Spray ‘n Tan

Jackson Bell

The first thing customers notice when walking into Media City Sun

is North, a tan-colored pit bull, staring right back at them.

But the canine greeter is more friendly than fierce, and immensely

popular with the patrons of the tanning salon.

“People come to see her all the time,” owner Julie Christensen

said. “They even bring her presents on Christmas.”

And although North might be the salon’s beloved fixture, another

big attraction is Mystic Tan, a booth where customers are sprayed

with a solution that gives them a tan without hours in the sun or

several minutes in a tanning bed.

“It has a completely different market,” she said. “Younger

generations don’t use it much because the fear of tanning beds hasn’t

set in yet. It’s the older, more mature crowd that likes it because

it is safer.”

The system has been used more than 6,000 times since its local

introduction in May. According to Mystic Tan’s Web site, it is the

only one in Bur- bank. Christensen and one of her managers, Chad

Belknap, estimate 25% of their customers either use it alone or along

with one of the salon’s 10 tanning beds.

“People haven’t really switched because they are die-hard fans [of

tanning beds],” Belknap said. “And some use Mystic Tan because they

want it as a complement.”

A native who spent most of her childhood in Texas, Christensen

returned to Burbank to take care of her grandmother, who is 100.

Tired of being an employee, the former animal-hospital manager

decided open her own business.

Inspired by independently owned tanning salons, Christensen, an

avid tanner herself, designed Media City Sun in a Santa Fe-inspired

motif and opened it a year and a half ago.

The cost to use Mystic Tan is $15 after the complimentary first

visit.