Just like its DHA percentage strength, a spray tan’s undertone is one of its defining features. These undertones can come in a variety of colors—any color you can dream of actually—from deep, fiery reds to dazzling honey-gold hues and everything in between. Let’s discuss each undertone individually, examine its unique characteristics, and discover what types of tans they help create. We’ll start with the very first undertone that we created: rose tones.
Rose: Rose undertones are designed to breathe a bit of fire into a tan. They can range from a very subtle pink pairing to a much deeper red-rose hue. Keep in mind that these are undertones—it doesn’t mean that your entire tan will be red—we don’t want you looking like a lobster! These undertones are just hints of color that bring depth and character to a tan.
The base color of the tan will still be a beautiful brown, but with the addition of a rose undertone the tan takes on a sun-kissed appearance. The rose undertones best represent how a fair-skinned client (skin type 1, 2, or 3) would tan out in the sun at the beach or while gardening. Rose undertones are also popular with clients with darker skin (types 4, 5 and 6) because the red colors excite what can sometimes be an otherwise flat-looking tan. For all skin types, rose undertones can help bring a sense of vibrancy to their skin during the winter months.
Purple/Plum: Similar to rose-brown tans, purple undertones enhance a tan’s vibrancy by adding some hints of red to the final results; but the purple undertones also add blue to the mixture. Purple-brown tans will be some of the darkest tans on the market, and are not for the faint of heart! With a mixture of depth-enhancing blue tones and daring crimson highlights, a purple-brown tan is always a significant color: no matter what skin type wears it! For types 1, 2, and 3, a purple-brown tan will be a daring and dark take on the more natural-looking rose-brown tans; and for types 4, 5, and 6 the deep hues will complement their skin tones by livening up their tan while the reds accentuate the final result with a brush of fire.
Chocolate Brown: Chocolate-brown tans are always a crowd favorite. Just as you would imagine, a chocolate brown tan is for those who want the richest, brownest tan possible. This doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a dark tan, but it will certainly look well-developed. To ensure the tan doesn’t appear flat, our chocolate-brown tans are actually blended with a mixture of several different colors, to more accurately portray the layers a true chocolate-brown tan represents. This undertone is a favorite amongst all skin types. For types 1, 2, and 3 a chocolate-brown tan will be a deeper, browner tan than what they would normally be able to achieve; for types 4, 5, and 6 it is a natural-looking tan that compliments the subtle hues already inherent in their skin.
Golden Brown: By mixing a honey color to a solution, you can achieve a very versatile tan. A golden-brown tan is a slightly more conservative approach on brown-based undertones, but it still produces those rich, brown results that everyone loves. The gold acts as a color-boosting highlight, adding an extra dimension to brown-based tans. These solutions give a youthful glow to skin types 1, 2, and 3. Clients with skin types 4, 5, and 6, however, love it for the level of complexity that it can bring to their tans that a strictly chocolate brown-based color could not.
