What vital step is absolutely necessary when mature skin tanning?

Mature skin tanning (of the spray tan variety) can produce fantastic results (I should know, I am 50, and get great results every time now). It has not always been that way, and it took me few disasters to perfect the method.

Have you heard the saying “When you are 50, you need twice the money and effort to look half as good as a 20 year old”? I don’t know about money, but you certainly need more effort to get THE BEST results when mature skin tanning. However, results can be even more gratifying than those of a 20 year old. If in doubt,see my before and after spray tanning pictures. The difference is HUGE.

Simply speaking, before spray tanning, mature skin needs a bigger dose of exfoliating. Why? Because the texture of a mature skin is different. Generally, we have many more “dry bits” than younger skin.

First time I spray tanned, I discovered lots and lots of them. Especially on my arms and legs, the so called “sun spots”. Sometimes you can feel them as dryer, scaly bits when you run your fingers gently over your skin, sometimes they appear like big freckles. And sometimes, you can't see them at all, unless you tan (by ANY method).

If you don’t do a good job exfoliating before your tan, you might find that those bits (as well as your elbows and knees) will absorb lots more solution, and will come out much darker. It can look like you are in last stages of chicken pox, especially once the tan starts wearing off, and the dry bits stay intensely brown.

If you exfoliate your body regularly, it won’t be THAT bad, but you can ensure that this is not a problem at all.

Let me tell you a great way that has worked like magic for me.

Get yourself one of those exfoliating gloves from Chemist (Drug Store) and a bottle of an exfoliator that has been designed specifically for the spray tanning industry.

That is important, because those exfoliators that you buy anywhere else, might only do partial job. They will have moisturizers in it, which might crate a barrier for the sunless tanning solution, and second, they might use only little beads or particles to exfoliate your skin.

The exfoliators used in our industry work differently. Instead of the little beads, they use fruit acids (and sometimes beads as well) to “dissolve” the dead skin cells. If you combine it with an exfoliating glove, it becomes “super exfoliator”!

Check out some of the products that would be really good to use before mature skin tanning.
The way I exfoliate, in the shower, I first leather myself up with the exfoliator mixed with a little bit of water, and then turn the shower off for a couple of minutes (not the most pleasant moment in the winter). That lets the fruit acids in the skin to "eat away" some of the dead skin cells, and soften the others.

When I turn the shower back on, I take the exfoliating glove, and really have a great scrub. If you want to know how much it takes off, try doing it just before you are going for another spray tan, and need to take the remnants of the old one off. It will look like you have a hand full of brown mud! Your skin will feel fantastic afterwards- smooth as baby’s.

The step above is the most important for mature skin tanning. If you don’t do it, you will probably still get a “pleasing result”, but if you want great results every time, put in an extra effort.

Another little thing to watch out for is some extra dry patches that you might have on your body that will not come off when you exfoliate. That, unfortunately, is impossible to see before your spray tan, but can be obvious after the tan develops.

After you shower following the spray tanning (give yourself at least 5 hours), look the tan over. I always come out with very brown ankles, if I don’t take precautions.

The solution to this problem is very simple. When you come for your next session, just put on extra barrier cream on those places that tend to go too dark (barrier cream provided by the salon).That will cause less solution to get through and consequently, no brown patches.

This is it, really. The next steps are exactly like for anybody else.

The great thing about mature skin tanning is, that you CAN look 10 years younger with a light tan (don’t ever take the dark one-THAT ONE will make you look older!).

Your tan will even out any imperfections and blotches, hide dark circles under your eyes, and will give your skin a healthy glow, hide your broken capillary veins, minimize appearance of stretch marks and varicose veins. It will also accentuate your features and make you look slimmer.

When it comes to mature skin, very few products can make as dramatic change to its appearance as a spray tan.

More hints and tips.