Common spray tan problems and how to fix them!

A spray tan can seems like something easy, but a spray tanning gone wrong can ruin your week. It’s amazing what a spray tan can make you feel though! It makes me more confident and happier. I come in my best spirit. I work out harder, eat less, care more for the way I dress.

So You Boutique wants to make sure you have the BEST spray tan and spray tanning experience. Here are a few common spray tanning problems and how to fix them.  Just like with sun tanning, spray tanning is affected by the choices that you make. A sun tan can look natural, beautiful and healthy, or it can look terrible depending on what you did (stayed out in the sun too long, put on sunblock in patches).

~Hands fade much faster, face fades much faster

Any spray tanner will tell you that the two areas that fade the fastest are the face and the hands. There is a very simple reason for this: hygiene. Your hands and face undergo a more rigorous hygienic routine than the rest of you. You wash your hands and face with products, hence it exfoliates faster.

The Fix: Simple: stop washing your hands after using the bathroom! Or you could get a tan extending moisturizer specifically designed to give back some of the tan your hands and face lost and keep your spray tan fading evenly. Personally, I recommend the second option. So You Boutique’s MDFACE and Souffle are a must.

~Too much tan on face

Having too much tan develop on your face is one of the worst spray tan problems you can have. Unlike having flaky legs or uneven arms, you can’t really hide an ugly spray tan on your face. This is often caused by having too much spray tan sprayed on your face, or by using a percentage solution that is way too strong for your skin type.

The Fix: If the tan has already set then take a nice warm bath (with wine if needed) and exfoliate using either your best exfoliant or a DIY lemon and sugar scrub.

 ~Green Underarms

 Although The Incredible Hulk and The Grinch might disagree, green underarms just aren’t cool. This occurs when the coloring dyes in a spray tan react to the deodorant you are wearing, altering the instant bronzer look. The good news is that this should be temporary and usually disappears when you rinse!

The Fix: Don’t put on deodorants, or for a less stinky option: wear deodorants all day, but exfoliate under your arms before your spray tan.

~Rain on your spray tan appointment

Check your weather forecast. Be sure to have clothes that cover you completely and closed toe shoes and socks. What this particular photo represents is the DHA part of the tan being washed away by the rain, resulting in the streaks and uneven tan that you see. If you just got out of your spray tan appointment and you notice it’s raining, don’t be afraid to ask your spray tanner for an umbrella or an emergency parka! At times, techs at So You Boutique have gone to get the car for our clients!

The Fix: Just like why you want to avoid spilling water on yourself, excessive sweating, or going for a swim while your spray tan is developing, you’ll also want to hold off on your romp through the rain until after your tan has fully set and you’ve rinsed off the bronzers!

~Bad sunburn weeks earlier can affect a tan

Your skin is pretty amazing stuff! It’s very forgiving when it comes to what we do to it. We cut it, get it dirty, burn it, moisturize the heck out of it, throw fragrances on it, and color it with spray tan solution. Sometimes you can cut yourself so badly that you leave a scar, sometimes your skin is too oily from years of mistreatment.

Likewise, if you get a bad sunburn your skin can take weeks to heal. This will affect your tan by causing the most serious areas of burned skin to absorb less DHA, thus creating a patchy appearance to your tan.

The Fix: Always use proper sun protection! Exfoliate the best you can, hydrate, and moisturize it until the day of your tan. Mix baking soda with water to create a thick paste and exfoliate with it to balance your skin’s PH.

~Lines on knees/elbows

There is a reason why you have to strike a pose while spray tanning—having your knees or elbows bent/creased while spray tan solution is being sprayed over those areas means that the parts of the skin that “fold” will gather the spray tan solution more than the parts of your skin that are flat. Your spray tan professional should have you positioning in such a way that when they spray tan you your bends and curves are not wrinkling, dimpling, or creasing to ensure that your spray tan result is natural, smooth, and flawless.

The Fix: Listen to your spray tan professional and work that pose!

~Shaved and your tan disappeared or shaved your beard after your tan, and now have a funny tan line

Shaving is one of the most severe forms of exfoliation you can have: you are taking a razor and dragging it across your skin. In regards to beards: beards are made of thick, coarse hair and often block most or all of the tanning product being sprayed over them. Because of this the skin beneath the hairline will be significantly lighter than the skin outside the hairline (keep in mind this is also true for people shaving their heads too!)

The Fix: Do not shave immediately after your spray tan. If you are planning on shaving your beard: do it before your spray tan!
best self tanner body bronze products

~Spray tan smells like alcohol, cough syrup, or has other strong fragrances/odors

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as “DHA smell”, “After tan odour”, or “Spray Tan Stink”. DHA is a colo


The Fix: Look for a company that offers fragrance-free solutions. So You Boutique uses Body Bronze Products and has no odor. The bad smells, overpowering fragrances, or strong alcohol odors that you are experiencing are from how the spray tan solution was formulated and manufactured. Oftentimes these smells are due to the oils that are used in many solutions to combat the natural drying effects of DHA. Sometimes these fragrances can take away from a client experience, or even cause an allergic reaction.