When should clients book a spray tan before an event?
A tan needs time to develop and settle: how spray tan pros can guide clients to book at the right time before a wedding or holiday, and share prep advice.
6 min read
Tell clients before they book how long before the event they should come in, based on the solution you use, and put that rule in the description of your event service in plain words. Then ask for the event date in the booking note, so you can check they picked the right slot. A tan booked too late may still be developing on the big day; one booked too early may already be fading. The booking page is where you prevent both, before the client has chosen a time.
The timing depends on your solution
Development time, when the client can shower, and how long the colour lasts all depend on the product and the shade. Rather than a general rule, give your own: "Book your event tan one to two days before the event, with your first shower after eight hours", or whatever your solution requires. Clients follow a clear instruction far better than a vague one.
Services that do the explaining
On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end. Separate services let each description carry the right advice:
| Service | Example slot | Example price | Description should say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event spray tan | 30 min | €35 | Your recommended gap before the event, prep and aftercare |
| Trial tan (before a wedding) | 30 min | €30 | Book a few weeks before, to test the shade |
| Express tan | 20 min | €30 | Rapid-development solution, shower sooner |
| Bridal party tan, per person | 30 min | €30 | One booking per person, same morning or day before |
Lengths and prices are examples: set your own, and list each solution you offer as its own service if they behave differently.
Preparation advice in the description
- exfoliate the day before;
- shave or wax in advance, as your solution requires;
- arrive with clean skin, no moisturiser, deodorant or make-up;
- wear loose dark clothes and bring flip-flops;
- when to shower afterwards, and what to avoid until then.
Clients read the description before they book. Book sends a confirmation email with a calendar file, but no reminder, so the description is where preparation advice has the best chance of being seen in time.
Ask for the event date
The booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, and has an optional note. Ask event clients to write the event and its date: "wedding Saturday 14th", "holiday flight Friday". The note arrives in your new-booking email. If the slot doesn't fit the event, call the client and move the booking from your list before it's too late.
Weddings: trial first
A bride or groom trying a shade for the first time on the eve of the wedding is a risk. Offer a trial tan as a separate service, and suggest in the event service description that wedding clients book the trial first. At the trial, agree on the shade and book the wedding tan together from your calendar, so both dates are fixed. If you enter the client's email, they get a confirmation and calendar file for it.
For bridal parties, each person needs their own booking. Several consecutive slots on the same morning let the group come one after another.
Busy weeks
The days before long weekends, school holidays and wedding Saturdays fill first. Open extra slots for those weeks, such as early mornings and evenings, and repeat your normal slots on the weekdays you choose until an end date. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.