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How to get your darkest spray tan.

Bodybuilders are known for deep dark tans.

If you are looking for your darkest tan possible – look no further than what we in the spray tan industry call a comp tan. Comp is short for competitors, in particular fitness competitors. 
They use spray tans to define muscles beyond their hard work in the gym. To get a contrast under very bright stage lights a fitness competitor undergoes, not one, but three sessions of tanning. In other words, this is an expensive tan too. 


Fitness competition tans Session 1, Session 2, Bronzer, Glaze.

Bodybuilding has a tan all its own, which most of our clients are not seeking. For those brave and stoic enough for the stage – especially the bikini bodies – we love and cherish your tans.

Why do you need to be so tan?

A spectator or new to the sport of bodybuilding, you may wonder why competitors need to be that deep dark tan and how they do it. Competition tans are like other forms of stage makeup. If you have seen stage makeup for a play, you know that actors use dark lines to show facial expressions to the distant audience. Your first time seeing stage makeup can be like seeing an unblended contour makeup face, somewhat shocking. The bright lights of the stage make skin appear flat. Now imagine spending hundreds of hours in a gym, working on the very thing lights are reducing. Dark tans are used for more defined muscles. That dark-complected to start with, use dark tan to even out any skin issues.

Dark Tans: Did she jump in a mud puddle?

Believe it or not – acquiring a dark unnatural tone is not a mistake or quick.  In order to make sure your spray tan is even, take care of your skin in the weeks coming up to your competition. A weekly routine of exfoliating with a sugar scrub a few times a week, drink plenty of water and always moisturize. If your life is already bogged down for time, use spray moisturizer. We love anything that sprays on 🙂

A competition spray tan begins like all other spray tans with clean and dry skin. Shave and wax 24 hours or more before your first session. Remove all makeup, deodorant, lotion, or anything oil based on the skin. On the day of your first session, use a handful of baking soda mixed into a paste with water to exfoliate in the shower. Book a trial appointment to test and know your show day glaze does not run. When you book your tan appointment, think about the rest of the day and what you need to get ready for your upcoming competition. Remind yourself to do the laundry and dishes before heading out to your local airbrush artist. Liquid ruins your tan- that’s another blog post.

Two spray tans?  

Your first session is like a base tan for the rest of the process. Wear dark loose-fitting clothing and avoid putting undergarments on after your tan. The first coat is dark but not to a point of causing running, streaking, or blotches from over-saturation. The second session increases the darkness within the tan. Second sessions should be done 4 hours before you the show starts. During the entirety of this process, you will not shower. Be mindful of if you need to wash your face. Request that your artist does not tan your face and be prepared with gloves and dark foundation for the next day. Note with that – all your stage makeup should be dramatic, just like your tan!

 

Fitness Competition Glaze….like a donut.

Comp tans, like a donut – must be glazed. Glazing occurs about one hour before you step on stage. Book a trial appointment with your glaze before the big day. Worst case scenario, your first session tan can be rinsed off if your glaze ran. At Tanning Cabana we use Aviva lab’s shimmer shot, a solution of glitter. You will light up with the stage lights thanks to this layer.

Wait…I have to pee

Peeing after a spray tan for a girl can be difficult. As stated above and all over our prep guide, water is spray tans only risk. Hover, straddle, or pee in a cup, you can find more information from competitors Amanda Louise, Wendy Watkins, and Heather Owens by clicking their name.

 

Just beginning your journey to the stage? We have found the best gym in Minneapolis to be Los Campeones, regardless of if you are bodybuilding or just trying to shape up.

Want instant results on a diet? Spray tan.

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First things first – Start with a basic b**** spray tan.

We love giving those on the self-improvement path a little encouragement for 10-14 days every time they look in the mirror. Spray tanning will not make you lose weight faster, work harder at the gym, or better at resisting that donut. What it will do… Make you feel great each time you look in the mirror, in turn making you a little less critical and a little more forgiving. These two things, in particular, could game-changer you need and keep you motivated.  The look good – feel-good team, ya we’re very, very much a part of that and hope you will join us. 

