tanning lotions, tan extenders, tanning accelerators

About Us

Get Brown Tanning's involvement with the indoor tanning industry began in 1988, when the appropriately named Gabrielle and Paul Brown- through their company Larbro Holdings Ltd- began importing California Tan indoor tanning products. The first few lotions were the power-house brands- Maxgel, Maxlotion, and Rage Gel- formulated and made by the legendary Donald Christal. Christal's vision for California Tan was embraced by the tagline: Heliotherapy: The Positive Power of the Sun.

The Browns were already importing and distributing cosmetics and nail enhancement products in New Zealand, and through travel to overseas conferences, expos and events they established an early and strong relationship with California Tan. They also met Gene Charette, founder of Sun Capsule, Inc, and the maker of a uniquely fast and effective stand-up vertical tanning unit. A distributorship arrangement quickly followed, and over the next decade the Browns placed hundreds of units throughout Australasia. Faster, more hygienic, and more profitable for the operator- vertical tanning was fast gaining pace over the traditional lie-down sunbed experience.

Meanwhile, California Tan grew into the Number One in-salon lotion and accessory line in the world, with a range formulated in their dedicated science and research lab, encompassing all price points and formulations to enhance and enrich the indoor tanning experience. They also branched out into outdoor tanning lotions- with the wonderful SPF family of creams and sprays that is still so popular today. By the turn of the century the Browns had sold off their other interests to focus exclusively on the indoor tanning industry. Many trips to Europe and the USA ensued over the years, and many lasting co-operative partnerships and friendships were made.

Tiffany Brown and Rene Fouwler

Finishing with her studies in 1993, the Brown's daughter Tiffany made her part-time/ holiday job with the family business permanent from 1994 to 1999. A 4-year hiatus saw her move to Dublin, Ireland to pursue work in the very different field of media- in radio, print and the emerging field of 'online'. By June 2004 Tiffany had returned home to take over the reigns at the family firm; her first major move being the development of a retail shop and salon at the flagship headquarters in Ellerslie, Auckland. Fast forward to today, and while Gabrielle and Paul remain involved with the business, Tiffany and her husband René Fouwler now manage and operate both wholesale, online and retail divisions.

What are our Skin Types? Read about them here.

GBT Mission

The Brown family's mission for Get Brown Tanning is simple.

  • Our 20+ years of industry knowledge and expertise informs both our belief in the power of UV light to improve life, and our conviction that the minimal relative risks of over-exposure to light and the ability to manage those risks are evidence of the legitimacy of our ongoing business and the existence of our industry
  • We believe in helping our customers achieve their desired tanned appearance in a responsible, moderate and enjoyable way
  • We are committed to using our industry-leading veteran status to do whatever we can to both improve the standards of service in the NZ indoor tanning industry, and to protect individual's freedom to tan as they choose
  • We prioritise education on light and skin, in order for tanners to make informed decisions about indoor tanning
  • We provide tanners with the opportunity to purchase and use the best products with the most advanced formulations available to promote and extend their tanning results, and care for their skin

GBT Retail Salon Vision

Aiming to revolutionize the indoor tanning industry, Get Brown Tanning helps discerning tanners to look better and feel great.

Through individual assessment and customization of the elements of indoor tanning, industry-leading expertise and a relaxed, friendly and positive attitude, Get Brown Tanning promises our customers a professional, results-driven indoor tanning solution.

The way we share our knowledge and the passion we have for helping people to feel good about indoor tanning is what makes Get Brown Tanning so unique.

GBT Values

- Commitment to achieve your goals
- Expertise that is readily available
- Excellent value for money
- Building relationships with friendliness and humour
- Enriching customers' lives
- Respect for each other at all times
- Raising the indoor tanning standard with integrity
- Providing a clean environment with amenities for your comfort

GBT Memberships & Affiliations

  • GBT is a Founding Member of INTANZ (Indoor Tanning Association, NZ Inc)
  • GBT follows, in principle, the requirements of AS/NZS Standard 2635:2008 Solaria for Cosmetic Purposes. Instances where we do not align with the voluntary Standard are disclosed and discussed during our compulsory new client consultations.
  • GBT notes the 2011 Commerce Commission sunbed investigation outcome with regard to the Fair Trading Act 1986, and strives to ensure all information is delivered in a balanced fashion without any misleading emphasis.
    GBT is proud to be affiliated with:
  • The Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA)
  • The International Smart Tan Network
  • The Indoor Tanning Association (ITA)

