I wanted to share my experience with you ladies about the spray tan I received last week at the ASHA Aveda salon on Rush.
I decided to try out a spray tan before my bridal shower to see if it was something I wanted to do for the wedding. I had my spray tan with Amanda, who was very nice. The experience at the salon itself was fine and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The spray tan cost $40 for a full body tan which I think is pretty standard in the Chicago area.
I did a lot of research on spray tanning (talking to friends and talking to google) to ensure I had an even tan. I shaved and exfoliated the morning before I went and I even used a body scrub without moisturizers (epsom salt!) and skipped the body lotion. I went last Thursday night after work and brought loose, dark fitting clothing and flip flops to wear on my way home. I didn't shower for at least 8 hours (it was longer than that because I slept with it on, gross). The next morning, I used regular bar soap and tried to be gentle when I was drying off and moisturized.
Unfortunately, all my precautions didn't help as I still ended up being streaky, and kind of orange. My face and neck looked fine, but my wrists, forearms (not sure why), calves, and ankles were awful. I went back on Friday afternoon to ask if this was normal since I had my bridal shower the next day and didn't want to look goofy. The girl at the counter said that after another shower, some of it would come off but she also gave me some cream to use called Vanish that was supposed to help. I used Vanish that night and the next morning but I was panicking on Saturday morning because I was still streaky. I used a lot of makeup to cover up the line on my chest and wore a cardigan to hide the lines on my arms and hoped that people didn’t stare at my legs/feet. My future sisters in law said they hardly noticed until I said something but I was so self-conscious. Fortunately, it faded after a few days (but still very unevenly). I know it is different for every skin tone. A good friend of mine (fair skin) has done it a few times and gets great results. I have medium/olive skin and usually tan very easily. Amanda thought that I would get great results from the spray tan because of this. Sadly, she was wrong. I will NOT be doing this right before the wedding as planned. If any of you ladies are thinking of doing it, definitely try it out a few weeks (or months) in advance.