Spray Tanning - Stay on the right side of caution!

Due to the increased awareness of the risks of the sun’s ultraviolet rays, spray tanning is becoming a more and more popular alternative. Although spray tanning is the ‘safe’ way to give your skin that tanned look, many people do question if it is 100% hazard-free for their skin.

So, the question is:

Is spray tanning a safe alternative to a real tan?

The main ingredient in a spray tan is Dihydroxyacetone (DHA). This is currently approved by the TGA (the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration) and FDA (U.S Food and Drug Administration) for external use only (not inhalation). So, as a salon owner, care should be taken to ensure that fumes are not inhaled by the technicians or the clients. DHA is a colourless sugar that interacts with the dead cells located in the stratum corneum of the epidermis. It is often derived from plant sources such as sugar beets and sugar cane. Today, DHA (along side erythrulose) is the main active ingredient in all sunless tanning skincare preparation and is considered the most effective sun-free tanning additive.

As the safety of inhaling DHA is so unclear at the moment, I believe it’s best to stay on the right side of caution and, although I don’t want to ring any alarm bells, I would rather my clients be informed with the facts so as to make their own choices regarding their spray application.

First and foremost, the best way to eradicate most over spray (and therefore inhalation) is by ensuring the salon you visit uses a spray tan extractor fan/s. This is a ventilator that filters all the over spray and makes it a cleaner and safer environment for both the technician and the client; it draws in the excess tanning solution in the air and takes it into the filter and then throws back out the cleaned air.

Questions to ask when booking in for a spray tan:

-Do you have an extractor fan at your tanning salon?

-Do you provide nose filters and/or a mask to prevent inhalation of DHA?

(Nose filters sit in the nostrils and can be kept on when the face is being sprayed / a face mask would need to be removed if the face was to be sprayed so you would need to hold your breath in this instance so as to not inhale the spray)

-Do you provide goggles?

(Obviously, eye wear would need to be removed should you require your face to be sprayed but keeping your eyes closed throughout the tanning procedure is always recommended)

-Do you supply disposable undergarments to cover my private parts?

(These areas are more sensitive than other areas)

That Spray Tan Place uses an extractor fan with every application and offers all of the above mentioned protection.

I hope this blog has given you some good information. Please follow me on Instagram (@ThatSprayTanPlace), Facebook (That Spray Tan Place - Gold Coast) and Twitter (@ThatSprayTanPla) for more top tips.

Please call to make your next booking or book online. Speak soon, Nic 0414 399 701 nic@thatspraytanplace.com.au