Hitting the Bottle With the Experts

With self-tanning lotions the rage this summer as the safe way to catch rays, the trick is to apply color without ending up with streaks and splotches.

Might professionals do a better job of apply tanning lotions? Beauty salons and spas are offering bronzing treatments, which can cost up to $115 for one application and tan those hard-to-reach spots. But is it worth it? The only way to find out was to go for the glow myself at three Southland spas.

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Spa: Estee Lauder Spa at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.

Cost: $115 plus tip.

The Lowdown: I was expecting the “SuperTan to Go” to be a relaxing experience, akin to having a massage or a facial. But as soon as I was confronted with a pair of paper thong underwear (yikes!), I knew I had another thing coming.

“We’ll begin with some body polishing,” the aesthetician said, snapping the towel off of my naked body with one fell swoop. Before applying any bronzing lotion, it’s necessary to exfoliate the skin so the color does not clump, forming dark spots over rough skin, she explained as she applied the grainy paste with her rubber-gloved hands.

Getting the product off my body was a more difficult task.

“I would rather exfoliate and then have you get in the shower to rinse off,” she quipped. “But New York [Estee Lauder headquarters] won’t have it. They want everything done on the table.” (Believe me, at that point I would much rather have gotten in the shower to rinse off.) Instead, I waited as she scraped every last grain off of me with a warm sponge. Now I know how it feels to have a sponge bath.

Looking down at my buffed and rosy skin, I asked if anyone ever experienced an adverse reaction to products. They did ask me to fill out a form about allergies and skin type, but what could they really tell from that?

“I’ve been very lucky. No one I’ve treated has had any kind of reaction,” she says. Hmmm. Not so reassuring.

Estee Lauder uses its own Sunless SuperTan for the body and another of its products for the face. Both lotions come in two shades: medium and dark. The face cream has a different formulation than the body cream.

“More emollients,” the spa technician explained. She suggested I use the dark formula for best results, even though my skin is fair.

She began by smoothing self-tan lotion onto my face, neck and, yes, earlobes, before moving on to the body. The lotion had a slightly greasy texture, and I worried about a breakout.

Next, she moved onto my body, pouring dollops of brown liquid onto my shoulders, chest and stomach. I asked how many bottles it takes to cover an average body, suddenly worried that she might not have enough lotion, nay that the spa might not have enough lotion, to cover mine. She assured me it takes about three-quarters of a bottle to cover any body.

As she smeared the product around my bikini line and thighs, things became a little too close for comfort. Does anyone really need those parts to be tan?

After 10 minutes, I flipped over to have the same treatment on my back.

“The color will last up to a week if you have a base tan and don’t scrub yourself too hard in the shower,” she explained.

I’m left out to dry with a portrait of gorgeous Estee Lauder spokesperson Elizabeth Hurley gazing down at my bronzed body splayed out on the table.

“I bet she never had to endure such humiliation,” I grumbled. There were a few spot checks during which my skin was poked as if it were a drying canvas, before I was ushered into the changing room. The treatment took about an hour.

Sliding my slimy legs back into linen pants, I wished I could slide into the shower instead. But there would be no showering and no sweating until the next day because the color could streak. I was given a new bottle of Sunless SuperTan for touch-ups along with the tab.

The next morning, I woke up a golden shade of orange--sort of the color of carrots, which could be good or bad depending on your perspective.

“You smell like a stranger,” my boyfriend said, referring to the scent of bronzing lotion that followed me around like a tan cloud for days, no matter how many showers I took. The application of color was even--almost flawless, except for an awkward tan line near the palm of my right hand, and a clump of color on the heel of my foot.

“If I hadn’t seen you for a week, I’d think you went on a tropical vacation,” my boss said.

Others were not so complimentary.

“For that money you could fly to Mexico and get a real tan,” a colleague quipped.

My carrot color lasted for about four days without touch-ups. There was one casualty: a brand-new white bra, now carrot color.

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Spa: New Beginning Spa, Pasadena

Price: $80 plus tip

Lowdown: I was attracted to this salon by its claim to custom-blend self-tanners for individual skin types. When I made the appointment, the voice on the phone was straightforward about how long the color would last (two to three days) and the upkeep it would require.

This time I was not greeted by a paper thong. Instead, I was told to wear my underwear and cover my chest with a towel. Whew! Unfortunately, I did not know of New Beginning Spa’s tag team approach until I was joined in the treatment room by both male and female spa technicians. Oh, well, what’s the expression--”two hands are better than one”? I surmised four hands must be better than two and settled in as they began to massage an exfoliating gel into my skin.

