Do I need to shave before a spray tan?

Short answer: your body, your call. Plenty of our clients shave, plenty do not, and a tan works either way. Nobody is inspecting anything.

But if you are going to, the timing genuinely matters and it is the single most common prep mistake we see.

Why 24 hours

Shaving does two things. It removes hair, and it opens up the hair follicles and mildly irritates the skin.

Those open follicles are the problem. If you tan straight after shaving, colour settles into them and you end up with a faint dotted or speckled look, particularly on legs. It is not a disaster and it fades, but it is avoidable and it annoys people.

Twenty four hours lets the follicles close and the skin settle. Forty eight is better if you are prone to irritation.

Waxing is different again

Wax at least 48 hours before, not 24. Waxing pulls hair from the root and leaves the skin more open and more sensitive than shaving does.

Same for threading, epilating and hair removal cream. Give it a full two days.

If you have had laser or IPL, leave longer again and check what your practitioner advised. That skin needs proper recovery time and a tan is not worth rushing it.

What if you shave after the tan?

You can, and most people need to at some point.

Just know that every shave takes a layer of tan with it. A razor exfoliates whether you want it to or not, so shaving daily will noticeably shorten how long your tan lasts.

If you can stretch to shaving every second or third day instead, you will see the difference. Use a sharp razor rather than a blunt one, a bit of oil or conditioner rather than dragging it dry, and go gently.

Wait at least 24 hours after your first shower before you shave at all.

The order that works

1. Two days before: wax, if you are waxing
2. The day before: shave, then exfoliate properly all over
3. The day before, evening: moisturise if your skin is dry
4. The day of: nothing. No shaving, no exfoliating, no moisturiser, no deodorant, no perfume
5. After your first shower: moisturise daily, and leave shaving another day

That order is most of the job. Our prep guide has the full detail.

Common questions we get at the door

“I forgot to shave, is it ruined?” Not at all. Tan over hair works perfectly well, the colour goes onto the skin underneath. You can shave after your first shower.

“I shaved this morning.” Tell us and we will work with it. It is usually fine, and knowing means we can adjust rather than find out afterwards.

“What about men?” Exactly the same rules, chest, back and legs included. More in spray tans for men.

“What if I cut myself?” Leave it to heal. We will work around a nick rather than spray over broken skin. There is more in our piece on sensitive skin.

The bit that actually matters more

Honestly, exfoliating matters more than shaving does.

Dry skin is what makes a tan patchy, not hair. If you only do one thing the day before, buff your elbows, knees, ankles, hands and feet properly. That is where a tan goes wrong.

And whatever you do or do not do, we have seen it. Nobody here is judging anything.