My First Airbrushed Tan; I’m Now A Fan

Never, have I ever gotten a spray tan, even though almost every female friend I know has.

Before the age of eighteen, I worshipped the sun. Each summer, you could always find me sitting pool-side slathered in suntan lotion. I used to love to hang out at the pool, and I loved how each year I would get a great tan. As I got into college, there was never enough time for anything including spending lazy days by the pool soaking up the sun's rays. I fell out of the habit of "working on my tan". Now, I often refer to my legs as being whiter than the Pillsbury Dough Boy's legs.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I sit around and think about things that I have on my bucket list. I have a running tally in my head of all the huge bucket list things that I want to do like visiting the pyramids in Egypt. Along with the big-ticket items, if you will, I also have a list of things that I haven't done that are relatively common to other people. Since I can't afford to go to Egypt, I think about all the small-ticket items more often. One of the things I have never done is get a spray tan, so I said, "Why not"?

One of the big reasons I never went to get my body airbrushed before was because I wasn't really sure about the disrobing process. I mean, how undressed was I going to have to get? I may be carefree in life, but I am very modest when it comes to showing off my body. Thankfully, I was able to find out about Perfectly Bronzed Airbrushing and the owner, Kelly Herpin. She is a super nice person who has the most amazing talent to make anyone feel calm. Full disclosure.....I didn't fully disrobe, but I was completely comfortable in some clothing that was comparable to a bathing suit. Kelly is like your big sister or your mom. You know you're in an environment where you are not judged.

I had all these questions ranging from disrobing to showering, and Herpin answered each one. Kelly has been in business for about 11 years, and she says in that time, she has had all kinds of people coming in for airbrushing. She says her clientele is mostly women, but also bodybuilders, athletes, soon-to-be brides, and more.

She says there are plenty of benefits to getting an airbrush tan, and I haven't really thought about it outside of the safety issues. It's obviously much healthier to have your tan sprayed on than spend hours in the sun because of the damage done to your skin. But as Kelly pointed out, the spray tan has a slimming effect, you look healthier, it's a confidence booster, and let's face it, some people just can't tan. I found that it did have a slimming effect on my look, and I do look so much healthier with the airbrush tan than I do with my Pillsbury Dough Boy skin!

There are plenty of misconceptions about getting a spray tan. Kelly explains that you will not look orange, and yes, you can take a shower. Not only that, my experience is that it looks so natural. I feel like it took about five years of age off of how I look. It took about thirty minutes to stand there to get sprayed, and then I was on my way. If you have never done this before, you need to do it.

My experience was typical. Kelly says your airbrush tan will last from seven to ten days, and then it just gently fades away. She will airbrush you will two thick layers, and you can decide on how light or dark to go. It's up to you. The maintenance is easy after, as you simply wear loose clothing for about 8 hours, and gently shower that evening. If you moisturize each day, your tan will last.

So the following is a description of what you need to know in order to prepare for and take care of your airbrush tan.

I want to thank Kelly Herpin for helping me through this experience. I really loved the way the airbrush tan looked on me. This is something you should do if you have thought about it. You don't have to be intimidated because Kelly will set you at is, and she will make you look great!