5 stars for comfort, quickness, ease of use, and newbie discounts:
Regarding tanning, I have everything going against me: Super pale- check. Too lazy to even try to tan in my rapidly closing 20s- check. Have a few moles I don't want to irritate- check.
When I went on a last minute trip to Puerto Rico, the tone of my skin was a danger to the public- blinding. I can't inflict that on innocent eyes. I also haven't been a tanning bed person since 2005, an era of many bygone things (gaucho pants, Britney Spears pre-shaved head, etc). A spray tan was the only realistic option for me, which I only decided to try after a fellow pale friend confided that she had gotten one and a Groupon presented itself.
The Sinless Tan is located right off Armitage in Lincoln Park. It is in a garden (basement) unit with a lot of room. I waited for roughly 10 minutes in a cozy waiting area where some products were for sell before being led into the tanning room (it was sort of a large walk-in closet with a large fan).
The spray tan is not for the modest. I am the modest. I always have been, and I can't explain it (no time for a psychological profile!). The gal who worked there said "Most people either get completely naked or wear their underwear," and left me to change. I am sure there are other options, but in my mind, I heard that as one or the other (you, obviously, can wear a strapless bra or swimsuit etc.). So I went topless, which is a big step for me as a more modest person. In retrospect, I probably would have gotten completely naked or work a thong or something because my tan lines looked weird in my swim suit. I also had a white band around the top of my CK's that got stained by the tanning solution. HOWEVER, both of those were my dumb, uneducated decisions. If you wear underwear, make sure you don't care that much about them or that they are black (or both really). You have my knowledge to save you time now. Anyway, the gal who was doing the spraying and the knowledge that she's seen hundreds of people naked, as well as her professional demeanor, put my mind at ease. I'm pretty awkward because of the whole modesty thing, and you know, like a professional, she didn't make me feel weird about it. Huge props. I got the $5 ph balance solution. I have no idea if it worked. Another user complained about having to rub it on themselves, but I mean yea, that would kind of be a little weird to have the attendant rub it on. It gets a little more personal than a massage.
The spray tan process was a different than I imagined. You stand up in front of the fan while the gal sprays you with the tanning solution out of a hair dryer looking mechanism (it's the airbrush, but in my head, I keep thinking "hair dryer"). She tells you to pose in different ways. It looks and feels funny, but you know, she's got to get all of the weird places like under your arm pits and what not.
The whole process took about 15 minutes. Then I put back on my loosely fitting clothes, went to the check out, bought some lotion (again, I don't know if it works), and left.
There were a few things I personally did or didn't know but have now learned that I will share with any first timers:
-The smell was really annoying to me for the first 2 days. It smells like bottled bronzer. Sigh the pains of beauty.
-They say wear loose clothes...they mean like...the loosest of loose. I wore back sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt (no bra) and got a few weird spots on my legs from my pants when I sat down on the bus.
-If you can avoid it, don't sit down for a while. You also shouldn't sweat or get wet as much as possible until the next day.
-Don't shower for 8-12 hours. I went to sleep without showering, and when I woke up the next morning, I looked like tan mom, which freaked me out. However, once you take your first rinse, you get back to a much more normal shade with a few of the abnormal spots disappearing. I felt like it was too dark at first, but that's just because I'm not used to seeing myself tan!
-When you do sleep, cover your bed with old sheets. If you sleep in clothes, wear dark clothes. Also, I would not use white towels.
-Some area start to fade way quicker than others...particularly area that you wash, bend, or touch a lot. My face, hands, and knees were washed off in like...4 days, which bummed me out, but I am an obsessive hands and face washer.
That's what I got! Overall, a good experience. This would not be a super normal thing for me, but if I go on vacation or have a special occasion, I would do it again. I'm normally comfortable being pale, but I will admit it was nice to go on vacation and know that no one was looking at me thinking or actually saying "I hope she put on sunscreen." It was one less thing to worry about. read more