If you have never had a spray tan and are unaware of its magical properties, please head over to our booking page and try a Lavish Tan Single Coat Spray Tan.  At Tanning Cabana, we think you should ease into spray tan. Learning about spray tan and how it works will lead to great results. Spray tanning is not as easy as just laying down in a bed and pressing go. Spray tan, like all great things, requires time and effort.  Dieting and working out are major lifestyle changes that will take plenty of effort and time to see results. While you are doing that – take a minute to read your spray tan guide. Then book your spray tan and ask plenty of questions to your tech. 

Once you have had a spray tan and know they are incredible… 

Go ahead and read on about contour advanced tans… after you have the body you dreamed about, push further and define those muscles with a contour tan. 
To book a contour tan, please call our master artist for pricing and availability.  

Blending is my cardio…

Is contour something that Kim Kardashian popularized? Is contour a method of makeup application that is a grandiose illusion? Can you contour without NARS, Hoola bronzer, and a Beauty Blender? The answer to all these questions is yes. Contour has been used for hundreds of years on the stage to show emotion on the faces of actors. It has been a popularized method of makeup application refined and introduced by late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin. Kevyn Aucoin made a household name celebrity look like another celebrity from the past or even modern-day. Unless a viewer looked twice, one might mistake his makeup on Courtney Love as a photo of Marilyn Monroe. He did this through many tricks, including the illusion of contour. Find his books here. (Seriously- they are bestsellers, check em out.)

Contour is defined as an outline,

Especially one representing or bounding the shape or form of something. In the makeup, world contour is known as defining and minimizing to stand out or reduce the prominence of a feature. Bronzer-defined areas include the sides of the nose, just below the cheekbones, the hairline, and the underside v of the chin. Highlighted areas include the brow bone, mid-forehead, the top of the cheekbones, and the bridge of the nose. The contour gives our eyes depth of field when we look at another’s face. Our eyes pick up on light cast off by the highlighting shimmery makeup and find the definition in the hairline from the bronzer. It can make your face look skinnier, the nose appears straighter, cheekbones higher, and make a double chin seem to disappear.

Sunless Contour Tanning

We have taken contour one step further with semi-permanent status and entire body coverage in the world of sunless tans. In contour tanning, we apply to the face the way you would with makeup: the hairline, the cheekbones, and jawline. When contouring a body, abdominal muscles are defined, arms are strategically shaded to look slimmer, and the sides of the body, including legs, are more saturated to give the illusion of length when looking straight on. Spray tan artists apply the solution with a small airbrush gun allowing for heavy concentration in small areas. These tans are perfect for photoshoots, beach vacations, and wedding nights. A contour tan will boost your confidence in a matter of minutes. We still think you should work out for your health, but leave the definition to the airbrush gun. If you can’t tone it, tan it.

We like to consider ourselves the authority on Minnesota contour tanning since 2013. Even in the dead of winter, you can spot our tans on vacationers, brides, and you know there are so many photoshoots going on while the snowfalls outside now if someone would throw a pool party in January!

Bridal Sprays : How to….

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Minnesota weddings can be stressful…. eliminate all variables with exception to weather.

We mention the first two as they both can make you cry. There is no crying in spray tan or in the white dress with the makeup and hair on. Breath, let go of anything unnecessary to the process. Remember, joyful is a choice and all signs point to yes. If you need a reality check, count your blessings :  I am getting married today to my best friend.

 

Event Coordination

From the start of planning to the day of the event, if you do not have a wedding planner this is the first thing to take care of. If you have a wedding planner, it doesn’t hurt to check in with them periodically to make sure all vendors, guests, and individuals surrounding the wedding are in all in and ready to roll. Consider variables like what might happen to the ice sculpture, what if it rains, bigger question what if it snows. If the event coordination brings up stress – remember at the end of the day, it’s about two people in love.

