Pre-Tan Care
For optimum results & an evenly tanned body, please follow these instructions carefully before your session. Before and after care is the key to your flawless tan.
Spray tan attire
Sun Mist Policy requires that both Men & Women wear an appropriate undergarment for your session. Underwear, swim suits, & shorts are all considered appropriate. Discrimination laws do not allow us to offer different rules that are gender specific. To help better protect our spray tan technicians, we have elected to not offer a fully nude service. Please contact us with any other questions.
Prepare your skin
Refrain from using deodorants, make-up, perfumes, lotions, or any other products that act as a barrier and inhibit the solution from absorbing to your skin thus preventing the development of your tan. Please try to avoid coming in with excessive sweat. We have a facility to wash off make-up if needed. If you have had a recent sunburn and are experiencing any peeling, wait until you are no longer peeling before spray tanning. Getting a spray tan while you’re peeling may result in a splotchy unpleasant tan.
- Shave wherever you typically shave with a new razor before you exfoliate for your session.
- Thorough exfoliation is vital to an even, long lasting, flawless tan.
- Exfoliation removes excess oils and dead skin cells to prepare skin to absorb a sunless tan
- To exfoliate, please use a water-based exfoliator or shower gel. Scrub with loofah or wash cloth. Exfoliation gloves work wonders. If you already have a sunless tan on your skin, please scrub off completely before your session.
- DO NOT USE ANY OILS or LOTION after your shower.
- You can remove makeup at the studio but please come early to do so.
- Decide if you would like to use barrier cream for nails, palms and feet should you want to use it, but it is not necessary. If so, please ask your technician.
Avoid these products
The products below act as a barrier to the solution, preventing even coverage and lasting result. Do not use these types of products before you come in. Remember, water-based everything.
- Oil based body products.
- Bar Soaps
- Deodorant
- Any product containing Mineral Oil.
- Dove products.
- Bath & Body Works & Victoria Secret products.
Prepare for the way home
- Be sure to wear loose fitting, dark clothing. Solution will wash off clothes & bed sheets in the wash.
- DO NOT wear denim of any kind directly after session
- NO Jeans, NO tight pants, NO tight shirts or dresses.
- NO underwire bras or sports bras.
- For footwear, we find that non-leather flip flops are best.
- We suggest wearing an old or dark colored bathing suit or undergarment.
- If you have leather seats in your car, we recommend bringing a towel to sit on for your ride home.
Prepare for the weather
First prepare for your trip home after your tan. It rains often in Florida. You must stay completely dry for 8 hours after your tanning session. Plan ahead and wear long sleeves, long pants, cover your feet, and please bring an umbrella. (Unless you use the Ultra Rapid Tan where you shower after 2-4 hours)
Post-Tan Care
With moderate care, your tan should last between 7-10 days. This depends on your after-care, your activities and skin type, just like a natural tan.
- Rule # 1. Stay dry for 8 hours after your session. No sweating, no exercising, no showering, and absolutely no getting wet for for 8 hours after your tan (unless you get our Ultra Rapid Tan).
- Other Rule #1. NO MINERAL OIL in any products you use. It will strip your tan. Be sure that the first ingredient is water.
- Avoid anything that can exfoliate your skin such as long, hot baths, soaking in hot tubs, exposure to chlorinated water, hair removal products, acne products, masks and scrubs, skin renewing products or exfoliating gloves and sponges.
- Use only water-based shower gels after your tan, use hands to lather, no loofah/cloths, no exfoliating.
- Pat dry for the remainder of your tan. No rubbing.
- Moisturize at least once a day with a water-based moisturizer. Twice a day is better. We recommend Aveeno or Jergens. Make sure it is not oil-based.
- Swimming and/or the use of hot tubs/saunas is not recommended. Salt water is a natural exfoliate and Chlorine slowly fades your color.
- We sell a great tan extending lotion that will extend your tan up to 5 days!
- No shaving for at least 24 hours after your spray. If you need to shave, use a brand new razor with water-based lubricating product to reduce friction.
- All sunscreens must be water-based & OIL FREE to prevent streaking. We recommend Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Spray sunscreen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sunless spray tanning is the spray/mist application of sunless tanning solution to desired areas of your body. When applied, DHA (the active ingredient in sunless tanning solution) reacts with the proteins in the skin’s superficial layer to form a golden brown color. Your skin begins to darken two to three hours after application and reaches its peak color within 24 hours. The color will gradually fade through natural exfoliation, just like a tan from the sun.
