There are loads of them! So many, it can be hard to choose what! So I’ve put together some information which will hopefully shed some light on creams.
So put the kettle on and put your feet up as this one is a long one but hopefully worth the read.
What’s the difference?
Ok, so there are a few differences between creams such as price points and what they contain. So we will start off with price points.
How much?!
Rule of thumb, the difference in price points in creams usually means the quality of ingredients. Think of a supermarket budget brand of bakes beans compared to a well known brand of baked beans, the budget brand won’t have as much ‘nice’ ingredients in them to get that flavour we are familiar with, with the well known brand; this is to keep costs low which usually means, they don’t taste as nice.
Same principles with creams, the higher the price, the better ingredients, it could also mean that there is more active ingredients too. Active ingredients are known as Tyrosine, Beta Carotene and sometimes Copper. These are melanin boosters and will awaken the melanin in the skin to help accelerate the tan.
Accelerator, intensifier, natural bronzer, cosmetic bronzer, delayed bronzer, tingle and it goes on and on and on and on…
So am going to bring this down another level… you don’t need a degree to know what’s what and what it all means.
Accelerator and Intensifier’s – these are pretty much the same thing. These types of creams don’t contain anything other than ingredients to help speed up building a base tan. Anyone can use them as it’s really down to personal preference if you don’t like anything in a lotion.
Bronzers! Bronzers can be great, but, people either love them or hate them. So Cosmetic and Natural bronzers, have a bit of colour in them, usually from natural sources such as caramel and walnut shell and like make up, it sits on the skin giving an instant colour, they come in a variety of strengths and wash off the skin with in the bath or shower.
Clear or delayed bronzers actually contain DHA. DHA in its raw form is clear. Have you ever tried DHA drops to add to a moisturiser to make it into a self tanner, it’s the same thing. Using a Clear or delayed bronzer contains a small amount of DHA that when applied to the skin, will develop over the course of a few hours, this way the cream will give the skin a colour while working with the melanin in the skin which has been exposed to UV light to create a tan.
What cream?
Believe it or not it’s a lot harder than you think, some areas of the country can sell top end creams and some areas of the country can’t sell anything, whether this is to do with a vast student population or just poor areas. Also trends also have a big part to play, some areas don’t sell tingles, some like tingles and intensifiers and some just intensifiers. So how do you choose what to sell?
Have a look at your competition, see what they sell and what they sell, do they mainly sell sachets? Pot shots? Bottles? Do they offer cream and minute packages?
That will give you an idea as to what people are buying.
If you find that customers are sticking with one type of lotion (such as intensifier) then don’t stick to one brand! Most brands only do one or two types of lotion, so take on a few different brands at similar price points for a good choice for customers.
What about those expensive creams? Do not fear, Dee has a solution of introducing high end creams into your salon!
POT SHOTS! Yes pot shots! This formula which a customer of mine told me about is a great way of introducing something a little more luxurious but won’t leave you with expensive bottles on the shelf collecting dust. Want to know how it works?
Your honour, exhibit A
So, the secret to offering great products at cheap prices for customers…
Bottle Size ÷ Sachet Size = Total amount of Pot shots from one bottle
Then
Bottle RRP ÷ Amount of pot shots = Pot Shot RRP
This usually works out cheaper for the customer to buy the pot shot than the sachet so especially on high end creams, however you are still making good profit and selling a high end product that won’t sit on the shelf.
Hopefully this will give you some fresh ideas about creams and how they work within the salon.
Let me know your thoughts, have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email
Dee
