Sunless tanning booths? any suggestions?

[akmiss]

I have an event coming up on Friday and would like a nice golden glow for the occasion. My skin is naturally pale with yellow undertones and I have never tanned before so I am a little apprehensive. A local salon offers a versa spa sunless tanning booth but I am scared of looking orange or "dirty." Any PSers with tanning experience please chime in

 

[oranges]

hi!
A as a very VERY pale gal, i have tried virtually every sunless tanner on the market. After much research stinky, streaky and orange research, I have found that the best tanner is loreal sublime glow daily moisturizer in medium. it looks super natural, even on the fairest of people. i have been to spas for the airbrush tanning and all of that jazz, but i still think that the loreal sunless tanner's color is much prettier. it's also easy on the wallet. another product that i liked a lot is St. Tropez. it's more expensive than the loreal--- and it also delivers good results. I've never done a spray booth because almost everyone that I have seen who has used one ended up a very unnatural color. a little color enhancement can look beautiful, but often if a pale girl goes too far with the sunless tanning--like in one of those spray booths, they just end up looking fake.
good luck!

 

[radiantquest]

I did it one time. I did it for a special event too. When you go in you can choose light, medium or dark. If you are naturally pale I wouldnt suggest going any darker than medium. There are directions to follow too. Make sure you exfoliate before you go because any dead skin will look darker or orange. You are also supposed to put this cream that they provide on your hands, knees, ankles and elbows. All the areas that can get that orangish color because the skin wrinkles when you move. I didnt have any issues with it since I followed the directions. There may have been more that I dont remember. I did it when it first came out.

One more thing. When it sprays you it will make you gasp because it is cooler than your body temperature. Try the best you can to not suck all that air in your mouth. The mist of tanning color is super fine and kind of fills the air so when that hits you and suck in a big breath you will suck in the tanning spray. It is not enough to really harm you, but it tastes terrible and makes you cough.

Hope this was helpful. Maybe someone has been more recently and can offer more or better information.

 

[somethingshiny]

I'm very pale also and Loreal Sublime was absolutely horrible for me. It must depend on your skins natural absorption or something. I did have a spray tan for my sis's wedding and it turned out really well. I exfoliated like crazy before the application, she used only a "light" tanner and one that didn't have a particular color in it (I think it didn't have an orange or something.) It looked pretty good although not entirely "natural." She avoided my hands and feet and just let the overspray get on them to keep it more natural looking too.

If I were you, I'd get tested on the back of a thigh or something, give it 24 hours and then decide.

Good luck!

 

[packrat]

I did 2 spray on ones at different salons, several years ago after I quit tanning in beds, and they were both lighter than when I tanned in beds. Neither of those lasted very long and were blotchy as they came off. I also tried a Mystic Tan booth once and liked that, but as previously said, it's colder than all get out and shocked the crap out of me. I got really dark and it lasted longer than the ones where someone sprayed it on me. It didn't seem to come off blotchy either.

 

[Arkteia]

I believe there was a thread about tanning booth - you may find it by browsing Burberry Girl's posts. It was a good thread, among other things, it listed nice salons that did a good job.

 

[akmiss]

thanks for all your replies.... I went ahead and did the versa spa and the color is supposed to develop over the next four hours. The whole process took a minute and cost $30. I can rinse with water if the color is too dark and stop the tanning process so hopefully this works out. I cannot see a difference so far

 

[kenny]

May I recommend letting go of the belief that a "healthy" tan looks healthy?
I associate tan with skin cancer and death.

The lighter anyone's skin is, the better.
Not racism, just healthism.

 

[Winks_Elf]

I have normally very light skin, and LOVE Loreal's Sublime gelee. I exfoliate in the shower, make sure my skin is dry, and then put it on. You only have to wait about five minutes or less til your skin is dry, and the color has always come out very even. Oh, and it leaves your skin feeling very silky!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

May I recommend letting go of the belief that a "healthy" tan looks healthy?
I associate tan with skin cancer and death.

The lighter anyone's skin is, the better.
Not racism, just healthism.
May I recommend letting go of the belief that a "healthy" tan looks healthy?
I associate tan with skin cancer and death.

The lighter anyone's skin is, the better.
Not racism, just healthism.

Maybe not lighter the better since some darker people bleach their skin which isn't good either. However, one's natural color is ALWAYS best and will never look fake. I am pale, but I take very good care of my skin and it glows just as much as anyone with tans that I know. Besides, there are colors that don't look good with my skin, but there are others that look equally bad with a tan.

I see people tanning and I think of those old leather jackets that are falling apart and splotchy and hard or those B movies about people whose skin melts off.

 

[akmiss]

you guys are funny! Seriously I have been pale my entire life and live in Alaska.... I think my odds of getting skin cancer are pretty low. I have a better chance of having a serious Vitamin D deficiency......... Now that being said, I have to agree that pale is just as beautiful and better than fake but some color is fine in moderation. My four year old (who is very tan naturally) thinks its hilarious that I want to be darker. We are still waiting for the results

 

[Burberrygirl]

you guys are funny! Seriously I have been pale my entire life and live in Alaska.... I think my odds of getting skin cancer are pretty low. I have a better chance of having a serious Vitamin D deficiency......... Now that being said, I have to agree that pale is just as beautiful and better than fake but some color is fine in moderation. My four year old (who is very tan naturally) thinks its hilarious that I want to be darker.

We are still waiting for the results

I hope it turns out well! I've done Versa Spa about three or four times and I really like it. : )

 

[akmiss]

I am pleased with the results. The color is even and natural looking except for in between my fingers
My four year old is not so impressed and I wonder if others will even notice.

 

[radiantquest]

I am glad that it turned out well. Do you happen to have any before and after photos that you could post? Perhaps one of your legs or something.

 

[somethingshiny]

You can try an exfoliating hand scrub GENTLY around your fingers to remove any buildup. I used Mary Kay Satin Hands Scrub a few times to make my hands look right.

Yes, our own natural skin color is healthy and beautiful, but, personally, seeing my own blue veins through my skin is not.

 

[Beacon]

Pale is beautiful!! I believe in being your own natural color, whatever it may be. Tanning beds, the kind with UV lights, are now well known to increase skin cancer. We'll wait and find out what harms the sprays bring.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I'm glad it went well! I did this once and came out looking a bit too orange, so it's not my thing Though when I think of sunless tanning booths I ALWAYS think about that Friends episode with Ross and the sunless tan....