA rays penetrate deeper into the dermis causing damage that interferes with DNA/RNA reproduction, resulting in skin cancers and cell mutations. UVA rays are also associated with the deterioration of the elastin and collagen fibers, causing photo-aging, sagging and wrinkles. www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvandhealth.html

The damage that occurs from UV exposure is long-term and cumulative. There are many studies that associate UV exposure from tanning beds and the sun in adolescent years, with cancer and skin damage that materialize later in life. Your skin will remember every bit of sun it has ever had. Ronald Siegle, a skin cancer specialist at The James Cancer Hospital, Columbus Ohio, notes that these skin cancers ů”grow very slowly and the individuals often continue to get skin cancers their entire lives.” In 1988 the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) held a consensus conference on photo aging and photo damage. The conclusion from that conference was that “there is no safe way to tan.”

So what are your options? Airbrush Tanning? Sun Bathing? Tanning Beds? Self-Tanning Creams? Spray on Tanning Booths?

              ACS: Tanning Beds Pose Serious Cancer Risk, Agency Says

• Study: Tanning beds as deadly as arsenic – Cancer – msnbc.com
• A.M.A. Describes Tanning Hazards – The New York Times
• Can sunless tanners cause cancer? – The Skin Cancer Foundation
• American Academy of Dermatology: Darker Side of Tanning
• E: The Environmental Magazine Dangerous Tans
• USA Today: Looking at SKIN CANCER in a Different Light
• Dermatology Times: Tanning beds linked to NMSC
• Federal Trade Commission: Warning on Indoor Tanning
• Canadian Cancer Society: Sun Myths

Maybe you can go back and reread about the sun’s UV effects to your skin! The effects aren’t just what you see today ů they are cumulative and the skin damage and cancer appear years later. A UV tan is the sign of damage or injury to your skin. Having what is referred to as a base tan does not offer protection against further sun damage. A dark tan on fair skin offers only an SPF of about 4. There is no such thing as a safe tan.

Use common sense and practice moderation, gauge your exposure and be prudent while outdoors. To limit your exposure stay out of the sun between 10 AM and 4 PM, when 60% of the day’s UV rays reach the earth. Stand in the shade or use an umbrella to avoid sun exposure during midday. When in the sun, wear a wide-brimmed hat and tightly woven clothes to shield exposed skin. Complete the ensemble with UV-screening glasses, because UV radiation also is linked to cataract development and retina damage. How well you prevent premature aging and wrinkling, damage to the distribution of keratin proteins in your skin and cancer, is dependent on how well you avoid exposure to UV radiation. There really is no such thing as a safe UV tan.
Be sure to use a sun block or a broad spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or greater. Sunscreens either block or absorb UV rays. Opaque creams, like the white zinc oxide cream you see lifeguards putting on their noses, block and scatter UV rays. Sun blocks contain titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide and protect the skin by reflecting the UV rays.
Broad-spectrum sunscreens of SPF 15 or greater protect by absorbing UV radiation. There are many chemicals that absorb UV radiation, the most common used initially was PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid). People with sensitive skin should be aware that PABA can sometimes cause irritation or an allergic reaction. There are 17 ingredients approved for use in sunscreens in the U.S. and 25 approved for use in Europe. Other chemicals used in suncreens are:

• Cinnamates absorb UVB.
• Benzophenones absorb UVA.
• Anthranilates absorb UVA and UVB.

All sunscreens are labeled with an SPF, or Sun Protection Factor. The SPF acts like a multiplying factor. If you would normally be OK in the sun for 10 minutes and you apply an SPF 10 sunscreen, you will be OK in the sun for 100 minutes. In order for the sunscreen to work, however, you have to apply plenty and it has to stay on. You should apply it about half an hour before going out in the sun (or the water) so it can bind to your skin – if you don’t, then it is very easy for the sunscreen to wash off.
The SPF rating, by the way, applies only to UVB radiation.
If you end up looking like these guys, give us a call at Airbrush Tanning Florida. We can make tan lines, or make tans lines disappear!!! You should also educate yourself on other options to achieving that golden tan.

The organics include widely used ingredients such as octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), avobenzone, oxybenzone, and homosalate. They work primarily by absorbing UV light and dissipating it as heat. Formulators often combine inorganic and organic sunscreens for a synergistic effect. In fact, that is how most are capable of achieving very high SPF–sun protection factor–ratings. SPF is a measure of how effectively a sunscreen in a formulation limits skin exposure to the UV-B rays that burn skin. The higher the number, the more protection a sunscreen formula affords against sunburn.
However, the SPF system does not provide an objective measure of protection against UV-A radiation. And although sunscreen formulators do say their products contain broad-spectrum protection, a U.S. consumer has no clear way to compare the UV-A protection offered by one product with another. Europe has an unofficial method, whereas Japan and Korea have a system in place.
Among the inorganics, zinc oxide offers much better UV-A protection than TiO2. Among the U.S.-approved organics, avobenzone offers the greatest UV-A protection, but others offer some protection as well, depending on their absorption spectrum. A problem with inorganics is that they may leave a haze on the skin. Generally, the oil in a sunscreen formula helps wet the inorganic particles and gives the optical effect of transparency. But use of a formula with high levels of TiO2 could remind you of that veteran with the white blob on his nose.

Tanning tips

This is a customized, natural looking tan using odorless, non-toxic ingredients. Available in regular and dark. This is the perfect final touch after your Lay Down Wrap!

For the best tan results, exfoliate the entire body and shave the day of your tan. Leave the skin clean and dry (no lotions). Arrive with dark underwear or a swimsuit to be tanned in and loose, dark clothing to wear home. It is best to not wear make up. Moisturize daily after your tan to extend the results.

We recommend you do not bathe until 6 hours after your tanning session. Tanning is best done 2-3 days before a special event or photo session. You may do a tan right after a Body Wrap, but it is not recommended after heavy lotion is applied.