Before the spray tan
It just goes to show how highly suggestible I am, particularly when it comes to matters to do with my body. I’ve decided to go as a Spartan warrior for tomorrow night’s Halloween party and the costume is, let’s just say, quite revealing.
Despite what most people think of Australians, I don’t go to the beach or spend much time lying out in the sun and so I’m pretty pale. I’m lucky enough to have slightly olive skin, thanks to my Italian background, but it takes a lot of work to activate it (and who wants the worry of skin cancer?).
My costume arrived last week. I put it on and am quietly pleased with how it looks. My husband took a few photos and then, because we were seeing him that day, showed them to my cousin who instantly said, “You need a tan, dude.”
I didn’t stop to question this. Of course I needed a tan! Anything to detract from the fact that I do not look anything like the men in 300. Fortunately, my cousin’s girlfriend is in the spray-tanning game so by that afternoon, I’d locked her in and committed myself to this rather odd activity.
I’ve seen my sister with a spray-tan before and knew there was a bit of a process to it but other than calling her a smurf (she came out blue to start off with), I didn’t really know what to expect. Nevertheless I was game and now, if you’ve ever been curious about what goes on when getting a spray-tan, I’m happy to reveal all.
Due to limited time, I booked this in for late at night, which had its added benefits of being able to go to sleep. For anyone who’s never had a spray-tan before, particularly men, here are a few pointers that I derived from my experience.
Spray-tan going on
1. You want to to spray-tan as late in the day as possible
Fortunately, the only time we could do this was at 10pm on a Thursday night. Not many spray-tanners are going to want to work after-hours but what else is family for? Being late, it meant it was dark outside with no one around and I was able to go straight to bed afterwards.
This helped reduce the chances of me inadvertently washing off the tan before it had time to set (6–8 hours)…and the added benefit of not looking ridiculous in broad daylight.
2. Be prepared for hot AND cold
The tan is stored in the fridge. It’s then poured into the sprayer and sprayed onto you, before it’s dried with warm air. So of course the tan goes on cold and it goes everywhere that’s exposed. This means the sensitive areas like the backs of your knees, the sides of your stomach and the back of your neck. Be prepared for goosebumps. It’s quick though and the warm air helps to heat you up again, as well as spreading the tan and sticking it to your skin.
3. It’s good for contouring
While you want a fairly even tan over your bed, there’s the possibility of adding a bit of light and shadow to give your body some definition. I had a bit of subtle contouring done. It’s not too noticeable which is good, but will help with the costume (it’s all about the costume).
4. You don’t have to be naked
I did the whole thing in my underwear (though you can go nude if you really wish). I found it a little confronting to be standing there in my underwear but there aren’t many people who would enjoy that anyway. Just be aware that you’ll have a tan line if you wear underwear. I’ve got a nice speedo line now and can see how pale I really am.
Spray-tan nearly complete
5. You’re going to be very, very dark when it’s put on
No joke. It’s REALLY dark and ridiculous. On the plus side it makes your teeth and eyes glow. Don’t be alarmed though, it’ll fade to a more normal colour the next morning when you have a shower.
6. Your sheets will change colour…but not forever
When I woke up in the morning, my side of the bed was a dark shade of brown. My pillow, too. I put them in the wash though and the colour’s come out. The same thing happens to you when you have a shower and wash/exfoliate your skin. It’ll fade over time but the more you wash and shed dead skin, the quicker it’s going to go.
One thing I hadn’t considered was that I’d slept with my hand resting on my chest and when I woke up my palm was about as dark as the rest of my skin. (Hands, feet, elbows and knees are moisturised to reduce the amount of tan on these lighter parts of your body.)
7. You’ll think everyone’s looking at you
I went to the shops the next morning and interacted with a few people. The whole time I was thinking, “I bet they know I’ve had a spray-tan” I don’t know if they were. They gave nothing away, took no double-takes. I’ve never seen them before so they didn’t have anything to compare to.
More than likely, they couldn’t care less, and if they thought I was darker than a lot of people, I was either of a different ethnicity or had been on an extended holiday in a hot location. Honestly, no one cares.
And that’s really about it. I don’t yet know whether the costume will be a success but at least now I won’t be blinding people with the paleness of my body. The things we do for Halloween…
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