I was on the fence about getting a spray tan for Whirl, but I decided since I was SO pale and wearing black, a light tan would look a lot healthier. I had never gotten a spray tan before and was nervous that I would end up looking super orange.

I went with a few friends Thursday night to get my tan. Of course, everything went wrong.

We showed up to the TropiTan on cascade around 9:00. We asked for their lightest shade and found out that they had ran out. The woman at the desk told us that the Jenison location had this certain color.

My friends and I drove to Jenison because we decided we should get the spray tan that night.

I got into the machine and was so nervous that I wouldn’t turn and end up like Ross in Friends. The opposite of that happened.

I turned correctly and did the right poses but didn’t really feel like I was getting sprayed with the solution. I assumed I was and I just didn’t know what it would actually feel like.

The next red flag was that I didn’t feel sticky or smell gross.

I woke up in the morning looking the exact same shade of pasty and uneven pale. It turns out one friend looked tanner while the friend that went after me didn’t either.

After a lot of phone calls to the tanning salon and waiting in line for close to an hour. We learned that the solution probably ran out on my first friend, explaining my lack of tan.

It was obvious when I got a free second tan the next day that I had been sprayed by air the night before.

After all of this, I felt foolish for all the trouble I went through for this dumb tan. Don’t get me wrong, I was really glad to have a bit more color at the dance, but I’m not one to spend a lot of time on my appearance anyway so it seemed like a lot of effort for one night.

The tan was very appreciated and it actually looked pretty natural which was a huge relief. I won’t be getting another spray tan anytime soon, but not I know what to expect. One of the best things I learned from all of this was that I need to plan ahead and call before I arrive, and that I need to voice my concern if something didn’t go correctly.