Sick and tired of streaky, at-home tanning sessions? Counting down the days until the sun makes a regular appearance in the 'burgh? An airbrush tan could be your cure for the wintertime pale-skin blahs.
By Kimberly Olsen
12/1/2004
You stand in a thong, close your eyes, and let the cool mist greet your skin as your tan deepens, growing more golden each second. Sound like you’re on a nudist beach in the south of France? Not exactly. You’re receiving an airbrush tan—one of the safest, deepest tans your money can buy these days.
Unlike the Mystic Tan—where you stand in a booth for a few seconds, hold your breath, squeeze your eyes shut, and pray for an even tan—an airbrush tan is done by a professional who holds a small nozzle and sprays every bare inch of your body, guaranteeing an even tan. Hence the thong, because if you want not only a golden stomach, but a nicely bronzed derriere too, you’re going to have to shed some clothing. If this sounds too personal, be reminded that fifteen minutes in a thong (or a bathing suit, or bra and underwear) is a small price to pay to receive the safest I’ve-just-been-to-Barbados-look in the dead of Pittsburgh’s winter.
Besides looking like you’ve been to the tropics, the mist from an airbrush tan smells tropical as well. A cocktail of aloe vera, ginseng, vitamin E, and rosemary mix with other tanning ingredients (all FDA approved) to form a mist that has a pleasant botanical scent. Each person’s skin adjusts to the ingredients in the airbrush spray, so unlike the Mystic Tan, you won’t come out looking like a carrot. Think more Beyonce-golden than Paris-citrus.
In preparation for the slew of holiday outings that undoubtedly jam your planner over the next two months, get yourself to All Tan Too in Greentree. There, Barbara Butler, who has been misting bodies since August 2004, will do your skin some overdue good.
“Everyone gets so excited when they look at themselves afterward,” Barbara says. And it’s true—after receiving the airbrush tan myself, she held a mirror up for me to see my fresh beach-y look. I looked like I’d spent the last month lounging on the deck of a cruise ship.
The day you get the airbrush tan, you should exfoliate to rid your skin of dead cells, and make sure your face is make-up free prior to going in for the tan. The process itself goes like this: you step inside a small, enclosed booth, and after undressing put on a shower cap to protect your hair. Barbara dots Vaseline lotion on your fingernails and toenails to protect them from discoloration. You then angle your body in multiple poses as Barbara begins spraying every pore on first your legs, then stomach, arms, and finally, your face. The mist feels exactly like ocean spray.
After the spraying is done, you stand in front of a fan to dry. The tan will last for 7-10 days, depending on your lifestyle (how much you work out, or whether you exfoliate in the shower, for example). An airbrush tan costs $25, and every cent is worth the velvety, glowing result that no tanning bed or at-home tanning lotion can give your skin.
All Tan Too (open 7 days a week)
993 Greentree Road
Greentree, PA 15220
412-921-4300
Airbrush tan by appointment only
