Tanning booth after spray tan?

by Josie
(Toronto, Ontario)

Question: Is it safe to go into a tanning booth ("fake and bake")after spray tanning?


Answer: I am not sure what you mean by "safe". Tanning booths are never safe, no matter what salon owners will tell you. They still age your skin and increase your chances of skin cancer.

The reason that "fake and bake" is promoted is because the tan will last longer.

As your spray tan wears off your skin produces "natural" tan, so it looks like spray tan took longer to wear off. It is just an illusion, a trick.

I suppose this technique could have some merit if for example you are going on a holiday, and you want to appear tanned right from the word go, but you know that you will be spending a lot of time in the sun.

If you do "fake and bake" your skin will start to produce melanin before you go on holiday, and when you expose your skin to strong sunlight you will decrease your chance of burning to a crisp the first time you go to the beach or pool.

(You must remember that spray tan does not in any way protect your skin from burning, so even though you are brown, you still might get severe sunburn if you stay too long in the sun.)

That is the only scenario that I would be inclined to advise my clients to use a tanning booth, in any other case I think "fake and bake" practice defeats the purpose of getting a spray tan.

The reason one is opting for a spray tan is so that you can be gloriously brown AND protect your skin, isn't it?