What to Wear To (and After) Your Spray Tan

Wear loose, dark clothing and slip-on shoes to a spray tan, and leave tight straps, leggings and jewelry at home. During the tan, wear a bathing suit, underwear, or nothing, whatever you are comfortable in. Afterward, stay in those same loose, dark clothes until your first rinse about 8 hours later.

That is the short answer. The reason it matters is the guide color: the light bronze tint you leave with sits on top of your skin until you rinse. Anything tight presses into it, anything pale shows it, and anything with elastic leaves a line. Here is the outfit, piece by piece.

What to wear to the studio

Tops

An oversized T-shirt, a loose button-down or a wide, soft sweatshirt. Dark colors, ideally old ones. Avoid anything fitted at the armholes or with tight cuffs. A zip or button front is easiest, because you don’t have to pull it over your head and past a freshly tanned face.

Bottoms

Wide-leg trousers, loose joggers without tight ankle cuffs, a maxi skirt or a loose dress. Leggings are the one thing to avoid; they press against every inch of your legs for the entire ride home. Jeans are nearly as bad, and they also rub at the inner thigh and the backs of the knees.

Shoes

Flip-flops, slides or loose sandals. Sneakers and socks rub around the ankle and the top of the foot, and closed shoes can make feet sweat. In winter, roomy slip-on boots without socks, or loose socks you don’t mind staining, will do.

Underwear and bras

Skip the underwire and the snug band for the day. A loose bralette, a strapless style, or nothing under a big shirt are all fine. For bottoms, loose cotton in a dark color. The fewer tight edges, the fewer lines.

What to leave at home

• Jewelry, watches and hair accessories with metal.
• Anything white, cream, silk or new.
• Leggings, shapewear and compression wear.
• Lotion, deodorant, perfume and makeup on your skin.

Do bring a hair tie or clip to keep hair off your neck and shoulders, and your deodorant, which you can put on after your first rinse.

What to wear during the tan

This is the part people worry about most, and the answer is simple: whatever makes you comfortable. Rosie’s clients wear a bathing suit, underwear, or nothing at all; if you want disposables, ask when you book. She has been doing this for more than ten years, and she does every tan herself, so you are not being seen by a rotating staff.

A few things to think about when you choose:

1. Lines are permanent for the life of the tan. Whatever covers you during the spray leaves an untanned area underneath. If you plan to wear a strapless dress, avoid a halter bathing suit.
2. Dark and old is the rule. The guide color can mark fabric. Choose a bathing suit you won’t mind if it picks up a little tint.
3. Match your event outfit. If the tan is for a backless gown or an open-back dress, tell Rosie when you book, and wear something that leaves your back free.

If it is your first time and you want the whole picture of what happens in the room, see Your First Spray Tan: Exactly What to Expect.

What to wear after: the first 8 hours

Rosie’s solution develops over roughly 8 hours. Until your first rinse, you are dressing to protect the tan:

• Stay in the same loose, dark clothes you arrived in.
• No bra with a tight band, no socks with elastic, no belts.
• Avoid bags with straps that rest on bare shoulders.
• Keep a light layer handy so you don’t end up sweating in a heavy one.

Getting home

In a Brooklyn July, a twenty-minute walk along Kings Highway is enough to start a sweat, and sweat leaves streaks before the first rinse. If you can drive or take a car home, do. If you are walking, go slowly, stay in the shade, and carry an umbrella if there is any chance of rain. Water spots before the rinse show up as lighter marks later.

Sleeping in your tan

If you book in the afternoon or evening, you will likely sleep in your tan before rinsing. Wear long, loose sleeves and long, loose pants in a dark color. They keep your arms from resting against your sides and your legs from pressing together, which helps avoid creases and transfer. Use dark or older sheets and pillowcases. The guide color can transfer to bedding before the rinse.

After the first rinse

Once you have had your lukewarm, soap-free first rinse and patted dry, the color is in your skin rather than on it, and you can wear what you like. That includes white, which is one more reason a wedding tan goes on two days before: the guide color is long rinsed off by the time the gown goes on.

For the rest of the week, a little friction awareness helps the tan fade evenly. Very tight waistbands, straps that rub in one spot and heavy bags on one shoulder can wear color away faster in those places. The timing of that first rinse is covered in How Long After a Spray Tan Can You Shower?, and gym clothes get their own section in Working Out, Sweating & Swimming With a Spray Tan.

The winter version

In January, nobody wants to walk out of a Midwood studio in a T-shirt and flip-flops. You don’t have to. A long, loose wool coat over a dark oversized sweatshirt works, as long as nothing underneath is tight. Swap leggings for wide-leg sweatpants, and wear loose slip-on boots without socks, or with old, roomy socks you don’t mind tinting. Skip gloves until after your first rinse, or bring a loose old pair. And go easy on the heating in the car on the way home; sweating under a heavy coat is the winter version of the August walk.

A packing list

• Loose, dark top and bottoms (wear them, or bring them to change into).
• Flip-flops or slides.
• Your choice of bathing suit or dark underwear, if you want them.
• A hair tie or clip.
• Deodorant, for after the rinse.
• An umbrella, if the sky looks unsure.

If you are booking Spray Tan+, you will also leave with the take-home kit of tan-safe soap, tan extender and natural lotions, so leave a little room in your bag. Both options and prices are on the services page, and everything that happens before and after the appointment is in the complete spray tan prep and aftercare guide.