Spray Tanning Booths

There are two ways to get bronzed in a spray tan booth in Glasgow. One way is to enter an automated booth machine that sprays your entire body with mist, the other way is to have your colour applied by a spray tanning therapist using an airbrush gun.


At Tropicoco’s tanning salon in Glasgow, we believe that a spray tan applied by an experienced spray tan therapist is the best way to achieve an even tan.

Although automated spray tan booths are an alternative for client’s that are nervous about being undressed in front of another person, it can result in an uneven, spray tan disaster. Booths are very popular in Glasgow, but don’t give the best results, especially for an important night out or holiday.

At Tropicoco’s Glasgow salon, we have a spray tan booth, but it isn’t an automated booth. It’s a tanning booth that our clients stand in to dry whilst they are getting their treatment done. As the tanning solution is applied, our booths airflow system blows air downwards onto your body, fixing the solution onto your body whilst pushing excess solution out of the air into an extraction unit.

Whether a therapist is applying your tan manually or with an airbrush gun, they will be able to give you instructions on how to move position in the booth. The different positions that your therapist will get you to stand in are detrimental to how your tan will turn out. These positions ensure that every area of your body is covered.

However, in an automated spray tanning booth, this is something that a lot of people struggle with in tanning salons. The automated booths usually  have a screen to show you what positions to go into, but sometimes client’s are struggling to carry out the instructions given to them. This can result in parts of the body being left out by the mist, we all remember that episode of friends don’t we?

Another thing to remember is that our bodies are all different sizes and shapes. Sometimes for the mist to reach certain areas, your spray tan therapist may get you to move or bend a certain way. For instance, we find that it’s important to ask our clients to bend the leg far enough to ensure the mist doesn’t miss the top inner thigh, or to get them to stretch to get those smile lines on our derrières!

One of the many benefits of going to a beauty or tanning salon is that a trained therapist will be able to provide you with a proper client consultation. Experienced therapists will know what colour will suit your skin and if certain dry areas need to be covered in barrier cream to prevent the dry area going to dark.

An actual person applying your tan with an airbrush gun will be able to examine your entire body before your treatment is finished. This is something a tanning booth machine can’t do, and you will most likely have to pay to be resprayed if an area is missed out. A therapist will also be able to give you clear instructions in a timely manner of how you should stand. This will make sure that every area is covered.

The correct application of barrier cream before a spray tanning session is essential to prevent tan collecting in dry areas of the body. Areas such as elbows, knees, ankles and hands need to be properly covered in the correct amount of barrier cream. This can be usually be supervised or applied by your therapist. However, in a tanning salon with an automated booth machine, you will have to apply it yourself risking over or under application.

Another great benefit to therapist applied tans is if you have a disability. Tropicoco Glasgow therapists have spray tanned many people with disabilities, for example we have some clients who have stiff arms , legs or hips that may not be able to move at all or in certain directions. In an automated booth, this can prove difficult as booth machines spray patterns can’t change to suit a position that is comfortable to you. However, a therapist will be able to move around and angle the gun so the mist reaches the body part you can’t position properly.