While every industry has its crazy stories and bad press, it seems that ours always tends to be in the spotlight. From negative press to bad (and flat out wrong) education and facts to the plain crazy (Jersey Tanning Mom.....), the indoor tanning industry just can't catch a break! And, maybe it's the years of UV exposure, but it seems like the water cooler gossip for us keeps getting weirder and weirder.....we have a lot of strange clients who do strange things...so sit back and relax for "Glow Tanning's Myths, Facts and Crazy Stories".
COMMON TANNING MYTHS
True or False: You have to wait at least 4 hours after tanning to shower.
When using a lotion with bronzers, like
Luminary, it's important to wait at least 4
hours before rinsing to allow the bronzers
to develop.
Answer: Depends. The tanning process takes place beneath the skin's surface, so showering won't affect that at all. The only outside factor here is whether or not you used a lotion with bronzers. DHA bronzers (self-tanners) take a minimum of 4 hours to develop, but should ideally be left on the skin for 8-12 hours (or longer if possible-up to 24 hours before rinsing). So, if you're spending money on a lotion with bronzers, like Luminary 25x, then showering immediately afterwards, you're literally washing your money down the shower drain too!
True or False: A girl was tanning for prom, and tanned at 4 different salons for 20 minutes each, then died later that day because her internal organs overheated.
Rather than overexposing your skin by overdoing it,
try a self-tanning spray like JWOWW's Dark
Instant Sunless Spray to give you immediate
color without the risk of burning.
Answer: False. This is the most common urban legend in our industry, but there is no way this could have happened. She would definitely be sunburnt after tanning this much in 1 day, but the reality is that UV rays don't penetrate past the skin, so the notion that her insides would be "cooking" is ridiculous. Anybody looking for fast color is better off getting an airbrush tan, or trying a product like JWOWW's Dark Instant Sunless Spray.
True or False: You can tan while pregnant.
Answer: True. While you should ALWAYS consult your doctor on this sensitive issue, the main reason why pregnant women don't tan is overheating and comfort. When you get hot during a tanning session, the baby gets hot too, and then you're both uncomfortable. Try using a unit with better fans and a shorter tan time, like the Starship stand-up, to keep you and the baby comfortable. People are also worried that the UV rays penetrate the skin to the baby, but since UV rays don't penetrate past the skin that's not an issue. But again-this is a sensitive issue that should ALWAYS be discussed with your doctor.
True or False: UVA/high pressure units are "more gentle" on the skin, while others are just "reddening" units and are much worse for your skin.
More More More by Designer Skin contains
Moisture Splurge Hydrating Bronzers and
Aloe Vera for intense hydration, and is gluten
free, paraben free and not tested on animals.
Answer: False. People have been so poorly educated (or not educated at all) on UVA vs UVB rays for such a long time now that they actually believe this. I can't stand when I overhear people spreading incorrect information on tanning. UVB rays are the rays that stimulate the production of melanin (skin's pigment), and UVA rays are the rays that deepen the melanin (pigment), so you need both in certain amounts to develop, deepen and maintain a tan. UVB rays can lead to sun burn if overexposed (which is why they've developed the "reddening-only" reputation) while UVA rays can lead to dry sagging skin (the leathery look), fine lines, wrinkles and age spots. So, everything in moderation!
Hempz Vanilla Plum Herbal Body
Moisturizer contains 100% pure natural
hemp seed oil, plum oil, shea butter,
ginseng, natural extracts, and
vitamins A, C and E. Paraben free,
gluten free, 100% vegan.
Protect your skin from the signs of aging by applying a good, hydrating tanning lotion, like More More More, prior to each session, and using a tan extending moisturizer, like Hempz Vanilla Plum, 1-2 times daily.
True or False: Indoor tanning is safer than outdoor tanning.
Answer: False. Both indoor and outdoor tanning have their risks, but the benefit of indoor tanning is that you are in a controlled environment with time limits and exact knowledge of UVA/UVB exposure, so the chances of overexposure are minimal compared to being outside.
True or False: Indoor tanning lotion can be used outside for sun protection.
Answer: False. Indoor tanning lotion can be used outside for tanning purposes, but it contains no SPF so it won't prevent burning. **NEVER EVER EVER USE OUTDOOR TANNING PRODUCTS ON A TANNING BED. Ingredients in the outdoor tanning products break down the acrylic, leading to cracks and a weak acrylic. It also clouds the acrylic, which means less light shines through so the beds won't be as strong.
True or False: Having a base tan will help prevent burning if I'm out in the sun, even if you're not super dark.
If you're going to be outside for an extended
period of time, make sure you use an SPF product
to prevent sunburn. This SPF 8 spray gel by Australian
Gold dries quickly, is sweat/water resistant and gives
an instant golden brown glow with a small amount of
cosmetic bronzer. Available in SPF 8, SPF 15 and SPF 30+.