The Bridal Party Minnesota_bridal_spraytan

When choosing your bridal party think of how they have been in the past. Is anyone chronically late? Should you tell them a different time as to make them early rather than late? Yes. Also keep cost in mind when planning. Regardless of if you are marrying the king of the world, everyone likes to save money. So talk to your bridal party, find group-ons and deals for bigger groups. We offer free tanning for the bride with a party of three or more! This inclusion within the process will strengthen the bond within your party. On the day of, remember as the bride, this is your show and the show must go on. Do not, I repeat, do not stress over someone else being late or not showing up. Your relationship with them is not over and there are many details you have no control over. Focus on being present and how fabulous this day is for you – regardless of anything or anyone else.

Your dress, beauty treatments, the spray tan.

When choosing your dress consider using the toilet in it, wearing it for more than four hours, and if it is a Minnesota wedding what will it look like with a jacket….Did you get a jacket?

If you have never had a particular treatment, do not wait until the event to try it. Try it a few weeks or even months before. This way your spray tan will be perfect, your nail length will be manageable, and you will know if that updo will hold throughout the hot humid summer day!

The month before the event give your bridesmaids a call about possible group beauty treatments. If someone doesn’t get back to you about it move on. If they are the clincher in the group (as in you need one more party to get the deal) book it anyway and bring someone else the day of if you need be. Cost is a big factor for people and sometimes they just won’t be able to jump on board, help them out or bring another person to take their place. Don’t think that one individual is the end of the world. Marriage is a celebration of love between two people, we hope that that love radiates into your other relationships with those celebrating with you.

Below is a timeline of beauty treatments including airbrush tanning- some procedures are flexible, while others – not so much. Please ask your beauty professionals as each stylist or artist may have a different time line or way of getting the best results.

The bridal beauty timeline

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  1. Hair color or perm: this process takes time and can be scheduled days ahead of time if needed.
  2. Haircut : this is quick and easy but choosing what you want can take time, remember to trim small lengths and more can be cut if you desire. It’s easy to cut off and very hard to grow or extension back.
  3. Waxing: body and face waxing lasts some time, so if you can schedule it about 4-5 days before the wedding chances are the inflammation associated with it will go down and will look and feel better the day of the wedding. This process also needs to be done before spray tanning 🙂
  4. Lashes: lashes need to be done before a spray tan but can be done almost anytime as they last for quite some time. No more than 7 days before to insure a fresh full luscious set.
  5. Manicure / Pedicure: nails should be done the day before spray tan to get the entire treatment of a manicure or pedicure. Your nail tech will soak your hands and feet to make your cuticles softer for the process. As we know water is the mortal enemy of a spray tan. Also getting it done before coats the nails, protecting them from spray tan solution from soaking in.
  6. Spray Tan: should always be your last beauty procedure. If your event is on Saturday, plan for a Thursday night tan. Wake up and shower on Friday and be gorgeously tan for the grooms dinner. Planning for Thursday spray tan also gives you a small window to fix anything, heaven forbid you sit on a wet lawn chair with a glass of wine after your spray tan.

For your hair and makeup appointments the day of pack a button up shirt for you and inform your bridesmaids to do the same. Button down shirts don’t go over your head, saving your fabulous hair styling! Hair and makeup appointments for the day of are great if you can find stylists and artists to come out on site. It makes all the difference in your stress level.

Massage and other spa treatments: if you think you need a relaxing moment before the big show, have a glass of champagne. Saving the pampering treatments for after the wedding will save you time for event details as well as give you a bonding experience with your new life partner.

Remember to enjoy your beauty treatments, chances are the stylist or technician loves giving brides the look they desire for one of the most memorable days of their life. If a particular stylist doesn’t seem comfortable with bridal sessions, ask for a referral. Save the stress for you and them.

How Spray Tans work : The Science Behind

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Spray tan has come a long way since its invention in the 1950s, We promise.  This is a quick read about how spray tan works from the Master spray tan Artist at Tanning Cabana. 

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DHA or Dihydroxyacetone – the active spray tan ingredient.

DHA is the active ingredient in spray tan solution. DHA was first discovered in the 1920s and was proposed as a sugar substitute for people with diabetes by Proctor & Gamble. Later, Eva Wittgenstein was experimenting with feeding a DHA solution to children with a metabolic disorder. Sometimes children would spit up on her, leaving brown patches only on her skin, not her clothes. This was one of the first things week noticed in our studios. The hot white towels we used under each client to keep their feet warm – did not stain. DHA only reacts with skin, not clothing.

