• Are people used to seeing you without tan?
• What type of bronzing are you most comfortable with?
• What depth of colour are you looking to achieve?
• What have you budgeted to spend?

What Are the Options?
There are a number of tanning options available to you. These include spray tans, home tanning solutions, solarium tanning or instant bronzer on the day.

Professional Spray Tans
Spray tans have increased in popularity over the last couple of years mainly as the industry has refined the finish and professionalism of their products. The most professional application is done by a beauty therapist in a spray tanning booth. If you are considering this type of tanning, it would be recommended to experiment a few months prior to your wedding (trial your tan for other special occasions leading up to your wedding).

Firstly, you need to see if a spray tan actually suits you, what depth of colour looks natural on you and work out the number of days after the tan your prefer the colour. A spray tan will last for approximately 5 days and naturally the colour diminishes over this period. You should also discuss with your therapist whether you intend to have spray tan applied to your face.

The average cost for a professional spray tan would be from $30 to maximum $50 and takes around 15 minutes to apply.

Home Tanning Solutions
There are so many products available to choose from. Home tanning solutions are applied by you at home and may come in the form of a spray or liquid application. The best starting point would be your local pharmacy or your beauty therapist.

Home tanning would be a good consideration if you are restricted by budget. Here you are only paying for the product and not anyone’s time to apply it. However, you may need to research products as they are definitely not all the same – different colours and different odours. Be sure to ask about the type of preparation you prefer; some tanning products apply instantly so you can see the colour, others develop colour after a number of hours and some gradually build a tan with repeat applications over a couple of days.

If opting for home tanning solutions you need to be extremely confident of your ability to apply your tan evenly and with no streaks. This is where you may consider asking a friend or partner to assist you, particularly for hard to reach areas eg: back of the legs, back etc.

Home tanning products will vary in price, generally starting from around $10. Home tanning products are available from your pharmacy, however you may opt for a professional brand which would be available from your beauty therapist.

Application Tips for Spray Tans and Home Tans

• Whatever fake tan you decide on, you MUST ensure you have a full body exfoliation beforehand. This ensures the colour will be distributed evenly. Pay particular attention to knees, ankles and elbows.
• Spray tans should be applied two days beforehand. If your wedding is on a Saturday, have your tan applied on the Thursday.
• Have your spray tan applied in the afternoon/ evening, leave on overnight and wash it off in the shower the following morning.
• Do not wear any deodorant or moisturiser before having your spray tan.
• Wear loose clothes (no bra or tight clothing) to ensure your freshly applied tan is not marked by clothing.
• Start applying home tan a week or so in advance and then cover up any unsatisfactory areas in the days before your wedding.
• Wear plastic gloves during home tanning application so your palms do not absorb the colour.
• You could speak to your beauty therapist about applying the home tanning product for you by hand application. This way you have some professional assistance.
• To avoid tan lines around the feet, ankles etc, you can buffer the areas. After applying your tanning product, twist up a hand towel and rub this very gently over the areas to remove some of the excess product, so it blends more naturally with your skin colour.

Solarium Tanning
This type of tanning is done at solarium salons. You might lie in a sun-bed or stand in a booth with your eyes protected. Your skin is tanned by ultraviolet lights for short periods (around 10 minutes). This is the closest option to sunbaking for a tan and therefore fades similarly to a natural tan.

A solarium tan is gradually built over a number of sessions at the solarium. The number of sessions is dependent on the depth of colour you wish to achieve. There are also tanning accelerators which can speed up the process, giving you a deeper colour for each visit.

Each visit to a solarium might start from around $15.00. Some salons offer your first visit free.

Solarium tanning does expose your skin to ultraviolet lights and may not be suitable for some skin types. Ask your beauty therapist for advice.

Instant Bronzer on the Day
This option takes little preparation (except for experimentation). Bronzer on the day is applied by your beauty therapist or make-up artist. Bronzer is a coloured powder applied by brush to the areas that might be visible eg: chest, arms, back, neck etc. Bronzer will only last until you next shower and as it sits on top of the skin may wear off slightly as the day goes on. Be careful when slipping into your white frock after bronzer has been applied!

Bronzer is an excellent alternative it you don’t necessarily want to create a deep tan. It is applied with minimal risks (no streaks or missed spots), is cost effective and only lasts for the day.

When Should I Book in for Waxing before Tanning?
Waxing should be done three days before the wedding. If your wedding is on a Saturday, book your waxing for the Wednesday. This should be enough time for any redness to settle down without new growth coming through.

How Much Should I Budget?
The budget really depends on whether you are planning to visit your therapist for an exfoliation and tan or buy the products and use them at home. A budget of around $100-120 should be ample for spray tans and solarium tans, while you can probably go as low as around $25 for products to use at home.

Professional services will vary across the board, however many places offer truly affordable services without skimping on atmosphere or attention. Packages are more economical so it’s worth exploring those options also. For example your spa or salon might offer packages than include exfoliation and tan.

Food For Thought
Remember your wedding day is a day you want to feel completely comfortable and confident about your appearance. If you are at all concerned, err on the side of caution and be a little conservative. This will always reflect style, class and your natural beauty without appearing as someone you are not. This way you are certain to be content on the day which makes for a very happy bride….

Samantha Elshaug
For Peace & Quiet Wellbeing Centre, Ballarat
www.peaceandquiet.biz