Any modesty I hoped to preserve was shattered with the female aesthetician’s excruciatingly thorough survey of the rough patches, scratches, blemishes and calluses on my body. These areas need to be covered with moisturizer so the color doesn’t “catch,” on rough spots, she explained.

I discovered the only thing custom about the product used at this spa was how much moisturizer was mixed in to thin out the St. Tropez brand self-tanning color. Again, the spa technicians assured me they had never seen anyone’s skin become irritated by the products but had no evidence to back it up. (The word “hypoallergenic” was not mentioned.)

The salon’s policy was not to apply self-tanner to the face.

“People mistakenly believe self-tanner is a substitute for sunscreen. We don’t want to risk that with the face,” I was told.

Strangely enough, the technicians told me I could shower after the treatment if I wanted, because the lotion would already be absorbed. Unconvinced, I decided to forgo the shower until the next day.

I was left to dry for 10 minutes on the front, before I turned over to be bronzed on the back. Once my back was done, I was flipped back over for some more dry time. Not satisfied after 10 minutes, they suggested I stay longer. Ten minutes turned into 20 and nobody was back to check on me, so I took myself into the changing room. (This time I was smart and brought dark clothing to change into.)

I was given new bottles of St. Tropez self-tanner and body moisturizer to take home, where with daily reapplication my tan could last up to a week, I was told.

The next day, my skin was a light brown. The color was more natural than Estee Lauder’s, but much less noticeable, which didn’t impress anyone--or me. But when I hopped in the shower, I was astounded to see my $80 tan washing off! The water became brown as it rolled down my legs.

After the shower debacle, my friends said they couldn’t even tell I had tanned.

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Spa: Spa at South Coast Plaza

Price: $80 plus tip

Lowdown: From the time I made the appointment, I had trepidation about this one. When I asked whether there was any special preparation I needed to do, the voice on the line was vague: “It used to be you’d want to come showered because you would not be able to shower for a few days. But I don’t know if that is true anymore. Still, you may want to come showered anyway.”

Thanks, Einstein, I shower every day!

Inside the comfortable treatment room, I saw the paper thong looming. My attendant must have sensed my discomfort because she said I was welcome to wear my underwear.

“But I can’t guarantee the product won’t stain your clothes,” she said. Fair enough.

She gave me a very honest assessment of the bronzing treatment, which she said the spa was considering taking off the menu. Apparently, they had not found a good product that was also affordable. While I appreciated her frankness, it puzzled me. “So why am I here again?” I thought.

Stretched out on a heated massage table, covered by a sheet, I began to relax. The aesthetician exfoliated me with a brush, which felt wonderful, and painted on the bronzing cream with a sponge.

“This stuff just cracks me up. It’s like chocolate pudding!” she said, with a laugh. I was dismayed to learn the product she was referring to was none other than the same St. Tropez.

After covering the front of my body (and thankfully not getting too close for comfort), I was flipped over without any drying off period at all. She immediately began to sponge the brown goop on my back.

Again, no face. She recommended using a bronzing powder instead. The treatment was over in a record 45 minutes. I was a bit concerned since I had not really been allowed to dry. She asked me to examine my skin thoroughly for streaks or missed spots, which she would touch up. Before leaving the room, she also told me I could use the sponge to touch up “other parts of my body” (wink, wink), which by law they are not allowed to cover.

I was told the color would last longer than two to three days with touch-ups from a bottle of St. Tropez she offered for sale. Buy? The other two spas had offered free bottles of self-tanner for touch-ups!

She did not give me any advice about how long I should wait before dressing, so I sat around in my terry cloth robe for a few minutes before putting my jeans and T-shirt back on. The T-shirt became streaked with lotion, as was a silk shirt I put on later in the evening. Worse yet, when I put the bronze-covered T-shirt in the wash with my other light clothes, it tinted them too!

Everything from my car seats to my blue jeans to my bedsheets smelled like tanning lotion. The next morning, my boyfriend burst into laughter as I again watched my $80 go down the drain.

Was it worth paying a spa instead of applying it myself? Aside from the dollars spent, the treatments cost me two bras, a T-shirt and a load of tan laundry. The fate of my silk shirt is still being determined at the dry cleaner.

As for my skin, there was some lasting color on my body, call it sort of a base tan. I probably could have achieved the same results myself with a bottle of self-tanner for as little as $20 from a drugstore. (It is self-tanner, after all.)

Another advantage to bronzing at home is that you can walk around naked for as long as it takes to dry. Ask a friend or spouse to help out with those hard-to-reach places.

Even with the knowledge of how dangerous ultraviolet rays are for the skin, I must confess I was back outside in the sun Memorial Day Weekend. But at least I didn’t look snow white in my bathing suit!