Stars disrobe for spray tanner Jimmy Coco

Jan 28, 2010, 9:38 GMT

Los Angeles - Heidi Klum, Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria Parker, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry - Jimmy Coco has seen them all in a complete state of undress.

When he comes around, packing his pistol filled with brown paint, they let their wraps fall. Coco is a spray tanner and his clientele is made up mostly of Hollywood beauties. The ladies turn at his will while he sprays their bodies - including places they could never reach themselves - with a self-tanner.

Spray tanning spares the rich and famous having to lie on a tanning bed soaking up potentially dangerous UV light. They get a healthy glow and at the same time the contours of their bodies are optimized. Everything must be perfect when they appear on the red carpet.

Coco says if he discovers a blemish when spraying a prominent person, he smoothes it out, but doesn't mention it. He has also sprayed male stars, giving them fake six-pack abdominal muscles. But most of his work spraying men has been for scenes in movies. Men are wearing more when they step onto the red carpet, thus most of a spray tan wouldn't be seen.

Though popular among stars, spray tanning hasn't caught on among women who aren't stars or who aren't often photographed. A few beauty salons in New York and Los Angeles offer spray tanning for prices ranging from 300 to 1,000 dollars. Coco, who charges 350 dollars for a spray-tan session at a client's home, believes that it will start to catch on and predicts that within a few years everyone will want it. The pressure to look perfect isn't declining, he said.

New York dermatologist Jeannette Graf, quoted in a Boston Globe article, said spray tanners stain the outer layer with dihydroxyacetone, a natural sugar derivative. It's safer than lying in the sun or lying on a tanning bed, Graf said.

Coco invented his job practically on his own. He says he was the first to offer spray tanning as a service in the customer's home, or more accurately their villas. Having worked as an underwear and swimsuit model, he logged some time on a tanning bed and even suffered a burn or two. At a photo shoot he observed how a stylist worked to put makeup on a model's body and his idea was born. Today he has even founded an organization to fight skin cancer.

What's a day in the life of a spray tanner like? One of his regular customers is German supermodel Heidi Klum. He said when he goes to her home, they talk for a quarter of an hour and then she takes off her clothes and they get started. And what does the person being sprayed have to do? The subject has to be flexible and it's important to keep moving. If they spray gun is held too long at one place there could be spots. It's all pretty technical, Coco said. The procedure lasts 10 to 15 minutes.

Another of his favourite customers is Victoria Beckham. 'When we met, she had the worst fake tan ever,' he said, according to a London's Daily News article. Now he says her spray tanning poses are the best. The Daily News said Coco sprays her every other month. Eva Longoria Parker recently raved about Jimmy in the British magazine Heat. She said when her friends asked her what he did they wondered what she had on and she told them nothing.

Coco sometimes gets a little stressed, for example when he recently had to work a fashion show for Victoria's Secrets. Assigned to spray several models, he turned the job into a spray tanning party in the hotel. He always has brown spots on his hands from the self-tanner and is very fussy about tanning his own skin. He said when he's pale he's depressed.