DIY Spray Tan with a PAINT SPRAYER!

How did I “DIY” a spray tan, you ask!?! Well, I put the spray tan solution in my handy dandy Homeright Finish Max Paint Sprayer! Yes you read that correctly, I spray tanned my daughter with a PAINT SPRAYER. 

{this is NOT a picture of my 13 year old daughter by the way}

The universe loves me. I was walking around HomeGoods the other day and I found a bag of spray tan solution in their beauty section. It looks like this, except ours says “dry oil base tan” instead of Hydrate base. 

When I found the magic solution, my mind was immediately thinking of the possibilities. It was $29.99, and I decided it was worth it to see if I could figure out how to do spray tans myself. I cannot find the solution anywhere online, and I’m sure there are tons of other brands that will work great. If you have tried any other solution brands, please let me know in the comment section so that I can pass the information on. In the mean time, check out these spray tan solution options on Amazon HERE. {To be completely upfront, I have a relationship with Amazon, so if you buy from this link, I will get a small percentage from the sale} and remember I have NOT tried these other spray tan solutions, so try them at your own risk. 

I have gotten exactly two spray tans in my entire life, and I have to tell you those crazy stories later. Both times ended in a hilarious outcome.  But before I tell you the disastrous stories, I have to tell you about the success of this magic package of spray tan solution that I found. A few months ago when I went to Hawaii, having a spray tan helped me feel a little skinnier in a swimsuit, and that is worth it in my book because I’m not a skinny gal. I will admit that because of the skinnyish feeling the spray tan left on my mind, I bought the solution on impulse. I’m a woman, what can I say. 

Well, after a few weeks of craziness, the solution was still unopened and I finally decided it was time to try this mad plan of mine. I needed a guinea pig, so I coerced my 13 year old daughter to hop in her swimsuit and head to the garage for our beauty experiment.  Guys, I have painted a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never painted a HUMAN! HAHA.

My daughter was super trusting, and we had a plan in case it went badly. The back up plan was for her to RUN as fast as she could to the shower if it didn’t work. So, we went to the garage, put down a drop cloth, and tried it out.  I poured the spray tan solution into my trusty Homeright Finish Max Paint Sprayer and went to town. 

You. GUYS. It turned out better than I ever imagined. I cannot believe how amazing it turned out. It was easy and fast, and I used the TINIEST portion of solution ever. In fact, I bet that one single $30 bag will last me a very long time. I’m not sure if the solution will expire, so I’m going to have to research that. 

Because the solution was so thin, I knew it would paint differently than anything else I’ve ever used. I thin out the latex paint I usually put through my sprayer so I didn’t know how the sprayer would react with something as thin as water. But, at the same time, I knew that you could use stain in the sprayer, so my logical brain took over with positive outcomes. 

Before I sprayed my beautiful daughter, I tried out the tactics on a scrap of cardboard in the garage. After all, I didn’t want it to splatter all over her! I had to change a few settings on my sprayer, but eventually I got it working perfectly. I turned the dial all the way down. So that only a small portion of solution came out when I pulled the trigger.  Using my vast spray painting knowledge, I sprayed from side to side overlapping slightly. I also had her change her standing position often to make sure that I didn’t miss any portion of her body. 

After I was done, I poured the remaining solution back into the bag with a funnel. 

Tips for achieving the perfect DIY spray tan:

• Fill the paint basin full. I had to pour a lot more solution than I thought I would need to. At first,I only put an inch in the bottom of the basin, but it wouldn’t spray very well. So I filled it to the top. 
• Turn your volume knob aaaaaaallll the way down, otherwise too much spray tan solution will come out and your tan will come out looking like Ross from Friends. 
• Go slow and don’t rush the process.
• Shave beforehand because if you shave afterwards, your tan will not last as long. 
• Stand in different positions to make sure you get all of the skin evenly. 
• Put on a very thin coat. You don’t need very much, and this will help your tan look natural. 
• Wear whatever you want {a swimsuit, your birthday suit..whatever you are comfortable in}, but make sure it’s dark in color and you may consider wearing something dingy that you don’t care about because it can stain.
• Wipe off all of your makeup before you begin. 
• Wear loose fitting clothing to put on after your spray tan so that it doesn’t rub your tan off. 
• Make sure your tan dries before you put regular clothes back on. I used a box fan for Oaklyn to stand in front of afterwards.
• Rinse off in the shower when the package instructions say to. For the solution we used, it said to leave the spray on for one hour for a light-medium and natural looking tan, two hours for a medium tan, and three hours for a medium to dark tan. 
• Exfoliate beforehand, and make sure you aren’t wearing deodorant. {I’ve heard it can turn your armpits green! 

Now for the funny stories of my previous spray tans. 

I found out the hard way that all spray tan professionals are NOT created equal. I got my first spray tan probably five years ago, and it turned out TERRIBLE. It was applied way too thick, and I looked similar to Ross from friends when I got done. My face was orange, the solution dripped in many places, and it took a really long time to go away. My pores on my legs were really bad and I felt ridiculous. I vowed to NEVER get another spray tan after that experience. 

Then, I noticed a few friends looked incredible with their natural looking spray tans, so I asked them where they got spray tanned. They recommended Spray Tans by Natalie here in St. George, and I made an appointment online before going to Hawaii. Her spray tan looked one trillion times better than my first experience. BUT, about 20 minutes after I got home I was cleaning up my garage and I dropped a huge bottle of Torani syrup on the floor and it shattered causing the sugary syrup to splatter ALL OVER ME! Goodness gracious. I tried to dab it off the best I could, but it was really bad. So I hopped in the shower and had Natalie reapply another spray tan. I have bad luck, what can I say! The spray tan turned out looking good even though we had the mishap. {I paid her for a second spray tan, just in case you are wondering}.

For those of you who have never had a professional spray tan, you may have some questions that I will try and answer below.

How long does a spray tan last?

In my experience a good spray tan lasts about 7-10 days but you need to keep your skin hydrated for it to last.

How should I prepare for a spray tan?

Exfoliate before you go and don’t apply lotion, makeup or deoderant. 

How long after the spray tan should I wait to shower?

You should avoid showering for 4-8 hours to maximize the life of your spray tan. In fact Natalie recommends waiting 12+ hours before showering. 

What should I wear to get a spray tan in? 

I wore an old black swimsuit, but most people I’ve heard of don’t wear anything. I would rather poke a needle in my eye than stand naked in front of someone so I wore a swimsuit. 

How long does it take the spray tan to develop?

It can take 12-24 hours to fully develop depending on the spray tan solution. 

Can I work out after I am spray tanned?

You should wait 12-24 hours before you get sweaty to allow the spray tan to develop. Otherwise your sweat will disrupt the tan from working properly. 

I will keep you updated if we find any more tips about a DIY spray tan. I may try another solution sometime, but like I mentioned above, if you know of a brand that is great, please leave me a comment. I also need to teach my daughter how to spray tan ME! I can definitely spray tan her, but we haven’t tried to reverse the roles. I’m kinda scared for that! HAHA.

I hope you have a great day and weekend. 

xoxo,

Brooke