Have a big event coming up, and wondering how far in advance you should get a spray tan? Well don’t worry, you certainly aren’t alone, in fact, this is one of the questions I probably get the most often.
If you are just in your normal tanning routine, when you get your spray tan doesn’t really matter. However, if you’re getting a spray tan or airbrush for a big event like a wedding, reunion, party, etc. timing out that tan can be crucial to look your absolute best.
So when is the best time to get a spray tan before a big event? 2-3 days before an event is the best time to get a spray tan.
You really want your tan to be at that perfect point where it is fully developed, but not at all unnatural looking. Don’t worry, we’ll go into this in a bit more detail.
How Long Before An Event Should I Get A Spray Tan?
So I talked with a bunch of people I know in the spray tan industry, including professional airbrushers, and they all came to about the same conclusion.
The best time to get a spray tan is 2-3 days before your big event. This gives adequate time for the DHA (we’ll talk more about this in a second) to fully develop the tan on your skin.
It also gives you enough time to get a few showers to rinse off any bronzer or guide color. After about 3 days, the tan should be fully developed and your skin should be a beautiful golden brown.
Now that we know the basic answer, let’s go into a tiny bit more detail about why this is the case.
First of all, remember that just about all self-tanning products, including spray tans, contain an ingredient called DHA. DHA is actually a type of sugar, that when it comes in contact with the amino acids in the dead skin cells on your body, it chemically reacts. This reaction forms a type of pigment that just sort of sits on your skin.
So there are two parts that are important to this article. First, DHA takes time to form the tan. Most of this takes place the first 8-12 hours after your spray tan appointment, which is why you don’t want to shower right away.
The second important thing is that the tan you get from fake tanning products lives on the outer layer of your skin, which is why you have to reapply about every 6-10 days depending on the quality of the product, and your pre and post tanning routine.
SO, the reason that 3 days is kind of the sweet spot for tanning before an event, is that it gives enough time for the tan to fully form, but not enough time for the vibrancy of that color to fall off.
If you do have a big event coming up, be sure to schedule your spray tan with plenty of lead time! I know the salon I go to gets really busy in the summer, especially mid-week because everyone wants to get their tans in before weekend events!
Or, if you don’t want to go the spray tan route, you could always just use a high-quality self-tanner. This will allow you to develop a really naturally looking self-tan with only a day or so notice. My favorite self-tanner by far is this one from Amazon.
How Long Before A Wedding Should I Get A Spray Tan
I wanted to throw this in as well because I have a lot of people ask about this specifically. The answer is essentially the same, you want to get the tan about 3 days before the event. The only extra thing you want to think about is being careful with the bronzer/guide color so that you don’t get it on the dress.
This should come off almost entirely with the first shower, but be careful you don’t put on any clothes that you really like while you have this guide color on, because it may come off on your clothes.
Although you can usually get this color out of clothes, I certainly wouldn’t risk it with your wedding dress or anything else you’re going to wear!
Can I Get A Spray Tan One Day Before An Event?
You absolutely can, however, just consider some of the things we talked about above. You really want to give the DHA in the tanning solution at least 8-12 hours to fully develop before your first shower. Giving it another day or so will allow the tan to get to its most natural point.
However, if you’re wearing a darker dress or outfit, and you have at least 12 hours before you need to shower for the event, you’ll probably be ok!
Get I Get A Spray Tan The Same Day As An Event?
This is tough to do because you really do need to give the tanning solution at least 8 hours to fully develop. So the only way this would maybe work is if you had a spray tan appointment first thing in the morning, and your event wasn’t until late that evening. Then you could give the tan 6-8 hours to develop, and then shower and get ready for your event.
However, if your event is the same day, and you really want some color, you may be better off using some instant tan or bronzer, instead of trying to get a spray tan.
Alright, I really hope you enjoyed this quick guide, if you did, please consider sharing!
