The Best Spray Tan Primers
Spray tans are one of life’s many useful hacks, giving you a golden, summer glow without any damage done from the sun.
However, much like when applying makeup, you have to prep your skin before a spray tan.
As spray tan is superficial, your skin needs to be in the right condition to hold the spray tan evenly, and with enough nourishment to not dry out from the spray tan.
Spray tan primers have been specifically formulated to give your skin everything it needs in preparation for a spray tan.
Without it, your spray tan will not look as fabulous as you would have hoped!
So what is the best spray tan primer on the market?
A good spray tan primer will offer the following benefits: ample coverage without any streaks or patches, healthy skin, and provide a longer-lasting tan. I recommend the Norvell XLATAN pH Balancing Prep Spray because it helps to prep and protect your skin, ensures a deep and dark color development, and has PH balancing properties.
Want to learn more about the importance of spray tan primers and see more of my recommendations? Keep reading!
The Importance Of Spray Tan Primer
By using a spray tan primer, you are ensuring that your skin is perfectly prepped to hold a spray tan. Here are some of the reasons why spray tan primers are so important:
Coverage – A spray tan primer will help to even out the condition of your skin, giving it a base for the spray tan to react on.
The even base will help you achieve superior coverage, with no patches or streaks. To help improve coverage even further, you should exfoliate the day before using the spray tan primer.
Healthy skin – Spray tan primers can help to improve skin health. Most good primers double up as skin conditioners and moisturizers, which help keep your skin nourished enough to hold onto the spray tan and to stop your skin from drying out during the spray tan.
DHA, which is the ingredient used in spray tans that darkens the skin can have a drying effect, so a spray tan primer will help combat the drying effects of the spray tan.
Long-lasting – Having nourished, hydrated skin is one of the best ways to ensure a long-lasting tan.
This also goes a long way in extending the value of your spray tan, as the longer-lasting the tan, the less you will have to travel to the salon and pay for a spray tan.
A primer is an absolute must when going for a spray tan. You will want to achieve the most radiant and natural-looking glow possible, and this won’t be done without a great primer.
Looking after your skin is the best way to ensure that it looks as great as possible.
You will also be saving money by not having to spray tan as often, thanks to the primer extending the lifespan of your spray tan!
The Best Spray Tan Primers
Now that the importance of spray tan primers is covered, you can take a look at the best products on the market.
These will give your skin incredible nourishment, as well as help you to achieve the most radiant sunless tan.
1. Norvell Pro Blending DHA Barrier Cream
This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that decides whether a spray tan looks even or blotchy. It is a barrier cream, so it goes on the dry, thirsty spots – knuckles, elbows, knees, ankles, the sides of your feet – before any tan does.
Those areas soak up DHA faster than the rest of you, which is why they come out darker and stay darker long after everything else has faded. A thin layer of this slows that absorption down so the color lands at roughly the same depth everywhere.
It is the professional 32 oz bottle, so it is really aimed at people who tan often or tan other people. It runs 4.5 stars across about 1,300 reviews.
Use it sparingly. Too much and you will block color in places you actually wanted it.
2. California Tan Color Maximizer Primer Lotion
The Color Maximizer from California Tan is ideal to ensure you achieve the maximum color possible through your spray tan.
It helps to prepare the skin perfectly to create the right canvas for an even, dark color.
Made from a protein and carbohydrate blend, it promotes optimal color development in a shorter time.
Ginseng, marine-derived algae and Gynostemma protect the skin from drying out during a spray tan by deeply nourishing it.
With a crisp pear fragrance, it really is a pleasure to use.
For both spray tans and UV beds, this maximizer and primer will really be all you need to get that gorgeous glow and allow it to be long-lasting as well!
3. Norvell XLATAN pH Balancing Prep Spray
This does the same job the Kahuna Bay spray did, and it is the one that is still straightforward to buy. You mist it over clean, dry skin before the tan goes on.
Skin sits slightly acidic, and DHA develops best inside a fairly narrow pH window. Soap, chlorine and sweat all push you outside it, which is where patchy, short-lived color tends to come from. This resets that balance so the tan develops evenly and holds on longer.
It arrives as a 34 oz bottle with a sprayer, which is more than most people will get through at home – but it is the size salons buy, and it works out cheaper per use. It sits at 4.4 stars across roughly 1,200 reviews.
4. St Moriz Skin Primer Advanced Pro Formula
Not only does the Skin Primer from St Moriz help you to create an even canvas for the spray tan to work its magic, but it has a delightful mood-enhancing fragrance that will keep you using the product for more and more spray tans!
The Advanced Pro Skin Primer helps to prep and prime your skin prior to your spray tan, to give you the opportunity to get that perfect tan.
The primer is specially formulated to remove dead skin cells, evening the surface of the skin to create a flat base for even development of a spray tan, making it look incredibly natural.
The primer also helps to extend the lifespan of the spray tan, extending the time between reapplying the spray tan.
The primer is suitable for sensitive skin and has been Dermatologically tested, giving you extra assurance that it will only do good for your skin, with no harm done.
The lotion itself is water-resistant and non-transferable, so it will not wash away accidentally, and it will not stain any clothing or linen.
It is an all-in-one exfoliator and primer that will really give you the most amazing spray tan possible.
Prepping Your Skin For A Spray Tan
Possibly, the best way to ensure the most gorgeous spray tan results is to prep your skin properly.
A primer will really help with this, but there are some other steps to remember before applying your spray tan primer.
Exfoliate – The first bit of spray tan prepping is to exfoliate your skin, and shave the day before. Doing this 24 hours before the application of the spray tan allows your skin time to recover, and greatly reduces the risk of sensitivity or irritation.
A gentle exfoliator will help remove any excess dead cells, and shaving stops any hairs from interfering with the spray tan solution. It is also recommended to shave and exfoliate before your spray tan, as doing so once the spray tan has been applied might strip your skin of the color and leave patches and streaks.
Moisturize – A primer will help to moisturize your skin and protect it from drying out from the DHA, but it is also so important to moisturize daily leading up to your spray tan and the days following. It helps to even out drier areas, and smooth the surface of your skin for a spray tan. Nourished and hydrated skin also holds a spray tan for longer and gives it an incredible glow.
Spray Tan Primer
There is really no reason to go for a spray tan if you are not using a spray tan primer, unless a short-lived, patchy tan is what you are looking for.
Spray tan primers have been specially formulated to give your skin all the nourishment it needs to hold a spray tan, and often help to cut down development time substantially.
Being easy to apply and ready in almost no time at all, a primer will not take that much time out of your day.
Give your skin the best chance possible to hold the most perfect tan, and help it stay nourished and hydrated with one of these great spray tan primers.
Related Articles
Lotions To Avoid After A Spray Tan
