Should You Get a Spray Tan Before Your Wedding? Spray Tan Expert Weighs In
A wedding is one of the few times people tend to rethink every part of their beauty routine — including whether they should get a spray tan.
Both can give you a beautiful result, but they offer very different advantages depending on how experienced you are with self tan, how predictable your skin is, and how much control you want over the final color.
I sat down withJulie Koritko, spray tan expert and licensed esthetician with more than a decade in the sunless tanning industry, to talk through the differences between the two, who benefits most from a professional spray tan, and when sticking with your usual at-home routine may make more sense.
Choose a Spray Tan If You Want the Full Bridal Beauty Experience
“If it’s in your budget, I generally recommend getting a spray tan, mainly for the experience,” Julie says. “[You deserve] to feel pampered.”
A professional spray tan is also a smart choice if you struggle with self tan application or rarely get an even result at home. For brides who don’t regularly self tan, handing the application over to someone experienced can take one more task off the wedding-week checklist.
Already Great at Self Tanning? Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken
Julie’s advice changes for brides who are already very comfortable applying self tanner.
“Type A brides who are regular self tanners are probably going to prefer their tan when they do it themselves," explaining that they've "already honed in on their exact routine.”
These brides know their holy grail tanning mousse and they have their skin mapped and locked in to get the tan flawless. “A stranger isn’t going to know about your crusty ankle that always pulls patchy,” Julie says. “You can’t expect them to mitigate it the way you’ve learned to.”
She also recommends going the self tan route tobrides with sensitive skin. "You want to be able to patch test first, which self tanner lends itself to, as well as generally having a lower irritation profile than spray tan solutions."
Want a Darker Wedding Tan? This Is Where Spray Tans Have an Edge (kind of)
For a lot of self tanners, one of the biggest reasons to book a professional spray tan is simple:more color.
Professional spray tan solutions often contain higher levels ofDHA, or dihydroxyacetone, the active ingredient responsible for how dark a sunless tan develops.
Typical consumer self tanners: around 5–8% DHA
Professional spray tan solutions: commonly 10–14% DHA
So if your at-home application already looks great but you want a deeper result for your wedding, a professional spray tan can be a strong option. That gap has started to close, though.
Breakout brandGlowPro Tans makes professional-strength self tanning mousse with up to14% DHA, giving experienced self tanners the ability to get that coveted spray-tan-level depth at home while keeping control over their own application.
Destination Wedding? You Should Probably DIY
Destination brides have one extra problem: you likely don't have the chance to trial the hotel or local spray tan artist before the wedding. In that situation, Julie recommends choosing predictability over novelty.
“I've seen this play out poorly for so many brides, especially when they're getting married outside of the US where products and expectations can really differ."
Never Sunless Tan? Your Wedding Doesn’t Need to Be the Reason You Start
Having a tan at your wedding is an expectation these days but Julie reminds us that there's actually no rule saying you need to tan.
“If you never sunless tan, don’t do it just because you feel like everyone else is.”
If you do want to try it, she recommends keeping the color moderate so you still feel like yourself. For someone who rarely or never tans, staying around9% DHA is good. The goal should be added warmth, not look dramatically different.
Want to Try a Professional-Strength Self Tan at Home?
If you want to try the GlowPro Tans professional-strength DHA self tanning line, you can shop their website and learn pro tanning methods.