 

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A spray tan is not a paint or a dye.

How it works is due to the Maillard reaction. It’s not a paint or a dye but a chemical reaction leading to the change in skin tone. The active ingredient in spray tan is sugar that reacts with an amino acid in your skin. It is not a paint or a dye; once the tan has developed, it will only come off as your skin sloughs or exfoliates off. What you see in the salon immediately is a bronzer indicator, showing where the solution has been sprayed or not sprayed. Bronzer can rub off. A set tan will not sweat or rub off.

The first sunless tanner was “QT” by Coppertone and was introduced in the 1960s.


A Sunless Revolution, spray tan keeps improving.

Starting in the 1980s, bodybuilders began using DHA-based sunless tanners to enhance their tans from UV beds. This is actually very dangerous as DHA can increase your UV uptake by 100%. When you are spray tanning for vacation, we recommend an aerosol SPF 30 sunscreen after showering and applying coconut oil. Did you know coconut oil has a natural SPF of 4? That is another blog post entirely.

DHA is derived from plant sources such as sugar beets and sugar cane by the fermentation of glycerin and in our signature solution from apples. Alongside the DHA, spray tan solution contains bronzers. These bronzers are almost always natural, including black walnut shells and cocoa powder. These bronzers are the agents that can potentially stain clothing when you get a spray tan. It is best to wear loose dark clothing after your appointment.

In the late 1990s, Estee Lauder noted in a patent, DHA in cream form will stay on the skin’s surface, pooling or clumping together. This results in a less than natural-looking tan. At this point, atomized droplets were launched as the way to apply DHA to the skin. When sprayed on like spray paint, the DHA could reach more cells resulting in a much more natural-looking tan. Creams are great for touch up and increasing the longevity of your tan.

Wedding Beauty: How To Spray Tan For Brides and Bride’s maids.

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Planning your wedding spray tan session can be slightly trickier than your average weekend event. Go figure.

Working around the groom’s dinner, bachelorette parties and bridal showers takes a bit more work. Establishing a preparation timeline will achieve the best results possible. Like the rest of the event it takes proper planning.

Book your bridal consult and spray tan session now!

Give us a call with any questions about spray tan. Remember to book your trial spray tan minimum of two weeks before your wedding day session.


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Many people are getting their first spray tan for their wedding…. This is how spray tan works.

The active ingredient in spray tan is a sugar that reacts with an amino acid in your skin. It is not a paint or a dye, once the tan has developed it will only come off as your skin exfoliates off. What you see immediately as a tan in the session, is a bronzer indicator, showing where the solution is covering. Bronzer can rub off, a set tan will not sweat or rub off on a white dress.

Preparation makes for a flawless lasting tan.

When preparing for an event as monumental as a wedding,  brides are getting more treatments than your average weekend out. The most critically timed process is waxing. If you are having waxing done, try to schedule that at least 48 hours in advance. This way the skin can have a day for recovery. Spray tan sessions should always come last in the beauty timeline. While preparing for a bridal spray tan or any spray tan none the less, we recommend exfoliating and shaving 24 hours before.

Remember there is no crying in spray tan. . .

The day of your session, double check in with all your commitments. Check in with the event coordination,  your bridal party, and your life partner before your spray tan session. If there is an issue that is difficult to handle emotionally, you can let it out and be in the safe zone.Wedding are expensive events, planned months and years ahead of time. As airbrush tan artists, we understand events and people can be overwhelming. Water is the mortal enemy of a spray tan, crying can leave your face a mess. Yes, it is possible to fix it. If we can avoid it and save you time for other details, lets do that. Get all the tears out before your session.

Two weeks prior to the bridal spray tan session….

