Can You Spray Tan Over a Sunburn?

spray tan on sunburn

If you have recently been in the sun or tanning bed and developed a bit of a sun burn you might be wondering if you can spray tan over a sunburn.

Well, no you should not spray tan over a sunburn. Because your skin is damaged it’s a good idea to not put something on top of it like a spray tan. This can interfere with your skin healing properly.

And chances are you should want to apply something to help aid the healing of the skin like aloe vera instead of applying a spray tan.

Below we will go into this in more detail.

Should You Should Tan Over a Sunburn?

Really when you have a sunburn it’s a good idea to not go for any spray tan. This is because it can interfere with the healing process of your skin. Your skin will already be irritated so applying a product to darken the skin is not a good idea.

You should see it in the sense of putting something on a wound. If it was a cut or something else you wouldn’t do it and the same logic should apply if you have a sunburn.

Instead, you should be looking to apply things like moisturizer or aloe vera to help with the burnt skin and keep it as cool as possible. If you apply a spray tan you can’t do keep the skin moisturized for at least 3-4 hours because of how it might interfere with the spray tan. Therefore, it’s not a good idea.

We Recommend: Seven Mineral Aloe Vera Gel

This recommendation to avoid spray tanning is the especially important if the burn is more severe. The only time it might be considered to do a spray tan is if the sunburn is only minor.

Then going for a spray tan could be possible though we recommend waiting for the burn to completely heal before going for any spray tan.

Can I Put Self Tanner Over Sunburn?

If you want to put self-tanner or fake tan over a sun burn it’s not recommended. Similarly, to how a spray tan is, a self-tanner can interfere with the healing process of the skin.

Instead, you should be applying a cooling product like aloe vera to keep the skin moist and allow for the skin to heal.

If you do decide to put a self-tanner over a sunburn chances are it will fade much more quickly. This is because the burnt skin will be more dry and shed more quickly. The tan will not only fade more quickly but would more likely become scaley or even cracking.

Related Questions

Does Fake Tan Help with Sunburn?

No fake tan does not help with a sunburn. It’s the opposite. The fake tan can worsen or add another element to burnt skin that really you don’t want.

Instead, you should allow time for the skin to heal before applying any fake tan or self-tanner.

What Happens If You Put Self Tanner on a Sunburn?

Putting self-tanner on burnt skin is not recommended.

Not only might it cause the skin to become more irritated and sensitive, but it might not even apply correctly and can sooner become patchy or inconsistent because of the burnt skin shedding more quickly.  

If you have any skin burn whether from the sun or from a tanning bed we recommend you check out our article on how to get relief – tanning bed burn – how to get relief.

Scroll to Top