How to Choose a Spray Tan Certification Course: 7 Questions to Ask Before Enrolling

Choosing a spray tan certification course means looking at more than the price and the certificate. Compare how the program teaches technique, supports practice, checks your understanding, prepares you to run a business, and helps you after completion. Then consider the instructor’s experience and any independently verified accreditation.

Because a certificate looks lovely on the wall. It cannot price your appointments, answer a nervous client’s questions, or fill your calendar for you.

I’m Stacey Fike, founder of GloGirl Spray Tanning Boutique and creator of the GloPro™ Spray Tan Certification and Business Development Program. I’ve spent more than 20 years in the sunless industry, building a business, serving clients, and learning what makes this work sustainable.

I also brought another career into creating GloPro™: teaching. During my first year as a teacher in Houston ISD, I received Teacher of the Year recognition. That classroom experience shaped how I think about explaining a process, checking understanding, and helping someone turn information into action.

If you’re comparing online spray tan courses or considering a new beauty business, ask yourself these seven questions before enrolling.

1. Will this course teach me a repeatable technique—and will I make time to practice?

Watching someone deliver a beautiful spray tan is useful. Understanding how to repeat the process on different clients is the next step.

Look for instruction that explains preparation, consultation, equipment setup, solution selection, body positioning, application, aftercare, and troubleshooting. Sanitation and managing overspray belong in that education, too.

You should understand the reasons behind the method, including what to adjust when a client’s needs differ.

GloPro™ teaches a structured application approach through our SPRATAN method. The goal is to help you develop a process you can revisit, practice, and refine.

Online education still requires hands-on practice. Plan time to work with practice models, observe how results develop and fade, and identify where you need more repetition. If you need someone physically beside you correcting your movements, factor that into your choice of training format.

Ask yourself: Can I explain the process, perform it consistently, and recognize when I need more practice?

2. Does the learning format fit my schedule and help me check my understanding?

Self-paced learning can give you flexibility around work, family, and other commitments. It also requires you to make time for the work.

GloPro™ provides instruction through audio, video, and text. You can watch a demonstration, listen to an explanation, and return to written material as you work through the content. These formats give you multiple ways to engage with and review the same ideas.

Students typically complete the program in six to eight weeks, working toward the confidence to launch their businesses. Your pace and readiness will depend on your starting point, practice, and time available. Completion and confidence should develop together; a calendar alone cannot determine whether you are ready.

The program also includes self-checkpoints to help you pause and assess whether you grasp the material. Those checkpoints are opportunities to revisit a lesson before moving forward. They are not a claim that I am personally grading each student’s practical technique.

Before purchasing any course, check the access period, expected workload, completion requirements, and whether you can revisit lessons during your access window.

Ask yourself: Am I choosing a format I will actually use—and will I know when I need to review something?

3. Does the instructor have both industry experience and the ability to teach?

Experience matters. So does the ability to explain that experience in a way someone else can use.

Look beyond a polished social feed. Consider whether the instructor has served real clients, managed a business, solved recurring problems, and developed a clear teaching process.

My perspective comes from more than two decades in spray tanning and from operating GloGirl Spray Tanning Boutique in Houston TX. I understand that your questions may extend well beyond where to point the spray gun. You may need to understand why an appointment ran over, why clients aren’t returning, or why being busy hasn’t translated into the income you expected.

My background as a classroom educator also influences the way GloPro™ is organized. A useful lesson needs a purpose, an explanation, and an opportunity to check that the information makes sense.

I want students to understand what they’re doing well enough to make thoughtful decisions when a situation changes.

Ask yourself: Am I learning from someone whose teaching and business experience match what I want to build?

4. What independent educational standards or accreditation can I verify?

Accreditation is worth investigating when you compare spray tan education. Ask who awarded it, what was reviewed, and which specific course or learning activity it covers.

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. The CPD Standards Office uses an assessment process that reviews submissions against its accreditation criteria and considers the learner’s experience. Its educational guidance addresses areas such as learning objectives, course design, assessment, and evaluation.

