Two Basic Types of Indoor Tanning Products
GSK Resources manufactures two broad types of indoor tanning products:
Natural & Effect
Natural products contain no special effect ingredients, but instead focus on delivering the best Moisturization, Magnification and Skin Conditioning ingredients possible at the lower possible price.
Effect indoor tanning formulas contain expensive effect ingredients designed to produce a result such as Tingling, Bronzing, Cooling or a combination of these effects. Those effects have both physical and psychological effects for tanners.
Natural Indoor Tanning Products:
This type of indoor tanning formulas does not feature any Bronzing, Tingling, or Cooling effects. We believe that this type of indoor tanning products are the best products for tanners to use because they focus on the bodies natural tanning process. How do they focus on your natural tanning process? Natural indoor tanning products feature the most Moisturization, Magnification and Skin Conditioning ingredients possible at the lower possible price. because they do not contain expensive ingredients to cause an artificial effect. The “strength” or product “step” is determined by the amount and variety of tyrosine contained within the indoor tanning product.
Effect Indoor Tanning Products:
Other types of indoor tanning products are formulated to contain ingredients designed to produce a sensational effect like Tingling, Bronzing, Cooling, Shimmering or a combination of these effects when applied to your skin. These ingredients create both a physical and psychological effect for the tanner.
Tingle Products:
Physical Effect:
Tingle products use ingredients to cause a mild to severe irritation/reddening of the skin during your tanning session. When the tanner gets out of the tanning bed, they see an "instant result" of skin redness and feel a tingling or burning sensation on their skin. The belief is that tingling products stimulate micro-circulation to increase oxygen supply to the skin making your skin tan better
Psychological Effect:
Redness “ Instantly” After Tanning
Remember as a teenager coming home from the beach or lake after being in the sun all day? You were sun burned bright red. Your skin was already starting to sting. But you knew you were going to be tan, even if for a short time, from your time in the sun. Too many tanners think that sun overexposure results in tan skin, but sun burning and tanning are not the same thing. Indoor tanning salons work to tan the skin without burning.
Most tanners will not have a dramatic visible difference from when they started the tanning session and when it ends with a regular tanning lotion. Basically, tingling products provide a simulated sunburn. Tingle products act to satisfy the mental need to see and feel “instant results” after their tanning session. The effects of tingling products fade in a few hours.
Bronzing Products:
Physical Effect:
Bronzing products contain ingredients for a more “immediate” result. By using sunless tanning ingredients within indoor tanning products, tanners will see immediate results from their tanning sessions from the sunless tanning ingredients before their skin has time to darken naturally from exposure to UV light.
Psychological Effect:
Tanning “Immediately”
How many new tanners assume that all they have to do is visit a salon once for a dark tan? Bronzer products were created to help make that a reality. By using sunless tanning effect ingredients within indoor tanning products, tanners see results in 6-12 hours. That way customers that must be “tan” in the next day or two can get instant tanning results that night. The goal is happier tanners seeing “immediate results” from your salon.
Bronzing Products & Streaking
Bronzer tanning products is, if not properly applied, can give a streaky appearance to tanners or “color” areas of your body that do not normally tan.
Every bronzing product has a different level of bronzing effect. Some products have a higher percentage of bronzing ingredients. Depending on your initial skin color, some products may be too dark or not dark enough to give you the results you desire.
When a tanner uses a bronzer that has a much darker effect than the person’s current tan level, and if the bronzer is not applied perfectly, the tanner will notice streaking.
I believe you should stock more than just one bronzer. Stock a lighter bronzer for beginning/fair skin tanners. Stock a darker bronzer for advanced tanners. The only way to judge the strength of “Darkness” of each bronzer is to try them on yourself. On a lighter area of your under arm put a finger tip wide application of several bronzers noting which order you applied them on your arm. Wait 2-4 hours and note the darkness of each. Use those notes when recommending which bronzer a customer should use.
Remind tanners to wipe off their hands and in between their fingers after applying a bronzer to avoid possible streaking in those areas. Place a small container of baby wipes in each tanning room for this purpose.
This is from GSK Resources: Lotion University 101 (TM) Training Manual for salon owners.