Tan without fear

Deepa Bharath

A bronze tan without getting into a tanning bed or sitting in the

sun?

Sounds almost undoable. But apparently, it is possible.

Matthew Popejoy did not hear about the Sunless Express Spray Spa

until one fine day when his wife, Tracy, visited a tanning salon in

Yorba Linda that offered a machine that “sprays on a tan.”

So Popejoy decided to make it his business. Four months ago, he

opened SunMist, a tanning spa in Corona del Mar, that offers tans

sans the ultra-violet rays that are said to have harmful effects on

skin.

“The machine basically looks like a phone booth on steroids,” he

said with a laugh. The booth has several jets that spray on the

tanning solution to one’s body. However, the solution does not make

you tan right away, but takes about six to eight hours to work.

“You do look tanned when you leave the spa but that is not because

you’ve actually tanned,” Popejoy explained. “It’s because we add a

bronzer to the spray to give our customer the psychological

satisfaction that it is working.”

But even the so-called bronzer is made from natural ingredients

such as walnut husks, he said.

“Of course, it does start working and you get a beautiful tan

within a few hours,” Popejoy said.

He said he has tried to dispel some of the fears and hesitations

normally associated with tanning salons.

“I did up the interior like a spa so even a Newport Beach matron

in her 50s will be comfortable coming in,” Popejoy said.

When a customer comes in they are provided with a spa robe, shown

an instructional video about the high-tech machine and shown into the

plastic tanning booth that is located in a private room. An automated

voice walks the customer through the actual process, which lasts

about a minute, he said.

The tan from the solution sprayed with 10 misting jets lasts about

a week, Popejoy said.

“Also, because it is sprayed on, you get an even application that

is not patchy,” he said. “This is very high technology that even has

a self-disinfecting, cleaning and draining mechanism.”

Single tans cost $30 a session. Four-session packages are

available for $100.

Popejoy, who claims SunMist is the only spa in Newport Beach that

offers this tanning method, says the response has been great.

“My clients have usually known someone with melanoma in their

families,” he said. “So they figure this is a good way to get what

they want without exposing themselves to danger.”