That makes a verifiable accreditation meaningful evidence to consider alongside the curriculum and instructor’s background. A logo alone should not be the end of your research.

You can find GloPro™ in the CPD Standards Office provider directory, under provider number 50843. When comparing programs, check the accreditor’s current listing and request confirmation of the specific accredited activities.

Keep course certification, educational accreditation, and permission to operate a business separate in your evaluation. Do not assume that a training credential automatically satisfies local licensing requirements or a particular employer’s continuing-education rules.

Ask yourself: Can I verify what the accreditation covers and understand what the credential means for my goals?

5. Will I learn pricing, marketing, and how to run a spray tan business?

If your goal is to earn income, business education deserves a serious place on your checklist.

Look for practical guidance on calculating service costs, setting prices, identifying your ideal clients, marketing, booking systems, client communication, retention, and tracking results.

Ask how specific that instruction is. “Market yourself on Instagram” leaves a new owner with a lot of unanswered questions.

GloPro™ combines spray tan education with business development because these decisions affect what happens after you learn the technique. Whether you want to offer mobile spray tanning, open a home studio, or grow an existing beauty business, you need a plan for delivering the service and operating the business behind it.

For an example of the decisions involved, read How Much Should You Charge for Mobile Spray Tanning?.

Ask yourself: Will I leave with a clearer plan for attracting, serving, and retaining paying clients?

6. What support will I have after completing the course?

Sometimes the question that matters most arrives after you’ve finished the lesson.

Before enrolling, find out what support actually includes. Is there an individual call, a group forum, email access, or an additional coaching fee? When is that support available, and what are its limits?

After completing the full GloPro™ Spray Tan Certification and Business Development Program, students can schedule a complimentary call directly with me. It is an opportunity to bring additional questions, discuss concerns, or get clarity as you prepare for your next steps.

That conversation gives you access to the person who created the program and understands how its pieces fit together. It is a defined post-completion benefit, rather than a promise of unlimited ongoing private coaching.

Ask yourself: When I need clarity after finishing, do I know who I can contact and what support is included?

7. Does the price reflect the education I need—and can I afford the complete investment?

Price belongs in this decision. So does a careful comparison of what you receive.

GloPro™ is not the lowest-priced program available. I designed it to provide comprehensive spray tan certification and business development, bringing technique, multiple learning formats, self-checkpoints, and a complimentary post-completion call together.

A focused technique course and a broader business-development program may serve different needs. Compare their scope before treating their prices as equivalent.

Review the full cost, access period, payment terms, completion requirements, support, and any equipment or materials you must purchase separately. If a payment plan is offered, check the total amount paid as well as each installment.

Also consider your actual goal. Are you adding a skill to an established business, building a new mobile service, or looking for a complete foundation from technique through launch? Choose the education that addresses your gaps without assuming that a higher price guarantees success.

Our spray tan business startup-cost guide can help you think about education alongside the rest of your launch budget.

Ask yourself: Do I understand the complete investment, what is included, and how I will put this education into practice?

Choose the education behind your next chapter

The right spray tan certification course should help you develop technique, evaluate your progress, understand your business decisions, and identify what to work on next.

That is why I created GloPro™. I wanted to bring the experience of running a sunless business together with the structure and intention of teaching.

Your certificate marks an accomplishment. What you learn—and what you do with it—gives that accomplishment its value.

Ready to build your skills and your business foundation? Explore the full GloPro™ Spray Tan Certification and Business Development Program and enroll here.

If you’re still mapping out your business, our step-by-step guide to starting a spray tan business is another place to begin.

About Stacey Fike

Stacey Fike is the founder of GloGirl Spray Tanning Boutique in Houston, Texas, and creator of GloPro™. With more than 20 years in the sunless industry and a background as a classroom educator, she combines practical business experience with structured spray tan education. She received Teacher of the Year recognition during her first year teaching in Houston ISD.