Browned Off (Spray tanning booth system) (Other Fake Tan / Sun Products)

Member Name: spangle359

Product:	Other Fake Tan / Sun Products
Date:	16/11/06 (2049 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Achieves a nice healthy glow

Disadvantages: Can be a bit messy

Living in a hot country probably means that I spend less time in the sun now than I ever did in Scotland. Several reasons for that:

1. It is simply too hot
2. I have a business to run
3. The health risks associated with exposure to the sun
4. I just don’t enjoy lying in the sun.

Despite the fact that we have 300 days of sunshine per year, I am probably less tanned than most holidaymakers on a fortnight’s break.

One of my clients owns a health and beauty salon and kindly invited me for a complete makeover…loads of fun, a chance to be spoiled rotten for a day and an opportunity to use all those products that I didn’t have the nerve, time or inclination to try myself.

One such product was the Fantasy Spray Tanning Booth. I have never tried any form of fake tan or sunbed and quite frankly didn’t really have notion to use this system, but, since it was a gift, I didn’t have the heart to say no.

What is involved?

First of all I was asked to strip off and wear only a paper thong, then I was given a moisturiser to cover the top of my feet, soles of my feet and hands. I had to slip into a pair of paper slippers, pop on a paper hat to completely cover my hair, and after all that, was shown to the tanning booth.

The tanning booth itself is about the size of a single shower cabinet and looks just like that. It has a series of knobs on the front where you can select the depth of tan. It also has instructions on how to achieve perfect cover. I would recommend that you read these very carefully. The instructions are also illustrated but, as I am not very good with stick men illustrations, it was a bit of a waste of time for me. I then entered the tanning booth and listened to the instructions of the therapist. I was told to close my eyes and mouth (that was the difficult part..lol) and stand facing the back wall. There then followed a hissing sound and I was squirted with liquid from various jets on the wall. I then had to turn to the side and stand as if I was running a race…(must have looked a bit ridiculous in the paper thong, slippers and hat), the hissing and squirting was repeated. I then had to face the front, then the other side while the booth hissed and squirted around me. The whole thing took about 15 seconds and I emerged from the capsule, thinking I was going to have a wonderful all-over tan…hah!!!!

I looked down to see all this goo running down my body and wondered what on earth had happened. However, this was normal!!!! I was given a pair of mitten like gloves, padded with a sort of J-cloth surface, the therapist donned a similar pair and informed me that she would “do” the back and I could “do” the front. There then followed a frenzied ten minutes while we massaged and rubbed in the “tan” Well, it certainly looked better after that, no more streaky or runny bits. I couldn’t get dressed for another twenty minutes as it needed time to dry, but apart from that it felt fine. My skin felt really soft and the smell of the liquid was quite pleasant. I had a nice healthy glow (but then I had chosen the lowest setting) with not a hint of orange.

How safe is it?

Prior to having this treatment and after the horrendous tales of sunbeds, I researched this product and discovered the following information. The tanning product itself contains dihydroxyacetone (DHA) as the active ingredient. It is a colourless product derived from glycerine that interacts with the animo acids in dead skin to produce a brown colour change. Since the dead skin cells are constantly being shed, the colour change achieved by DHA lasts for around 7 days. DHA is not absorbed into the skin and has no known toxicity. So basically I was coating my skin in glycerine to stop it absorbing any of the product and then painting the glycerine brown…then when it all flaked off, I would be back to my usual skin colour…sounded pretty safe to me. An additional safety factor is that DHA has been listed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe product since 1973. Apparently it is safe enough to use with skin conditions like psoriasis and dermatitis, although I would do a double check and a skin test before using it if I suffered from either of these conditions.

Did it last?

You cannot shower for 10 hours and my first shower after that was a bit of a shock…it all appeared to be running off, at least the water at my feet was very brown. I was scared to look at the cream bath towel, but it was ok, no brown tan streaks and the tan appeared to have stuck to my body. So far, so good. I have two showers a day and it did last a full seven days. Well, most of it lasted seven days..it did start to get a bit patchy. I don’t know if that was due to my overzealous exfoliating in the shower, but I did start to have a sort of giraffe-like appearance, fortunately on parts of my body that I could keep covered. My heels also took on a life of their own, appearing very dark and leathery, so sandals had to be put away for a few days…but, apart from that, it was fine.

How much does it cost?

I believe that the treatment costs between 25-35pounds in the UK, depending on the salon, and lasts for around a week. For your money you get a treatment, a rub down, paper thong, paper hat and paper slippers...oh, and not forgetting the mittens.

Would I recommend it?

As an alternative to lying in the sun or using a sunbed, yes, I certainly would, and I do believe that you obtain a much more even coverage than any cream or lotion based products. However, it is a bit of a palaver with all that rubbing in at an incredibly fast pace and making sure that every part of you is covered. Having said that, the whole thing from spraying to finishing rubbing in has to be completed in about 15 minutes, Add to that, the 20minutes drying time and it is a pretty quick way to achieve a nice all-over tan without any sand getting into awkward places.

I would recommend it if you have a special occasion or want a good pick-up in the middle of winter…you will certainly have a nice healthy glow to your skin. I’m not sure if I will use it again, but it is nice to know that it is there should I feel the need to change from my usual pale colour.

More information on this and other products in the range can be found at
http://www.fantasytan.com/products.html

Summary: quick tanning system