Tanning Blog: Airbrush and Spray Tanning

Can You Buy A Business For $500?

What can you buy today for $500?

• A great stereo?
• A few Kobe beef steaks?
• A coffee maker?

What about a business with the potential to make you $71,000 a year? Let me explain...

...for $500, you could get started with a mobile spray tanning business

For the startup costs of $500, you get everything you need to create your own mobile spray tanning business. To be fair, $500 is a lot of money but let's quantify the upside of a mobile spray tanning business.

First, let's establish some basic formulas and some definitions...

• Revenues – Costs = Profits (aka, $$$).
• Revenue: Income earned from business activity.
• Cost (Cost of Goods): The amount paid for a good(s).
• Profit (Gross Profit): Excess revenue left over after subtracting cost(s).

Let's discuss a hypothetical mobile tanning business (let's call it Chloe's Tans) and the numbers involved...

Chloe’s Tans earned $4,500 in May of 2011 (revenue). Chloe paid $580 in May of 2011 for her business supplies, marketing, etc. (costs). At the end of the month, Chloe has $3,920 left over (gross profits).

How It Breaks Down...

At a minimum level, you can get everything you need to get a mobile spray tanning business for around $500. For more information on how to start your own mobile spray tanning business, click here.

Understanding The Mobile Spray Tanning Business...

The best way to understand the spray tanning market is download our 120-page book, Money Maker: Spray Tanning As A Business. It's the best, simplest way to understand the economics of the spray tanning business.

Start your mobile tanning business today!

Spray Tan Maintenance: Pre-Tan Prep

 

Spending as much time surfing the web as I do, I have found a lot of people wondering about the before and after of sunless products.  In an effort to help my fellow tan-fans, I’m going to give you the ideal run-down…complete with the best EnvyTan products for the job!  You’re welcome.

So you’ve decided to give yourself a gorgeous *healthy* glow.  You scheduled your appointment for a spray tan.  And you told the girl at the salon you’re familiar with the pre-tan prep routine because you wanted to play it cool and didn’t want her to know you’ve never had one before!  Your appointment is in two days and you’re starting to panic…

Chill.

Here’s the best way to prep your skin…

Do any shaving or hair removal 24-48 hours in advance of the tan.  I know, it sounds like a better idea to go in clean-shaven, right?  Wrong.  If you shave immediately before (or the day of) the spray tan, the solution may settle into the freshly opened hair follicles/pores, leaving you with an unwanted freckled appearance.

On the day of the tan, you will want to exfoliate your entire body.  All of it.  Everywhere.  Use Ambush: Pre-Tan Exfoliating Scrub ($26) to slough off dead skin cells.  Why?  Because you want the tan to be applied to the freshest skin possible.  This will ensure your tan lives longer!  Of course, for fabulous skin, you should exfoliate once a week anyway.

Do not, I repeat, do not use lotions or perfumes the day of the spray tan.  Exception: If you have a medical condition and lotion is necessary.  If this is the case, be sure to address this with the spray tanning technician as well.

When you get to the salon (or if the salon comes to you), make sure the technician balances your skin’s pH.  Hide Out: pH Balancing Prep Spray ($22) is perfect for this.  Even out your skin and turn it into a blank canvas for an even tan.

Before applying the tan, your technician should give you a small amount of barrier balm (Security: Pre-Tan Barrier Balm, $24) to rub into the driest parts of your body.  You definitely want to hit your elbows, knees, ankles, tops of you hands and tops of your feet.  This balm will keep these super-dry areas from soaking up solution like a sponge and leaving you with the “Oompa Loompa Pox!”

Ok.  Deep breath.  Crisis Averted.  All set. 

Time to get your tan on.

HVLP Equipment: Too Noisy?

 

 

What should you do if your equipment is suddenly too noisy for your salon?

Let me preface this article by saying that the *only* piece of HVLP equipment we recommend for use in a salon, particularly in a spa setting, is the TC3: The Show Stealer. Why? Because it is built into a soundproof box.

I know, I know…but you’re just starting out. So maybe you’re not at the top of your game; or maybe you’re not looking for top of the line equipment just yet.

In general, you will find all HVLP (high volume, low pressure) equipment to be loud. Most people equate it the noise a vacuum cleaner makes. Some equipment has the ability to change the volume by adjusting the “Solid State Control” knob. Of course, this may change the spray pattern, so it’s not always ideal.

Each piece of HVLP is perfect in its own right. The T100: The Understudy is great for the beginner, or traveling technician. It’s lightweight and highly portable. The T500: The Head Liner is also great for beginners and gives a professional appearance in its shiny, aluminum travel case (on wheels). The T100 and T500 are not meant for continuous spray; you should allow about 10 minutes of cool-down time between clients. The T700: The Performer and the TC3: The Show Stealer are the big boys. Both can be run all day without overheating. They are both portable, though we recommend a small handcart for transporting the TC3, as it is the largest of our HVLP equipment.

But back to my original point…

So you purchased the T100 a few months ago when you were starting out. And now you’ve partnered with a salon for a permanent locale…and your T100 is just a bit too loud for the customers’ liking. What can you do?!

You have a few options.

First, if your new tanning space has a closet or adjoining room, place the compressor in the separate room and run the hose through the wall. If you have a drop-ceiling, you can also mount the equipment above the ceiling tiles, dropping the hose down from above. Technicians who choose these options typically put their equipment on remote-controlled power systems.

Another option is to encase your equipment in a box to reduce the sound. Boxes can be built by the technician or purchased from the equipment manufacturers. If you choose to build one, you should leave 6-8” inches of space on all sides of the equipment. You should also consider ventilation and air flow when you are building the box. Build the box to incorporate furnace filters which reduce the noise, while allowing for air to circulate around the motor. You do not want you equipment to overheat—which can shorten its life.

If neither option is feasible, try selling your current equipment on sites like eBay. Then purchase a piece more suitable for your new environment!

For more information on HVLP equipment, check out our HVLP Equipment/Supplies category. My personal recommendation? The T700: The Performer.

 

Self Tanner: Lasting Envy

 

When Lasting Envy heard that we did a piece on her good friends (self tanners) Confidential and Top Secret, she popped her top!  We didn’t even get a chance to tell her about her solo feature.

Tan in a can products are immensely popular.  If you ask me, it’s because they are so easy to use:  spray and go. 

Show up stunning!

EnvyTan's Lasting Envy: Spray Tan in a Can is the quick and easy answer for those DIY-ers.  Can’t make it to the salon?  Grab a can of Lasting Envy and go to work.  Spray Lasting Envy onto fresh skin and let the fun begin.  Apply before bed and wake up kissed by color.

Going on vacation?  Toss Lasting Envy or Confidential into your bag for quick touch ups!  Don’t leave home with out it.

Added bonus?!  Because Lasting Envy is an aerosol product, she is more forgiving of potential imperfections or “age-showers” like laugh lines and wrinkles.

Like Confidential: Self Tanning Lotion for the Body and Top Secret: Self Tanning Lotion for the Face, Lasting Envy: Spray Tan in a Can is available in the Self-Tanning Products category of our EnvyStore.