Should there be oil in my spray tan solution?

 

Much like after you spray the family cat with the garden hose, a bad spray tan can keep you up at night worrying about the choices that you’ve made; unlike your now revenge-hungry cat, a bad spray tan will not try to kill you in the night. 

One way to avoid a bad spray tan is to avoid any spray tan solution that includes oil, one way to avoid being murdered by your cat in the night is to get a dog instead.

 

Almost everywhere you look, you will see products with a smorgasbord of new, amazing ingredients. Acai berry, avocado, banana, coconut oil, aloe vera, lavender oils. It’s truly an amazing time to be a moisturizer! Now normally I would congratulate you on plunging into the vast ocean that is the skincare industry, but before you jump ship with a spray tan solution that has “moisturizing coconut oils” in it, you might want to think about what a spray tan is supposed to achieve.

Is a spray tan supposed to moisturize your skin? No. It’s supposed to give you a tan so beautiful and natural looking that sun tanners will be wondering how you did it. 

Is a spray tan supposed to be your deodorant or perfume? Of course not. So then why do they even have these fragrances in them? If you ask, most companies will probably tell you “because DHA smells bad”. That’s simply not true. If you formulate DHA properly it will smell like you are getting sprayed with water, and yet are still receiving a wonderful tan! Did you know that fragrance oils are one of the leading causes of many allergic reactions?

Oil is a main component of many spray tan solutions. Most companies are pretty clever about how they advertise too:

“Made with Aloe Vera to moisturize your skin while you spray tan”



“Created with enriching Coconut Oil to breathe life into your skin”



“Carefully formulated with Essential Oils to hydrate”



When what they are really saying is:



“We have no idea what we are doing”



“Oil is a great moisturizer, so it must be great for a spray tan right?....right?”



“We heard this was a good idea from some other company, so we copied it because they must know what they are talking about”



What we are saying is:

Oil is a great moisturizer, but guess what? It can wreak havoc on your spray tan! Oil can make your spray tan solution heavy. This can cause overspray in your spray gun and all the problems that come with it—being heavier, the solution requires a stronger airflow from your gun, which can actually cause the spray tan solution to quite literally bounce off your client.