Tara Sanders, Touchable Tan

As a young salon owner, Tara Sanders, owner of Touchable Tan, is exceptionally mindful of industry trends. As Amazon.com becomes more and more peoples’ choice website for their purchases, Tara has noticed a dangerous trend – tanners are purchasing seemingly “discounted lotions” online that have been manipulated. While customers think they are receiving the same lotion, it is often not the case. To prevent her customers from these harmful, fake lotions, and to deter people from buying their lotions outside of her salon, Sanders educates her customers on the dangers of these lotions. In this Smart Tan exclusive interview, Sanders discusses her efforts to combat online lotion purchases.

I have 40 lotions on my shelf at all times and 78 total that I rotate. I try to create a one-stop shop for people – they shouldn’t need to buy their lotion anywhere else. If I don’t carry something they like, I will happily order it for them to avoid them purchasing it online.

Online lotions are harmful. You don’t know what you’re putting on your skin. When a customer comes in with a lotion that I know I didn’t sell them, I ask them about the lotion and what they like about it to open up a comfortable conversation. I then ask if I can show them a sample of the lotion from my salon versus the one they purchased online and the results always blow their minds.

 I did this recently with a client who purchased a lotion online that was supposed to be a tingle and her lotion was not. That’s when she realized she had no idea what she had been putting on her body. I’ve even had clients that have broken out in rashes – it’s bad. Nine out of 10 times, they are taking empty lotion bottles, peeling off the sealer and filling the bottles with makeups, lotions and sunscreens. Or, if you are paying 20 dollars for an 80-dollar bottle of lotion, it could quite possibly be stolen.

Designer Skin has a video on their website that explains the dangers of purchasing tanning lotion online and what they as a company are doing to try and put an end to it. Devoted Creations has created warning sign posters that I put in my tanning rooms which inform tanners that using tanning lotions purchased online is dangerous and that the lotions may be tampered with, adulterated, counterfeit and unsafe.  

More salons need to focus on raising awareness on this issue and put posters up to make tanners aware of the dangers of using products purchased outside the salon.

To learn more about Touchable Tan, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TouchableTan