1. How to apply the powder on my client and what makes Glow By Erin Finishing Powder different from other powder.
After applying your custom spray tan, we recommend that you dry your client off with air from your spray tan gun or hose for approximately 1-2 minutes. If you use a thicker solution, we recommend just a little more drying time in wet shiny areas like the chest for example. Feathering the powder over these shinier spots before applying the brush is a great technique. The skin does not have to be totally dry to apply powder. You can immediately apply Glow By Erin powder on your client with light strokes using a brush with very soft loose longer hair. We highly recommend using our custom full-body powder brush or a brush very similar with very soft hair. It will make a 100% difference in application. Trying to use a kabuki type brush would not be efficient for full body application. These brushes are too small and the hair is too compact, therefore it would take too much time and the brush would be too firm on the skin. The powder application should only take 45 seconds or so for complete body coverage. It’s very easy to apply and will not hurt the spray tan in any way using this method.
Our patented Glow By Erin finishing powder is very different from homemade powders and other powders on the market because our finishing powder is specially manufactured with the highest grade of professional cosmetic powder. It is not a mix of different food grade powders that you buy at a store. These type powders can not be compared to our product. They do not work the same and the cost for ingredients is not near the same. Glow By Erin powder is professionally made to have a thicker consistency to stay on top of the skin after spray tanning. Homemade powders or powders that you may see in pump spray bottles are finer powders that absorb and dissipate on the skin very quickly. So this means the client may get an initial dry feeling, but will quickly become tacky again as soon as the powder dissipates. Also the spray bottle type application would make full body coverage impossible. The small amount that comes out of a pump bottle would take way too long and the pump on these type bottles end up clogging after a few squirts. Glow By Erin finishing powder is applied with a brush so the skin can be fully coated evenly and quickly with powder. The powder stays on the skin keeping it soft & dry until your first shower. The fact that the powder stays on top of the skin and doesn't dissipate is what allows your client to go about the rest of their day feeling so comfortable and even forgetting that they just had a spray tan, not to mention they smell amazing!
Glow By Erin's thicker consistency is also why it will not spray effectively from a spray bottle. Using a soft brush is the only way to coat the entire body quickly so the client can get the full benefits of the finishing powder. We recommend using our Glow By Erin rinse-free quick drying antibacterial spray cleaner on brushes between clients and washing the brushes at the end of each day so that they are ready to use the next day. Depending on how many sprays you do a day, having a supply of brushes always ensures you are ready to go.
Tip: Less mess and quicker clean up - Once you measure out the proper amount of powder in the individual container, dip the brush in thoroughly and tap excess off of the brush on the side of container each time before applying to client. This makes the powder go further and very minimal clean up at their feet.
See application video below.
2. What is the best way to clean your brushes and keep them sanitary for each individual client?
All of our customers have their own way of cleaning brushes. Here is one way that we recommend cleaning brushes for time efficiency. First, you should make sure that you have a good supply of brushes on hand for each day. (The more Glow By Erin custom brushes you buy, the price goes down!) After each client, spray the brush with Glow By Erin's rinse-free quick dry antibacterial cleaner. Wipe the bristles dry with a paper towel or clean dry cloth. The bristles dry very quickly this way, almost instantly and are sanitary. You may even use your spray gun or fan to blow air on them as an added measure to know that they are perfectly dry. If you have had a very busy day with many clients, we suggest that you wash the hair of all your brushes with a mild soap. A charcoal bar soap or a drop of baby shampoo are both good choices that won't harm the hair. Do not use harsh chemicals like barbicide! Glow By Erin sells a great Charcoal Soap that is perfect for cleaning your brushes. Wash with warm water at the end of the day and be careful to wash only the hair of the brush. Do not soak the brush in water or get the ferrule or wood part of the brush excessively wet, it will definitely deteriorate the glue between the wood handle and the metal ferrule. It will also cause the paint on the wood handle to crack and chip. Roll brushes in a towel to get excess moisture out, shake them out a bit and then stand them up to dry overnight. Check to make sure that they are fully dry before using on clients the next day!