Make sure to let your artist know well ahead of time, this is a bridal spray tan. We ask that you have a trial spray and have a package especially for brides with sessions set for the trial and the day of, and one extra for the groom or the maid of honor. If you are having trouble convincing the groom to spray tan, inform him he only needs to be spray tanned from the torso up. When brides are tan and grooms are not, it is very noticeable in photographs. Click here for a link to Kona Katie’s blog post all about it. When booking bridal appointments ,we give priority time slots and extra time before and after, just in case we have a tag along bridesmaids or the groom wants to tan his upper body to match the bride.

Schedule at least two weeks before the event as to allow for fading time as well as enough time to prep for the wedding day session. In the trial session we will explain how spray tan works, the process, and next day check in to explore any issues you may have encountered with the spray tan. Such as sleeping prayer style (with your hands together under your face), this usually leaves one very light hand, one very dark hand, and sometimes can make a mess of the tan on your face. We almost never have these issues (its happened twice in one thousand tan) but again – let’s deal with them together ahead of time. We have acquired plenty of solutions through our experience.

Clear spray tan solution is a wedding dress’ best friend.

If something happened with your appointment and you need a spray tan the day of the event, do not use any solutions with bronzer. Do not use express solutions with bronzer. Bronzer can residually hold on to skin only to become sweat which can bleed on to your white dress. Ask for clear solution and an experienced airbrush artist. Clear solution is tricky as it does not contain bronzer indicator. This calls for a systematic application to assure that everything is covered and not over saturated. The tan comes on over time subtly.

Bridal spray tans are just like any other event yet we seem to take more details into account when its going to be one of the milestones of our life. This scrutiny of the very minor details is usually what brings us to problems. Remember to relax, its about love. It’s you and yours celebrating the love that will be that day and forever more into the future.

Sunless Tanning | Save 22.5 hours of your life.

timeisprecious

Spray tan saves time. Fact.

Spray tans are so fast, easy, and the healthier option for winter radiance. When we opened our salon in 2008, we were a full service salon with tanning beds. In 2013 our founder’s mother was diagnosed with melanoma for the 6th time in her life, at that point we starting working towards a dream we would read about on the internet – a sunless only tanning salon. In 2016 we actually sent all our tanning beds packing in exchange for the Norvell Auto Revolution sunless spray tan booth. This booth’s sessions is 3.5 minutes, faster than even our artist applied spray tans.  It is nothing like the Mystic or Versa Spa, it mimics the application of an artist. Delivering sunless tanning results beyond your wildest dreams.

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How Spray Tan Saves Time…..

If you picture going to a tanning bed, most enjoy a 20 minute session an average of 3 times per week to obtain results close to one of our signature artist applied spray tans. Tack on 10 minutes to get dressed and lotion up. And add another 10 minutes minimum of drive time. Our average tanning bed client in 2013, would tan 3 months of the year. We are guessing December, January, and February.

Let’s do some math.

Tanning Beds

20 minutes tanning + 10 minutes prep/dress time + 10 minutes driving =
40 minutes per session
40 minute visits x 3 weekly visits = 120 minutes or 2 hours per week
2 hours per week x 4 weeks per month = 8 hours per month
8 hours per month x 3 months = 24 hours.

Spray tans

15 minutes start to finish including dressing time x 2 monthly visits = 30 minutes monthly
30 minutes per month x 3 months = 90 minutes or 1.5 hours
Oh you want drive time too, that’s another hour of your life in 3 months….
2.5 hours every three months for the same results.

 

Tanning Cabana Monaya Blends

We think your time and your skin is precious.

Spray tan saves time, no doubt about it. Spray tanning takes less time, with less visits, lasts longer, is much safer for you, and is easier. Not to mention when you step out of that booth with instant results – its pretty gratifying.

And you thought the up front cost of spray tanning was too much – It is your life and your time.

24 hours (tanning bed) – 2.5 hours (spray tan) =

21.5 hours of your life saved for other things including:

Meal prep and planning, your blog, your kids, doing your nails, researching new topics, reading a book, taking a bath, eating food, getting coffee, hanging out with friends, and or just loving your life. If you need a place to lay that hot and feels like a beach – try the sauna, it has some serious health benefits and it doesn’t damage your skin.