I have never gotten a spray tan before due to all the poor experiences that I have seen my friends go through, but when I came to Columbus from California I found myself without beaches to tan at and I knew I wanted to do something about my pale appearance.
I enlisted my friend from Denison University for tanning salon recommendations. She suggest Studio 13 in Upper Arlington and the good reviews online only persuaded me further that this was the right choice.
I made my appointment through the online system and soon received an email on what to do before my appointment. I was instructed to shave and exfoliate in the days prior to my appointment in order to ensure the longest lasting tan.
When the big day finally came, I was a little hesitant of the experience. Standing naked in a room with a stranger was not very appealing to me, but I showed up to my appointment anyways. The studio turned out to be an adorable small room located in a building with many other beauty services. The woman instructed me to undress as much as I wanted to (I decided to keep my underwear on) and place my feet on sticky pieces of paper. Then she preceded to spray me up and down with a freezing tanning solution followed by cold air to dry the solution. It was the coldest 15 minutes of my life! I was instructed to not put my bra back on after which made for an awkward uber ride of me attempting to cover myself with my jacket.
After I returned to my dorm, the solution had already darkened and I was looking much tanner. Three hours later I looked in the mirror again and I had the complexion on a carrot. Horrified, I immediately FaceTimed my friend who proceeded to alert me that I resembled an Oompa Loompa. I was determined to make my spray tan work, so I slept with it on, despite my urge to shower it off. Instructed to wait the 24 hours, I left it on for the next day of school and definitely got a few weird looks from passing students.
After class I rushed back to my shower and did my best to wash the solution off. I still looked a little orange, but it definitely wasn’t as bad as it had been. I slept on it once again and woke up with tan skin that only had a bit of orange in it, which was a relief. Two days after my spray tan I was able to walk in public without feeling self conscious. I was maybe even more confident than before my tan, because of my sun kissed appearance. I definitely don’t regret the $35 I spent on the tan, but I wish I had left is on for a shorter period of time. Overall, it was a new experience that I learned from and if you see me around campus, be sure to check out my nice tan with hints of orange.