FORMER BONITA GRAD WANTS TO TAN YOU TO PERFECTION

July 24, 2017

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Two Organic Beach Spray Tans clients enjoy their day in the sun. Photo by April Rjinders

CHINO, CA, August 1, 2017 — Attention all bodybuilders, beauty pageant contestants, brides and grooms, wedding party members, island-bound vacationers, job applicants, high school and college alumni off to their reunions, and anyone else who wants to sport a vibrant,vigorous sun-kissed glow while instantly looking seven pounds thinner and being able to conceal, at least temporarily, everything from cellulite to varicose veins.

In 25 minutes or less, Julie McDonald, Bonita High School graduate (Class of 1998) and current Chino resident, will be able to transform your pale, under-bronzed body into the picture of health — without exposing it to the damaging ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun or tanning beds.

Julie is a certified spray tanner or a tannologist!

Organic Beach Spray Tans owner Julie McDonald.

She came to her custom craft the hard way. After lying out in the sun and being addicted in high school to tanning beds, she knew there had to be a better, safer alternative to looking your bronze best in the era of global warming and increasing threats from skin cancer.

She began investigating sunless tanning and quickly saw its advantages.

“Lying in a tanning bed for eight minutes equated to something like lying in the sun for four hours, and then you go outdoors and expose yourself to even more ultraviolet damage,” Julie said.

“And half the time you would burn or get spots that wouldn’t go away.”

Convinced of spray tanning’s advantages, Julie studied under two tannologists and eventually started her own business, Organic Beach Spray Tans, learning to expertly and evenly aim her finely applied tanning mist at her clients of all ages, shapes, sizes and skin tonalities to produce some amazing and eye-popping results.

Reasons for Tanning

Increasingly, clients want to appear tan at the start rather than on just the final day of their vacations, Julie noted. By being proactive, they also look better in all their photos.

“I just did a spray tan for a 70-year-old woman who was preparing to go zip-lining in Hawaii,” Julie said. “She wanted to look good during her entire stay.”

Before their appointments with her, Julie asks that her clients shave or wax to ensure a more even beautiful tan. Self-prep also includes exfoliating their skin. Sloughing off as much dead skin as possible, roughly 24 hours before the spray tan is applied, simply produces a better result.

She further requires that her clients remove all moisturizers, makeup and deodorant because they contain oils that can make it hard for the dihydroxyacetone (DHA) — the main ingredient in spray tans — to adhere to the skin.

The entire process takes about 25 minutes, approximately 10 minutes for the consultation — where Julie sizes up skin tones, answers any questions and puts her clients at ease — and 15 minutes for the application.

“Not everybody, of course, has a model body,” Julie said. “Working with my clients really comes down to trust and comfort level.”

Summer is made for spray tans. Photo by April Rjinders.

While some clients request a full spray tan, others may opt for a spray tan of just their legs or upper body. These spot tans can run as little as $15 while the typical full body spray tan costs $35. Deep, dark body tans, preferred by bodybuilders to accentuate their muscle definition, can run as much as $150 because of the repeated applications.

Another Organic Beach Spray Tans client. Photo by April Rjinders.

Before Julie works her tanning magic, clients don shower caps and nose plugs to minimize inhalation of the spray. To further limit chemical exposure, she works in a well-ventilated area aided by an air extraction and ventilation system.

Although spray tans typically dry quickly, Julie still recommends that her clients leave her salon in loose comfortable clothing rather than the skin tight jeans some of her clients arrive in. She also sells a cute and popular line of outerwear for her patrons to slip into.

A good spray tan, according to Julie, should last about a week, provided clients don’t shower, use soap or apply moisturizer for at least the first eight hours after receiving their spray tan.

A couple of other caveats from Julie: “Try not to sweat, let your dog lick you or cry any tears after a romantic breakup.” Also, a spray tan should not be regarded as protection from the sun. Spray tanners will still need to apply a sunblock if they plan to tan naturally, Julie warned.

Who’s Tanning?

As for which sex favors spray tanning more, Julie said it’s becoming gender neutral. “We get husbands and wives, wedding groups, whole families,” she said.

She further noted that spray tanning isn’t just for pale people. Blacks, Hispanics and other darker-complected people also benefit from spray tanning, she maintained. “Spray tanning just compliments every skin tone, from the lightest to the darkest, from the youngest to the oldest,” she said.

While Julie realizes people could resort to self-applying bronzing creams and gels or stand in front of a spray tanning machine, she said the best results come from the personal touch and years of experience working around joints, creases and other difficult, unruly body angles unique to humans.

“In my business, one size doesn’t fit all,” she said. “If you take that approach, that’s when you start to turn orange.”

To contact Julie for a free personal consultation, please reach out to her at 909.538.6999.