By Ivy Potter

It has been 95 years since Coco Chanel stepped out with sun kissed skin, making sunbathing glam and laying the foundation for indoor UV tanning. Although consumers have been trying their hands at “sunless” options for just as long, sunless didn’t garner mainstream popularity until the early 2000’s. Modern day spray tans are the result of decades of evolution, and thank goodness, because our early years were awkward, at best. Those primitive days left a few scars and some infamous sunless fails. We still get the “will I turn orange” question, and who hasn’t heard about Ross from Friends?

On the flip side those early blunders haven’t stopped the upward trajectory of this industry. We are moving on and have learned from those less than stellar moments. The key to continued consumer confidence and sustained growth is education.

Everyone in your salon should speak fluent sunless, which is more than just explaining how to prepare and maintain a spray tan. Employees should understand and be able to communicate FDA recommendations, the salon’s sanitation procedure, as well as any governing regulations. Also ensure they are prepared with a polished response to those silly orange Cheetos questions.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.