Two weeks ago I went to a super fun event at Go Glow hosted by Alex from Sassy Confetti and Christine from The Chicago Good Life. Go Glow is a spray tan salon in River North here in Chicago with two other locations in Minnesota. Their products are free of all the bad stuff (sulphates and parabens) plus they are vegan and gluten free!
I’ve seen Go Glow boppin’ around Instagram but haven’t ever really thought to get a spray tan. I’m a pasty gal to say the least, so spray tans are kind of intimidating. Now, I’m a total convert. Let’s get into the experience:
Prep: I was STRESSED the day of about my spray tan. Will I look orange? Do I go nude? Will the woman judge how pale I am? Did I exfoliate enough? Wherever you go, shave/exfoliate the day before, rinse off the day of without soaps and avoid moisturizer. As for what to wear, my friend recommended asking what the salon feels comfortable with. I went without a top but with a thong since I wanted to really see the tan line. If you’re going on vacation and have bathing suits with different cuts, your birthday suit is probably best.
Scent: Contrary to most, I LOVE the smell of self tanners. When you step in the salon, you’re instantly hit with a warm, slightly coconut, relaxing scent. Come to find out, this is the same scent as the spray tan itself and their body butter (more on that below). Overnight I definitely developed that oh-so familiar fake tan scent, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as others.
Staying Power: After my spray tan I didn’t shower for 24 hours for maximum marinating. Following that, I did everything you’re supposed to: I moisturized twice a day, used a gentle body wash, didn’t exfoliate, took quick, warm showers and patted dry with my towel. I just scrubbed off the final bits of my spray tan almost two weeks later. It faded very naturally and didn’t look splotchy anywhere as it was coming off. I would say I looked maximum tan the first 4-5 days, but still pretty darn tan by the end of the week.
Side Effects: I’ll preface my only complaint with this: I have very dry skin to begin with. By the second day, my skin felt super dry. I definitely needed to moisturize morning and night versus my typical once a day.
Hydrate Body Butter: I’m quite particular about my body butters but this one is fabulous. It absorbs super quickly but still gives you luxurious hydration.
Would I go back? Yes. I’ll probably go back in June before a wedding we’re going to. Totally would recommend.
