Guide Color

Guide color (also called bronzer or guide bronzer) is a temporary cosmetic pigment added to spray tan solution that lets the artist see exactly where they have applied solution during the spray. Without guide color, DHA is essentially invisible during application and the artist would have no way to check for missed spots until the tan develops 4–10 hours later — at which point it is too late to correct. Guide colors come in green-base (cancels red undertones, suits paler skin), violet-base (cooler, less orange, suits olive skin), and brown-base (versatile default). The guide color washes off completely at the first rinse — the bronze skin underneath is the actual DHA reaction and is what lasts 7–10 days. New clients are sometimes startled by how dark they look when they leave the studio; the artist should always explain that the visible color is bronzer, not the final result.