“How dark do I want to go? What’s the lightest shade you have?” As a fair-skinned and freckled Floridian girl, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t wish I had a little bit of that natural summertime glow. Now, sure I could go bake in the sun for a few hours, but I’ve gotten quite used to my body being skin-cancer-free and I’d like to keep it that way. I’ve also given self-tanning a shot, which tends to get the job done with very low-stakes of lasting splotches or streakiness that fade after a few days, but I have recently been enamored with the idea of something more permanent that will really compliment my springtime swimsuits. So, the week prior to spring break, I decided to finally bite the bullet and book a spray tan appointment at my local beauty studio, which was surprisingly cheap—just $15 at Blink Beauty Studios!
Before embarking on my sunless journey to get the ultimate faux glow, lots of worries and questions arose. What do I wear? Will my freckles disappear? Is it awkward? With all of that, images of what I absolutely did not want to look like danced through my mind. Exhibit A: every self-tan disaster on any sitcom. Exhibit B: Selena Gomez at the 2018 Met Gala. Exhibit C: full-on Oompa Loompa. None of which appeal to my current Instagram aesthetic.
(Courtesy: Porch Daydreamer)
After some detailed research, my mind was at ease and determined to go through with it. The night before, I was advised to exfoliate my entire body in order to get a smoother, more even tan. If you’re covered in dead skin cells before getting sprayed, your tan will fall away with them days later. So, I worked up one heck of a sweat—seriously, I was all but heaving after five minutes of scrubbing with my loofah. If you skipped arm day, now is your chance to make up for it in a way your dumbbell could never! Shaving is another must before tanning because if you want to elongate your spray tan, you’ll want to avoid shaving after. I also avoided moisturizing, except in areas like my palms, knuckles, elbows, knees and ankles that soak up more color, because oils in lotions can prevent spray tans from taking.
For the big day I settled on wearing a baggy sweatshirt, loose sweatpants and a pair of sandals; Spray-tan pros suggest covering up your spray tan directly after to avoid getting streaks or coming in contact with outside elements like rain. Arriving at the salon, I was so anxious though I did enlist (trick) my friend Hannah into getting a spray tan with me. Despite having little to no idea what we were getting into, the employees made us both feel super comfortable and answered any questions we had. After filling out a quick form about my skin type and past self-tanning experiences, it was the moment I had been waiting for. The spray tan artist led me to my personal booth and allowed me to strip down to my comfort level—I opted for topless and a thong to avoid any odd tan lines. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t all that awkward standing naked and being closely inspected by a complete stranger. The spray tan artist isn’t there to judge you, though the mirror can be quite humbling, and we even shared some polite conversation as she sprayed all the random and hard-to-reach crevices.
After about ten minutes, I was tan and tasty (think tan SpongeBob and Patrick). I was informed that the initial color I appeared to be was just the bronzer working its magic and it would wash away in the shower 8-12 hours later to reveal a subtler glow. I felt slightly damp all over, sticky and worried I’d smudge my tan with any small movement. Either way, I felt good. I never knew a tan could make you feel so pretty. Makeup? Never heard of her. Though, my teeth and eye whites did appear to be just one shade shy of too white.
(Courtesy: Tenor)
While I did feel prettier, I was also paranoid for the entirety of the first day that people could tell I had just gotten spray tanned or that I looked like an orange peel. In reality, only my friends really took notice of my altered complexion, some with compliments and some with giggles. Any insecurity washed away with my first shower post-spray tan, which resembled what I imagine a shower post-rolling around in baseball clay would look like: never-ending streams of orange stained water. I was looking to embody more Jennifer Aniston on vacation in Ibiza, and less Anne Hathaway in “Bride Wars” and I can confidently confirm that fat looks better tan ladies! Now let’s just hope it lasts because, if it does, the spray tan was totally worth my time and money.