by Judie Bizzozero

With the summer months upon us, many clients will turn to you for skincare and tanning advice. Facilities offering stand-up sunless booths, airbrush or HVLP (high-volume/low-pressure turbine) services can increase sales by offering retail products such as self-tanners, bronzers and sunscreens that extend the sunless experience by enhancing and protecting a client’s investment.

By carrying these retail products and marketing your facility as a one-stop shop for all of your clients’ skincare needs, you will find added retail sales that keep your cash registers ringing year-round.

Self-tanners or sunless tanning has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the skincare market. Growth can be attributed to higher-quality products that produce golden results, ease of application and an improved selection of delivery methods.

Years ago, sunless tanners didn’t live up to their promise of deep, golden tans and they were difficult to apply. They also left the skin streaked and splotched with a distinctive orange cast. Today’s sunless tanning products are far more sophisticated than those introduced nearly 30 years ago. The key ingredient to the products’ evolution is dihydroxyacetone, or DHA, which is an extract of sugar cane. DHA reacts with proteins in the skin to produce a bronze coloration on the top layer of skin—in essence, a cosmetic effect that does not saturate the skin.

Over the years, the formulation technology has been greatly improved to provide better application and coloration. Many of the earlier products were formulated using higher DHA concentrations; today, sunless tanners use lower concentrations because of the improved technology. The majority of self-tanners on the market are a medium grade of color. How dark they tan really depends on the individual’s skin type and the condition of the skin. It is important to remind your clients that what works on one person may not necessarily look the same on another.

Noticeable skin coloration takes anywhere from two to four hours and lasts five to seven days depending on skin type and the DHA concentration in the lotion or spray solution. The exfoliation cycle of the stratum corneum—where the DHA reacts with proteins—is about five to seven days, depending upon the individual.

It is equally important to recognize that self-tanners are not sunscreens. If clients are using sunless products to augment their color, remind them to use sunscreen when going outdoors. The sun is uncontrollable and immeasurable, and having a sunless tan does not protect an individual from getting a sunburn from overexposure.

Bronzers douse skin with an immediate splash of color, antioxidants and quenching moisturizers to protect and nourish. They are similar to self-tanners in that they provide a quick, temporary tan, and many customers use them to even out spots or supplement a healthy-looking bronze tan.

Since bronzers are a quick fix for clients pressed for time, they have increased in popularity over the past few years. This season, bronzers hit an all-time high, with many lotion makers including a bronzer in their product lineup. While bronzers wash off with soap and water, they provide instant color for those tanners looking for immediate results. This season welcomed a host of bronzers with added ingredients including shimmers and cooling additives.

Until a few years ago, bronzers were strictly cosmetic. The lotion-based bronzer tints skin a bronze color when it is applied. With the improvement of DHA technology, manufacturers began including the self-tanning ingredient in bronzers. DHA bronzers provide a mixture of tint and DHA skin reaction.

The amount of DHA included in bronzers varies by manufacturer.

While cosmetic bronzers still are widely used, now anyone can get the long-lasting, desirable skin darkening in DHA bronzers that they used to get only in self-tanners. Some companies do not carry DHA bronzers, while others do. It all depends on the manufacturer’s philosophy.

Not to be overlooked are SPFs. Spas and salons should promote moderate, sensible and responsible tanning whether it occurs outside or inside. This proactive approach to responsible tanning will help your facility nip anti-tanning sentiment with education and help secure additional sales of sunscreen products.

Tired of losing summer business to grocery stores and drug stores carrying cheap sunscreens? Then team up with a quality sunscreen manufacturer or private-label your own. If customers are going to head to the beach instead of a spa or salon, it might as well have professional-quality sunscreens available for them. The salon will get a sale out of the deal, and keep its customers coming back for more.

Industry experts agree that the biggest problem with selling SPFs is the customer views it as a general commodity, such as gasoline. They’ll shop for the cheapest brand without looking at the ingredients. Make sure to inform clients to apply sunscreen approximately 20 minutes before being exposed to the sun. This allows the sunscreen time to “set up” on the skin so that it can do its job correctly. Remember, an SPF 2 blocks out approximately 50 percent of ultraviolet rays; an SPF 10 blocks out about 85 percent of ultraviolet rays; and an SPF 15 blocks out approximately 95 percent of ultraviolet rays and is the reason that most health professionals suggest an SPF of 15 or above.

It is useful to have an assortment of products with varying SPF numbers. The suntan lotion that is desired in the early days of summer may have too great an SPF for the last days of August.

Another point to consider is that different parts of the body require special care in the sun. Because of their prominence, noses, cheeks and lips often require a product with a stronger SPF than needed for arms and legs.

Your clients will purchase sunscreens from your facility if you provide personalized service from well-educated and professional staff. Price and image go hand in hand, so keeping your image fresh and exciting will help keep clients loyal. A spa should be a destination point that drives the customers past the outlet stores that sell competing products.

For spas and salons that offer sunless services, adding retail products such as selftanners, bronzers and SPFs round out the spa experience and provide new avenues of retail profits. Employees should be taught to suggest these add-on products so customers can continue their treatments at home. Please turn to page 40 to find out more about some of the products available from professional suppliers.

Selling Strategies

OK, so you’ve stocked up on self-tanners, bronzers and SPFs to complement the skincare services you offer, but are they collecting dust on your shelves and sitting untouched in your display case? Perhaps you’re not doing all that you can to move these retail items.

Selling products effectively takes a plan, which involves knowing your market, your customers and their tendencies, and keeping up with industry trends. It’s all about merchandising. Most of merchandising is in how products are displayed—how they are arranged in the salon to catch customers’ eyes and lead to a sale.

Spa directors or owners need to decide if they prefer to sample lotions, whether to put products behind glass, and how often they should change the arrangement. With this plan in hand, it comes down to one main principle: A display must appeal to a customer’s senses. If they are intrigued visually and can then feel and smell the items, they will be much more inclined to buy.

Some facilities keep displays of point-of-sale bottles right by the registers where customers are sure to see them. This gives managers the freedom to develop their own display feel, within certain parameters. Other salon owners spread out the products and feature different lines on different shelves to attract more interest from clients.

However, one of the best-selling strategies for increasing self-tanner, bronzer and SPF sales is the technician who is applying the airbrush or HVLP tan or helping a client with a sunless stand-up unit. These employees are in the unique position of explaining the treatment process while pushing a soft sale throughout.

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