Our Skin Types

Gabrielle, low type 4: her olive complexion and inherited yellow-toned skin meant Gabrielle’s childhood years living in Fiji were spent as a deeply-tanned youngster- happily trailing after her 3 older siblings. Being a teenager of the 60s, Gabrielle- like many women and men of the time- had her fair share of baby-oil-slathered sessions in the backyard summer, and along with her genetic legacy of tending to have moles on her skin, she has a regular half-yearly skin check. Her GP removes any large or suspicious moles or growths about once a year or so. Gabrielle has had heavy to moderate UV exposure both outdoors and inside all her life, and despite her moles she has a very high resistance to burning and can enjoy long periods of time in the sun without risk of sunburn. That Fiji beginning must have left a deep impression- as she and Paul now enjoy a semi-retired lifestyle with a property in Rarotonga, spending several months of the year there. At the age of 67, this skin type 4 (who has never been under the knife!) is regularly mistaken for much younger- and she puts it all down to a balanced lifestyle, (mostly) sensible sun behaviours, more than 20 years with the amazing anti-aging products made by our brand California Tan, and more recently the awesome new Red Light Therapy Collagen booth at GBT Ellerslie.

Paul, high type 2: with English and Scottish ancestry combined with a 16th Maori heritage, Paul has a unique ability to tan tempered with a red-toned skin that tends to sunburn much more quickly than his wife’s! This redness also often presents without tenderness or heat after sun exposure, although with very sensible sun behaviours Paul keeps sun-burning episodes to virtually non-existent and manages to build a deep tan over summer or on trips to Rarotonga- by exposing his skin gradually and often to build his colour. Once he's very tanned, Paul’s burn time extends- and with the help of the great range of California Tan sunscreens, he can enjoy his time in the Cooks passing easily for a native. With very few moles or skin abnormalities, these days Paul presents for a GP-based skin check every 1-2 years- as is sensible for a gentleman of his vintage (66), when the risk factor for skin cancer is almost twice that for younger people.

Tiffany, low type 3: a combination of her mum and dad’s very different skin types and mix of genetic backgrounds, Tiffany’s skin predominantly takes after her father’s red tone. With experience of pre-holiday sunbed sessions at a local beauty therapist as a teenager, Tiffany had a good base of ‘what-not-to-do’ when she opened the GBT flagship salon in Ellerslie in 2004. With that red-toned tendency to sunburn, she is also a great fan of the California Tan range of sunscreens, which- with tanning help as well as burn prevention- help her graduate her exposure outdoors while all but eliminating the risk of sunburn. Still in her teens when the family first ventured into the indoor tanning business- Tiffany now boasts 20 years of regular, year-round sunbed use and has kept her ‘base tan’ for almost all of that time. She continued to tan while living in Dublin- garnering even more ‘what-not-to-do’ fodder with experiences of glossy-looking salons with little to no customer care to back up their glitzy image. Tiffany feels the ability to control her indoor UV exposure is preferable to tanning outside, and is vigilant on sunny holidays to take care not to burn. Despite the years of tanning, the characteristics of her genetic skin type will not change, and at times she can feel hard-done-by taking more after dad’s redness than mum’s olive tone. But when it comes to checking her skin for abnormalities due to her choice to engage in high-risk lifetime UV exposure (i.e. long-term, moderate exposure) 36 year old Tiffany realizes her comparative luck that while she must be vigilant about sunburn- having just two small moles on her body help to put her in a lower risk category for skin cancer.

René, on the cusp of type 2 and 3: the golden-brown hue of the well-hydrated, smooth and healthy-looking skin you see on René is a far cry from the pale, sun-starved fellow who first began a relationship with Tiffany (and so with tanning) in 2005. Two decades in the night-owl world of hospitality- taking him from Auckland to London to Wellington to Perth and back again- had taken their toll on René’s health and appearance, leaving him with dull, dry skin that tended to be scaly and irritated. A long, slow build-up of colour was required- because René’s Dutch blue-eyed, blonde-haired parentage combined with years without a base tan meant great care was taken building up a natural tan dynamically and without a risk of burning. After about 6 months of regular tanning he developed a golden tan which- like his rugged, sea-faring ancestors- affords him a much longer and more robust base of sunburn protection than his wife. René’s pale- but not red- skin undertone is now light olive, and his skin readily responds to UV light exposure to deepen his tan- giving him a much more relaxed outdoor UV exposure experience than Tiffany! Almost more of a revelation than his lovely tan, however- has been the experience of fantastic lotion accelerators and moisturizers- once thought to be the domain of women- and which now have turned that dullness to healthy-looking, hydrated and enviably smooth skin. René likes to tan indoors once or twice a week, and finds this level of exposure sufficient to maintain his colour. With around a dozen moles on his body, he regularly self-checks his skin and visits the GP if he has any concerns.

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