Mixing Sunless Solutions Like A Pro

Learning to become a skilled sunless mixologist can be the best thing you can do for your business and your sanity. Not only will learning how to mix solutions and the knowledge that comes along with color theory make the outcome of your artistry more powerful, but it allows you to cut down on the amount of stocked solutions that you keep in your inventory. This is especially useful for mobile spray tan artists that have to carry their sunless kit to every appointment. However, whether you’re a mobile or a studio artist, mixing solutions will also allow you to cut down on your expenses overall no matter how many clients you’re spraying a month. 

In this article we are going to be going over mixing solutions to create every depth of color without having to carry several different solution options. We will also discuss how you can apply color theory to take your artistry to the next level and provide the perfect bronze tone for every skin type. 

WHY MIX SOLUTIONS

As we mentioned, learning to mix solutions can be a great way to cut costs in your business. Carrying several different DHA percentage options to fit every client's need is great, BUT it costs more and it requires you to hold more inventory. When mixing solutions, you can take the lowest DHA percent and mix it with the highest DHA percent in a solution line in order to create various different levels of color depth for each client’s unique wants. We want to note that if you are mixing solutions, to only mix the same type of solution together. For example, 8- hour solutions should only be mixed with other 8-hour solutions, just like different rapid solutions should only be mixed with each other. 

COLOR THEORY 

Although DHA itself is clear, when shopping different solution lines and brands, you’ll tend to see a lot of solutions with different color bases. Understanding how color theory plays into spray tanning will take your spray tan customization to another level. You may ask yourself, “if DHA is clear, why does it matter what color base the bronzer is?” Although the bronzer will get rinsed off and the DHA will develop to its own color, there will be a few days at the beginning of a client’s tan that will still hold some of the color from the bronzer. At the peak stage of the tan, around the 2-3 day period after full development, there likely will still be some bronzer color left on the skin which can affect the color pay off on different skin tones. This is what makes the customization that is offered through X-TAN’s Bronzite Solution Line with the use of their Bronzing Drops such a unique experience for clients. With the Bronzing Drops, you can create the perfect match to each individual's undertone while using any of the Bronzite solutions because they are all made with a neutral brown based bronzer. 

Here’s your guide to becoming the most skilled sunless mixologist when dealing with color theory using X-TAN’s Bronzite Solutions:

Jade Green Drops

Solution Recommendation

• Mix with brown based solutions
• DHA Percentage: 6-10%

Skin Type Recommendation 

• Skin type 1 & 2
• Cool undertone

Amethyst Violet drops

Solution Recommendation

• Mix with brown based solution
• DHA Percentage: 6-12%

Skin Type Recommendation

• Skin Type 3 & 4
• Warm undertone

Ruby Red Drops

Solution Recommendation

• Mix with brown based solution
• DHA Percentage: 9-14%

Skin Type Recommendation

• Skin Type 5 & 6
• Neutral undertone

DHA PERCENTAGE

Earlier we mentioned how it can be beneficial for you as the artist and business owner to mix solutions based on DHA percentage in order to get the perfect blend for each client. This can be done by taking the lowest DHA percent and mixing it with a higher DHA percent in order to customize each client’s spray tan to achieve the best depth of color based on their natural skin type and tone. As you are well aware, a client’s biggest fear is looking unnatural or turning orange! That’s also the last outcome that we want to leave our client’s with, right? The main goal is always to create a glow that could be mistaken for a natural tan! In the chart below you can see how the number of ounces you have in your gun and the percentages that you mix can determine the average total percentage that is created from the mixture. To do this math, you will take each part per ounce for each percentage used, add them together and then divide by the number of total ounces. 

We know mixing solutions and understanding color theory can be a little tricky AT FIRST, but that’s why you have us, babe! We have broken things down so that you can use this as a simple guide to mixing your customized solutions based on percentage of DHA and your client’s undertone. If you’re interested in getting a more in-depth explanation and training on color theory, make sure to register for our Masters Certification Course so that you can move to the next skill level in your artistry!

Xoxo,

Kelly