Answer: True. A tan is the body's natural defense against sunburn and overexposure, so by having a base tan prior to something like an outdoor/beach vacation helps prevent you from burning. It also increases the effectiveness of SPF products by 2-4 times, so a broad spectrum SPF 15 becomes a true SPF of 30-60!
Funny, Crazy (and sometimes nasty) Stories!
Crazy stuff happens everywhere, but there's something about being alone in a dark room that brings out some weird behavior in people. Here are a few funny stories!
"There is this one client who always tans after the gym, which is fine, but she always leaves HUGE chunks of wet tissue on the floor. At first, we thought it was a one-time thing, but the next few times she came in she did the same thing! I don't think she does it on purpose, but we can't figure out what she's in there doing with the tissue, and more importantly why she leaves the big nasty chunks behind! We now have a pop-up note in her file to go and take the box of tissue out of the room before she goes in it."
"This one guy went into room 1 and a few minutes later opened the door and was standing in the doorway, asking me for eyewear, COMPLETELY NAKED! He didn't even attempt to hide his stuff. We had cameras put in because of that guy."
"We had to take the trash cans out of the rooms in Ann Arbor because people kept peeing in them! I finally made the executive decision one day when 3 separate people peed in them, and the weird thing was that all of the clients who did it that day were women! I wanted to chase them outside with the pee-filled trash bags yelling, 'Excuse me miss, you forgot something here!' People can be so gross."
"A few years ago in Clinton, someone pooped behind one of the beds and used the trash can to cover it up. Seriously. We had to shut down that room until somebody came to replace that section of carpet."
"One night, a client took a room apart. Like, completely apart. She took tissues out of the box and ripped them up all over the floor, took apart the air freshener and left the pieces all over, sprayed deodorant all over the walls, wadded up the towel and stuck it in the corner, and hid the 'This Bed Has Been Sanitized' sign and the head rest. Even if you were upset about something, wouldn't you think to handle it in a more mature way?
"I swear, people save their explosive diarrhea for our salon. I can't even begin to describe where I've cleaned poop splatter from. I don't know what people are doing in that bathroom, but they're disgusting. They wouldn't leave their own house or office bathroom looking the way they leave ours."
"It really irritates me that some people think that we're inferior or uneducated because we work at a tanning salon. Actually, running a tanning salon is a lot more difficult and requires a lot more knowledge than half the jobs out there! My favorite thing to do is correct some snooty client when they start spouting out blatantly wrong information tanning."
"One day last spring when I first started at Glow, we were having some trouble with our timer that controls all of the beds, and if you didn't close out of a computer pop-up when you turned on the main computer, none of the beds would work. Because I was new, I was overwhelmed and forgot this so on this busy Sunday beds weren't turning on. This one client went absolutely crazy in a way that was beyond normal. I called Cynthia, but she was driving from Clinton, which was 30 minutes away, but she said to shut off the open sign and hide behind the desk until she got there. In the meantime, this crazy lady started freaking out, crying hysterically and then started kicking trash cans around! Another client happened to be at the front desk and put crazy lady in check, but it was still very stressful. Turns out that everybody has had issues with this one client. Apparently she had a nuclear meltdown and started crying and SCREAMING because she broke a nail when she was in a level 2. Glad I wasn't the only one!"
"A client-turned-employee-turned-client pooped into one of the trash cans, took the bag out and walked it back to the bathroom, put it into the bathroom trash can, left it there and left the salon without saying anything. Some people."
"One time, a girl came in to tan after going to happy hour, and completely passed out in the bed after it shut off! She had been in there for 35 minutes, and her friend and I were frantically pounding on the door, trying to wake her up! Just as I was grabbing the ladder to scale the wall to throw something at her to get her attention, she woke up. Another time, a client came in to tan late at night before closing, and she fell asleep in the bed! She couldn't hear me trying to get her attention by messing with the music and pounding on the door because she had her iPod on! She finally woke up 20 minutes later!"
"This year for prom, a girl called asking if we offered spray tanning. At the time, we didn't, so I told her no. She started telling me all of the reasons why she needed it done, like she used a self tanner and it's blotchy and she needs it evened out...and then she asked me if I was sure that we didn't offer it. Um......yeah...pretty sure...So then she's like, 'Well, can't YOU just spray me?' I told her that I wasn't certified to provide that service and that I've NEVER done it before, and she was like, 'That's ok, it can't be that hard!' I told her that I would not be willing to practice on her because it probably wouldn't be that helpful in correcting her blotchy self-tanning job, and then she asked me for a list of other tanning salons in the area and what they charge for spray tans. All I can say is LOL!"
