It's My Job: Woman helps clients get faux glow

Business profile

Sweet Banana Spa

• Location: 1450 25th St. S., Fargo
• Contact: Most services are by appointment only. Appointments can be made by phone at ( 701) 478-7323 or by e-mail at sweetbananaspa@gmail.com .
• Online: www.sweetbananaspa.com

A little more than a year ago, Sweet Banana Spa owner and licensed esthetician Laurie Warner decided to add a new service to her spa: spray tanning.
Unlike tanning in the sun or lying under tanning bulbs, spray tanning gives the skin a healthy glow without the dangers of skin damage or premature aging.

Warner said spray tanning is safe, with effects that can last up to 10 or 12 days. She researched the products on the market for spray tanning and learned how to apply the solutions; she does it with a handheld spray machine.

Warner said no special licensing was needed to start spray tanning.

"We practiced on each other," she said. "We wanted to make sure we had it down perfectly before I started offering it to clients."

Warner is the only spray tan applicator in the spa at the 25th Street Market at 1450 25th St. S. in Fargo.

Applications cost $25 to $30 and are popular with wedding parties or vacationers who want a little color before hitting the beaches.

Warner said she gets both men and women who request the service.

Do you have clients who request the "Jersey Shore" look as of late?

No, I never have. I've never seen "Jersey Shore." Do they do a lot of spray tan?

Well, whatever the "Jersey Shore" has, it's definitely tan. How about clients with fair skin?

If they have fair skin, we don't recommend going very dark. And we do the basic color, which will just give them a nice, easy glow.

Is it a myth spray tan can turn your skin orange?

No, it's not a myth. Actually, a lot of systems will kind of give you that orange glow. That's why, one of the specific reasons I went with the Norvell. There's no orange. One of their slogans is "Just off the beach tan." People look really nice. I have a lot of people who say it's the best they've ever had.

What do clients wear for a spray tan?

They get as comfortable as they want - sometimes in a swimsuit, sometimes it's nothing, sometimes just undergarments.

Then we have them put on their little hairnet.

What is the process?

They'll use a barrier cream. Barrier cream goes in your elbows, your knees, between your fingers. Sometimes tan goes in between your fingers and you get very sticky; we don't want that. That is what the barrier cream is for. Then we spray 'em with a prep spray. Then we go right in with the tan solution. We spray 'em up, we step out, and we grab the hydrofirm moisturizing spray. We spray them with that, and then we step out and let them dry for about five or 10 minutes.

So it's a very quick process?

It's very quick.

The color continues to get darker for about 12 hours, so you don't want to shower. It's almost like when you leave an apple out and the apple will get brown. It's called DHA. That's what the product is called; it mixes with your skin protein and oxygen, and then it just continues to get darker.

What do you recommend for new clients, especially if they are trying spray tan for a big event?

If somebody is going to do it for that, we'll ask them to come in and do a trial run. That's good to do even a couple weeks or a month before.

What do you offer as tips to keep the tan?

Just make sure they don't go home and shower right away, they don't go home and exfoliate their skin, because it's just going to streak. You don't go work out and sweat. You don't go wash your hands because it will leave a line.

They want to wear loose clothes when they leave.

In the summertime, we tell people, "Don't put your shoes on when you leave," because a lot of times they are wearing flip-flops, and that will leave a line.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Wendy Reuer at (701) 241-5530

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