Can I spray tan a client with asthma?

Short answer: usually yes — but spray tanning is one of the few salon treatments where the risk is in the air, not on the skin, and asthma is exactly the condition that turns fine mist into a problem.

DHA (the active tanning ingredient) is approved for skin contact, not for breathing in. The HSE's position is that inhaling overspray should be minimised for everyone — for an asthmatic client, a lungful of aerosolised solution can trigger wheezing, coughing or a full flare. The treatment isn't banned; poor ventilation and no precautions are what create the incident.

Practical rules that keep you on the safe side:

• Ask about asthma at consultation, every time — severity, triggers, and whether they carry a reliever inhaler. Mild, well-controlled asthma is very different from someone hospitalised last winter.
• Have them bring their inhaler into the room, within reach, not in a locker.
• Offer nose filters and lip balm as standard, and tell them to breathe gently through the nose or hold breath during face passes — or skip the face and hand-apply there instead.
• Ventilate properly: extraction fan or open airflow, and leave the room to clear between clients rather than spraying back-to-back in a fog.
• If they're mid-flare, chesty, or recovering from a respiratory infection, rebook. If their asthma is severe or brittle, ask them to check with their GP first.
• Any wheeze or tightness mid-spray: stop, get them out of the mist, inhaler, and don't resume.

Record the asthma flag, the precautions you took, and their consent — before the appointment, not after a reaction.