Can I get a spray tan with sensitive skin, eczema or psoriasis?

We get asked this quietly and often, usually by someone who has been put off booking for years. So here is the proper answer, including the parts where we would turn the work down.

One thing first. We are spray tan therapists, not doctors. Everything below is sixteen years of practical experience, not medical advice. If you have a skin condition you are being treated for, your GP or dermatologist knows your skin and we do not, so ask them first.

Sensitive skin

Usually not a problem at all.

Most “sensitive skin” reactions to tanning come from the perfume and the alcohol in cheaper products rather than from the tanning agent itself. The products we use are gentler than most of what you would buy in a shop, and we can steer you towards the kindest of them.

Ask for a patch test. A small amount on the inside of your arm, twenty four hours before. It costs nothing, it takes two minutes, and it settles the question properly. We would far rather do that than have you worry.

If you have reacted to a tanning product before, tell us what it was. That is genuinely useful information and it usually points at the culprit.

Eczema

It depends entirely on what your skin is doing on the day.

Settled, unbroken eczema. Often fine. Skin that has healed over and is not inflamed will usually take colour, though dry patches can grab more than the skin around them and look slightly darker. Moisturising well in the days beforehand helps a lot, just not on the day itself.

Active, flaring eczema. Wait. Product on inflamed or broken skin can sting sharply, it will not take evenly, and you do not want anything on skin that is already struggling. This is not us being precious, it is the sensible call.

Broken, cracked or weeping skin. A firm no, and we will work around any small patches rather than going over them.

If you use steroid creams or prescribed emollients, keep using them as your doctor told you. Just leave them off on the day of the tan, the same as any moisturiser.

Psoriasis

A similar answer, with one extra thing worth knowing.

Psoriasis plaques are thicker and drier than the skin around them, so they take colour differently. They usually go darker rather than blending in, which can make them more obvious rather than less. That surprises people who booked hoping for the opposite.

Plenty of people with mild, settled psoriasis get tanned happily and are pleased with the overall evenness. But we will be straight with you beforehand about what the plaques themselves are likely to do, rather than let you find out afterwards.

If you are having a flare, or if you are on any light therapy treatment, speak to your dermatologist before booking anything.

What we need you to tell us

Just mention it when you book, or when we arrive. Not because we will make a fuss, but because it changes what we use and where.

• Any skin condition, even if it is settled just now
• Any previous reaction to a tanning product, and which one
• Anything you are currently using on your skin, prescribed or otherwise
• Any area you would rather we left alone

Nobody is going to be examined or judged. We have seen every kind of skin there is and none of it is remarkable to us.

Other things worth flagging

Very dry skin. Not a condition as such, but the single most common reason a tan goes patchy. Moisturise daily in the week before, and exfoliate the day before rather than the day of.

Recent waxing, shaving or laser. Leave at least twenty four hours, ideally forty eight. Freshly treated skin has open follicles and can take colour in spots.

Sunburn. Wait until it has settled completely and any peeling has finished.

Fresh tattoos, piercings, cuts or surgery. All need to be properly healed. There is more in our piece on stretch marks, scars and tattoos.

Pregnancy. Lots of our clients get tanned while pregnant. Skin can be more sensitive than usual, so a patch test is a good idea, and as with anything else, have a word with your midwife if you want reassurance.

The short version

Sensitive skin, almost always fine, and a patch test settles it.

Settled eczema or psoriasis, usually fine, with a realistic chat about what the patches will do.

Anything broken, flaring or actively sore, we will ask you to wait. We would rather lose the booking than put product on skin that is not up to it.

Message us and just ask. Nothing is a daft question and we will tell you straight either way.