If you are like me and love, love, love your spray tanning regime and when possible you also like to DIY at home instead of having to go into the spray tan salon every week. If so then you might have thought of trying one of those mini airbrush tanning kits that you can use at home. The problem is they aren't cheap. Even at the lowest price these babies can make a small (or large) dent in your wallet. So it isn't a simple choice to go and spend a few hundred dollars to purchase an at home spray tan machine for yourself.

Lucky for all of you I have already been there, done that and am happy to share my experiences with you! First off I totally believe in doing this at home if it's possible. Most of the time it's easier and more affordable. That being said I have tried the at home spray tanning system and it did work okay but there was just a few main things that I didn't like.

First thing is that it can get pretty messy. I used to do it in our garage or sometimes our laundry room. I didn't buy a tent to go with mine so I can't personally speak on how those work. Cleaning the spray gun was a little annoying to do every single time as well. Now I bought one that I believe was around $150-$200 from Amazon. When you buy a product that is on the cheap side compared to other machines then you shouldn't expect to have a top quality experience with it and that's exactly how it turned out for me. The gun would get clogged at times and I would have to make sure that I cleaned it thoroughly after each use. Keep in mind too that you can't get wet after getting an airbrush tan! So that can be a bit challenging.

The main thing though that I want to share based on my experience is that I wish I would have spent just a little more money and got the HVLP spray gun. HVLP stands for high velocity, low pressure. You see the gun that came with my spray tan equipment is one of those small airbrush guns that they use to spray your nails when you go to a salon and get an airbrush design. If you can picture using that to do your entire body you might be able to imagine that the spot you spray is rather small and you almost have to do "lines" on your skin in order to cover it all, that can look blotchy and uneven. My boyfriend was able to get a spray gun that had a larger opening and sprayed a lot more bigger of an area (used a lot more solution too) and that worked better, a lot better. It was much messier though too! It was not an HVLP spray gun to my knowledge I think it was just a larger airbrush gun.

So to sum it up I would suggest that you definitely 100% go for a HVLP at home, spray tanning system as opposed to just a normal airbrush tanning kit. Based on my brief browsing of amazon it looks like you can get a decent HVLP kit, or just the gun if you already have an air compressor and DHA solution, for a pretty low price! Check out some of my personal recommendations below. I did do research to bring these Amazon spray tan listings to you so please feel confident that these picks are some of the better ones to choose from. Although I always welcome and urge you to do your own research as well. Between this blog post and your research I'm very confident that you will find the best airbrush spray tanning kit at a price that your budget will allow.

What about YOU! Have you tried any at home spray tanning systems? How did they workout for you?  I would love to hear from you...  leave me comments below!

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Sunless spray tanning or airbrush tanning is the newest popular thing in the tanning industry and for good reason. I would say up until about a few years ago I have always had a bad attitude or idea when it came to any type of sunless tanning and I think that's because many years ago I tried a few of the drugstore type tan in a bottle with bad results. When I finally got around to trying out sunless tanners recently I guess I could say I kind of got addicted!

What really started me on the sunless tan was airbrush tanning and the fact that I have light skin with many moles. If you don't know, moles + sun = skin cancer! So in search of something a little less life threatening I went to a local salon to be sprayed by a professional. It came out great and I loved it but it was expensive. So I started to experiment with different tanning supplies. I even bought my own airbrush machine! I probably should have done more research before spending almost $200 though because I don't use it anymore. Mostly because it doesn't cover a large enough area, it clogs and basically gives me different problems all the time.

From all of my trials I have come to conclude that using a mixture of gradual self tanner that is mixed in with a moisturizing lotion and a "tan in a can" so to speak. Like I said I have tried many, many different kinds of the self tanners and my absolute favorite would be the Body Drench Quick Tan Sunless Spray Tan.  I also love, love, love the gradual self tanner by the same company. It is the ONLY one that I know of that actually smells kind of good, it's called Body Drench Quick Tan Tanning Lotion.

I usually use this lotion right after I get out of the shower. I use the dark one by the way, I think they have light, medium and dark. I stopped using the sunless tanning lotion for a few days and I could not believe how white and pale I was. I guess I didn't believe how much the gradual self tanning lotion was actually working! I think most women apply body lotion after their shower anyway so why not make it one that gives you a beautiful tan too. I also use it on my face and have had no bad experiences from it. I like to be a little darker though so after I use the lotion and let it dry a few minutes I then use the sunless spray tanner. In the winter I just put it on my face and chest and sometimes arms but for the most part the lotion gets my arms as dark as I need them. In the summer though, I do use it on my legs and other parts and I do go through a lot of the stuff. If you don't have the money to afford that then just use it less often or only on certain areas. You will have to find what works for you individually.

I plan to write more on this topic in later posts but I'll leave you with this for now. It's the basics anyway. I want to add that I DO NOT work for any tanning companies, I truly just want to provide my knowledge and experience about tanning, tanning lotions and sunless tanners to help others in their quest for a beautiful tan! I do however make a small profit from ads and links that go to Amazon, like the ones for the products I mentioned earlier. I am NOT writing about these particular products just to make money though. These are the ones that I honestly recommend and love! Please leave me feedback, especially if you have tried these brands. I would love to hear your input on the topic and suggestions for others!!

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