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Main >> News Listing >> February 2004 >> Article ID 4117
 Soaking Up Some DHA | Type: Internet Article |
| | Soaking Up Some DHA | Feb 15, 2004 | by Mike Glynn
Summary:
Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera have come out of the tanning closet to tout their spray-on blush. |
Every Thursday during her lunch break, Hannah Hudson heads to her local tanning salon in Overland Park.
She strips, enters a booth the size of a small elevator, pushes a button and gets spritzed for several seconds with a chilly liquid.
Minutes later and $10 lighter, she is out the door, coated with a substance that causes her skin to darken. Within hours, she has reached what she considers “a really nice golden color” that will last about five days.
“I go in at lunch, and I'm tan by dinner,” said Hudson, 29, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Advantage. “It's a great alternative for someone like me who worries about sun damage and skin cancer.”
Hudson is one of a new breed of tanners who are going sunless to get that bronze glow. Touted as safer and faster than conventional tanning booths, spray-on tanning has been featured on the TV shows “Friends” and “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera have come out of the tanning closet to tout their spray-on blush.
Dermatologists cheer
In the Kansas City area, at least two dozen tanning salons have added spray-on services, most of them in the past year. Prices typically range from $15 to $25 per session, though the shops usually offer introductory rates at about half that cost, as well as weekly specials, coupons and package prices that lower the fee.
The main ingredient in spray-on tans (and in most sunless tanning lotions) is dihydroxyacetone, or DHA, a colorless sugar approved in the 1970s by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic use. It interacts with amino acids in the dead outer layer of skin, turning the cells dark, similar to an apple cut open and left exposed to the air.
Many skin doctors are encouraged, especially if the spray tans steer folks clear of ultraviolet rays from the sun and tanning beds.
“We applaud them,” John Rupp of Dermatology Specialists of Kansas City said of spray-on tanning methods. “I've seen a few of them in action, and they seem to be pretty good.”
Rupp pointed out, though, that DHA tans do not give any protection from the sun, so sunscreen is essential when users are outside.
The three Tan World salons in the area operate six spray-on booths, with a seventh coming this month. Operations manager Jorge Vera estimated that about 90 percent of the users are people who struggle to get a conventional tan or are worried about skin damage and cancer.
Spray-on tans especially are popular before big events, such as weddings, proms and holidays. At Tan Pro in Lee's Summit, three to five customers use the spray-on booth on a typical day, manager Nicki Holko said. The day before New Year's Eve, 35 folks came in to get spritzed golden brown for the big night.
Boasting names such as Mystic, Magic and Mist-On tans, many spray-on booths use different strategies. Some require you to rotate halfway through, while others surround you with nozzles and demand less movement. Each system uses its own spray combination, typically bronzers and moisturizers mixed with DHA.
The Mystic system even features a grounded plate on which to stand. It is designed to magnetically charge the DHA particles and give a more even coating, makers say. The concept is similar to the way cars get powder-coated.
One of the area's largest tanning salons, Celsius Tannery, created its own spray-on system, the SunShower, which was installed at two stores in December. Five more Tanneries were scheduled to receive SunShower booths this month.
Airbrush artists
Another spray tan option is the airbrush system. More common at beauty salons than tanning parlors, the airbrushed DHA takes longer to apply, about 15 minutes. It costs about $20 per session and requires someone, usually a salon worker, to do the airbrushing.
If you are seriously into spray tans and want to save money, you can buy airbrush equipment and DHA solution and do your own spraying at home — by yourself or, for hard-to-reach spots, with the help of a friend.
That is the angle pushed by brothers Jim and Robert Taylor of Adel, Ga. Their firm began marketing airbrush tanning equipment through an array of online sites, including Proairbrushtanning.com. In less than two years the Taylors have sold about 1,000 units, they say, a third of them to home users.
The Taylors sell a small air compressor, hose, airbrush, tools and 64-ounce bottle of DHA – enough for 30 applications – for $300. A gallon of the stuff is good for about 60 applications and goes for $100. That means an airbrush tan at home can be had for about $2, not including equipment cost.
The brothers also plan to sell an aerosol can of DHA for about $30, enough for two or three full-body tans.
What is the best method? Area tanning store owners naturally promote their own systems, but they acknowledge that people should try different spray-on methods to find the one with which they are most comfortable. Take advantage of salons' first-time user rates to get the best price.
While the spray-on method isn't a cheap way to get bronzed, parlors defend the prices they charge by citing their own costs. Tan-Talizer Inc. owner Beverly Hartman has installed two spray tan booths — at about $33,000 a pop — one at the Tan-Talizer in Lee's Summit, another in Independence. The DHA mixture alone goes for $375 per 5-gallon drum, which should last up to 150 sprays.
Then again, Hartman hopes the investment leads to bigger sales. It is true so far at the Independence store. That Tan-Talizer has 11 UV tanning beds, but its one spray-on booth accounts for half the store's business.
“I'd say 99 percent of the people who use it are very happy with it,” Hartman said.
Those who are disappointed typically haven't prepared or followed up properly, salon owners contend. They say it's vital to exfoliate and shave first. During the spray, hold your breath (some people use nose plugs, though the small amount of DHA you might ingest won't hurt you, makers say) and don't squint; squinting keeps the DHA from penetrating your wrinkles. The spray also can stain swimsuits, so going au natural is recommended.
And don't forget to rotate at the proper time, if that's what your spray system calls for.
“I tell people, ‘Don't pull a Ross,' ” said Jennifer Terrell at Tan World in Overland Park, referring to a “Friends” episode in which David Schwimmer's character botched his spray-on session.
Afterward, don't shower for at least several hours, but do moisturize daily. Many salons encourage first-time users to watch a video at their stores.
Choices, choices
The spray innovation adds to the number of head-scratching options facing those in search of a year-round tan.
Besides considering a variety of spray-on systems, consumers can choose among newer lines of sunless tanning lotions. Compared with self-tanners from several years ago, the lotions are less likely to turn orange or smell bad. Many salon operators also insist their newer UV tanning beds are safe, especially when used in moderation.
Not surprisingly, several Internet message boards such as Iamtan.com and Sunless.com have sprouted, in which seasoned tanners debate the merits of the various ways to turn tropical.
At Sunless.com, an independent outfit in San Francisco, editor Clara Pettit and users from around the country provide an exhaustive review of 150 sunless-tanning creams and lotions. They grade the products on many attributes, including color quality, odor, cost and ease of application. They also offer practical advice on application methods (those troublesome knees and hands) and how to avoid orange coloring and streaking.
The site's top five picks: Au Courant's Instant Sunless Tanning Mousse, Clinique's Body Self Tanning Lotion Dark, Ben Nye's Body Bronzing Body Tint, Savage Bronze Sunless Tanning Mousse, and Coppertone Oil Free Effortless Color Dark. Some self-tanners are available at area department stores, others only through online sites such as Tanforless.com.
If you are shopping for the best and least expensive way to tan, approach it the way Gary Hassler of Overland Park did: trial and error. After experimenting with tanning beds and different self-tanning creams regularly for 20 years, the 42-year-old salesman tried his first spray-on tan five months ago.
“I've used all sorts of different stuff,” Hassler said. “I was a little leery at first of the spray-on tactic. I wondered if it would turn me orange, but it doesn't.”
Spray-on now is Hassler's preferred method. He said it's quicker and less risky, and achieves a more natural-looking tan. |
 Source: Kansas City Star | |
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