Lesson Learned... in spray tan

Attention all pale skin people, I know you are out there! I am fare skinned and tan-challenged! I could lay out all day SPF 50 and all, and I would FRY. A bright red sunburn rarely turns into the bronzed babe that I want to be.

I could go to the tanning bed for about 3 months and finally have the coloring that I prefer as well as 4 types of skin cancer to go with it ( ok not funny, but ser... tanning in the fake n bake is not good for you)

So, whats the bride to be to do? I have a man who works outdoors all summer long who has a very bronzed look (face, arms, legs). Together in pictures we are the epidemy of Opposites attract! White Skin meets Tan Skin.... let me find an example:

Exhibit A- the night we got engaged- do you see the skin contrast??

Ok, now that I have proved my point, I will show you how I decided to resolve the issue. I decided to do as the Rich and Famous do- Spray Tan by a professional Spray Artist. I have used the Mystic Spray tan machines before, but this woman convinced me that this would be much different, more effective, last longer, and so on and so on.... So, I gave it a shot. I met Lyndsey who owns her own business and does spray tan in her basement. We hit it off and I felt comfortable letting her see me half naked so she could give me that bronzed look.

Here business is called Tantrum Tan- http://www.tantrumtanning.com/faqs.html

I will let you read up on all the dos and donts of spray tanning.

Ok, so here is my candid message of what to expect:

DO expect to have extreme black looking skin immediately after treatment

DO NOT plan to go in public after- yikes

DO NOT shower for atleast 8 hours- it will wash right off (when you do shower, know that some will wash off and you should scrub and exfoliate to make sure the top layer does wash off)

DO plan to wash your sheets the next morning because while sleeping the first night it will rub off.

DO plan to have orange hands and feet- they told me no orange- they were wrong

It does NOT smell!

As of almost 24 hours and a shower later does NOT rub off on white clothes!

It DOES give you a great tan that is noticable

With all of the above said, I am glad that I gave this a trial before the wedding. It seems to only get worse as the days goes by.... I recommend the spray tan ONLY if you have time to exfoliate your whole body daily as well as you do not have to go out in public a lot with skirts, swim suit or sandals on....

Here are the pictures in progression of days:

NIGHT OF- Tan lines showing my before and after skin. I did not go full commando, I kept the bottoms on... as you can see.

Next Day Toes- look pretty good from this angle

Side view of day 2 feet... yikes

Day 2 Hands.... double yikes

\

Day 4- Ankles and feet... very blotchy

My face is back to normal color now, in Day 4.

Lesson Learned- well I guess that I should not do this for the Wedding. If I were not blogging about my wedding I would say, Be as you are, accept your skin for the color it is and do not try to change it... but... I am writing about my wedding so, my lesson is.... stick to the tanning bed and I have 20 days left, so I better get there in the morning.