A badly done spray tan is hard to forget. For you and the people who’ve seen you with a bad spray tan, the memory of it is hard to erase. It has driven you to the point of abandoning the idea and wishing endlessly that you had naturally golden brown skin instead of the pasty one you are forced to live with. Realize that your past experience with spray tans is not your fault. Bad spray tans happen. You must rise above your bad experience and try it again. This time consider the requirements that you need to do beforehand. Surely, you’ll come out of the tanning salon looking as if you were genetically-gifted with tan skin.

Exfoliate your entire body to remove oil and dead skin. Use a loofah and an exfoliating product that is suited for your skin type. Exfoliating will ensure that the spray tan will penetrate into your skin. It also helps in preventing the spray tan from fading faster or washing off easily when you take a bath.
Shave or wax your legs, arms and armpits. Do this two days before you step into a tanning booth for a scheduled tanning session. Shaving these areas after getting a spray tan will only lead you to accidentally remove the tanning solution on your skin resulting in unsightly patches.
Schedule a Brazilian wax. Get a Brazilian wax a week before the actual date of the tanning session. This helps get an even tan on the bikini area. You can also flaunt more of your tanned skin in a tiny bikini.
Do not wear cosmetic products on your skin on the day that you’re getting a spray tan. These products interact chemically with the tanning solution. Leave the deodorant spray, lotion, makeup and moisturizer at home. Go to the tanning salon freshly showered and shaved sans any of those cosmetic products on your skin or you’ll risk getting a greenish tinge on your armpits and other places in your body.
Stay out of the sun one week before you are scheduled to undergo the cosmetic procedure. You are not speeding up the tanning process by soaking up some sun. All you’ll get is a sunburn that stings. It also makes the tanning procedure uncomfortable for you.
Do not schedule any dermatological procedure. Invasive procedures like skin peeling or botox treatments leave your skin traumatized and sensitive to the tanning solution. Stepping into the tanning booth with skin in this condition will irritate it further. Avoid this potentially painful situation by giving your skin a break from dermatological procedures. You may resume your visits to the dermatologist five days after your visit to the tanning salon.
Prepping your skin assures a successful outcome for you in the tanning booth but what about ensuring that your spray tan stays on minutes after stepping out of the tanning booth?

Wear loose clothing and a pair of flip flops. Ideally, you are only allowed to leave the tanning booth after the color has set and dried completely on your skin. After that, wear a loose robe and flip flops. These help the tanning solution/color stay on your skin. Keep these on for up to four hours.

With luck you’ll be able to keep the color on your skin for up to ten days.