3. How much should I charge for doing a powder application on a client?
This is a personal business decision. There are different ways to do it. One way is to charge it as an add-on service. Pricing it from $5-$10 depending on your market area. Also make sure to add a spray tan with finishing powder option to your online booking process if this is how you schedule appointments. Sometimes it helps to introduce the powder to your clients with a free application the first time, making sure they know it will be an up-charge option in the future. When they return they can’t even imagine leaving without the powder applied! Letting them experience first for free is worth every penny! This is just a suggestion, but it works very well.
Some businesses do not like to have add-on pricing for everything they use, plus they want everyone to experience having the powder applied. It makes the clients skin feel silky soft after their tan and you know your work is protected. So they just build a $5-$10 charge into their original price and make sure they advertise that they use a full body application of finishing powder after every spray tan, which makes their clients feel amazing and leave with no sticky feeling after their spray tan.
Charging for the finishing powder is a personal business decision, do what works best for you. Remember you are purchasing an extra product that you are applying on their full body. The powder is an extra application that is protecting your work, while also making the clients experience of getting a spray tan from you feel amazing! You should definitely make sure you are getting a return on it. Which ever way you decide to go, it is easy to see that the $5-$10 up-charge or $5-$10 built in price for using the powder will pay for the bulk bag of powder plus make extra profits for you. Not to mention your client is feeling so much better about the whole spray tan experience. They will always come back to you for this extra service because of the way that you made them feel and tell their friends!
Examples: A mobile bag will do approximately 54-72 clients. It depends on how much powder that you use per client. So using one of the two different ways to price, either by up-charging $5 to $10 (Price depends on your market) for powder application or simply build in an additional $5 to $10 to your price along with advertising that all your tans include powder application means making anywhere from $270 to $720 per mobile bag. After substracting the $39 cost of the powder, your profit from using the powder alone is $261-$648 per mobile bag.
A salon bag will do approximately 168 clients. So up-charging $5-$10 would be making $840 to $1680 per bag. Subtracting the $79 cost of the powder, your profit is $761 to $1601 per 1 lb. salon bag of powder.
TIP: If you have applied some sort of powder in crease areas in the past and you are thinking how do I up-charge for a service that I typically have already done? Let your client know that this is a very different powder that has been formulated especially for spray tanning and it is for full body coverage, not just crease areas. You are actually putting a finishing coat over their spray tan on their entire body to protect your work and make them feel amazingly comfortable! Your other powder did not do this. We like to say that Glow By Erin Finishing Powder is the shellac of spray tanning!
4. How many client applications will I be able to get from a Mobile 6 oz. Bag, Salon 1 LB. Bag and a Bulk 2 LB. Bag of Glow By Erin?
Our 6 oz. bag averages approximately 54-72 client applications. This is based on using 1-2 GBE scoops per client. In addition the 1 LB. bag averages approximately 168 powder applications and the 2 LB. bag averages 336 powder applications. These numbers are just averages with several of the following factors being involved like who is applying the powder and how much powder they use per client. The size of the client will also determine having to use more or less powder as well. Also determining what clothes the client will be putting back on and what their plans are for the rest of the day is important. Tighter clothes and more activities planned require a thicker coating of powder to be applied. We have tested many different ways to apply our powder. We have determined for getting the best results on a full body powder application using a large soft loose haired brush is best. Our custom Glow By Erin full body brush is a great example.
5. My clients love the powder and would like to buy some for personal use, can we sell it to them?
Bulk packaging of Glow By Erin Finishing Powder is not permitted to be repackaged or resold to clients in any form. We offer retail jars and brushes at wholesale prices for our customers to sell to their clients. Our personal jars are a very popular item and clients love having their own powder to reapply or to use as a daily body powder.