This post is sponsored by Dove® ClearTone™ Deodorant – designed to visibly reduce underarm dark marks and even skin tone.
by Linda Castillo
I put so much time into creating my special look for the big day. I considered all the details from the classic wedding dress, the beaded veil, stylish shoes, make-up colors to the hair style. Everything was taken care of except for my skin. Since I was married in November my skin was dull and pale, and I was determined to get a tan.
I am not a big fan of tanning salons because of the negative effects to the body. However, in preparation for my big day, my sister and I purchased 10 sessions each to get that natural glow. It seemed like a good idea at first. I would have a natural glow at the wedding, I would look thinner, and I would have my base tan ready for my honeymoon in Mexico.
The idea would have been great if I had spread the sessions over a long period of time. Since I was so busy with wedding and entertaining duties the weeks leading up to the wedding I started the tanning sessions only a week before the wedding. Against the attendant’s recommendation of going at a low level and spacing out my tanning session appointments, I went to daily appointments. I still didn’t see any change in my skin shade so two days before the wedding I asked the lady to go at the highest level. I woke up the next morning and my chest was BURNED!
I tried to jump in the shower to see if it would calm the redness down and the shower did just the opposite making it worse. I freaked out. I was desperate for a solution so I went back to the tanning salon to see if there was anything they could do to fix my sunburn. Thankfully, they offered a solution that I get a spray tan to even out the sunburn. But event with the spray tan my chest was still red at my rehearsal dinner.
I did my best to get a good night’s rest and on the morning of my wedding I took a long, relaxing shower and used a loofah with my favorite Dove body wash to gently exfoliate my skin. Thankfully the fix had worked, on the day of my wedding my skin glowed – in a good way!
So learn from my experience and don’t double up on the tanning booth sessions the week before your wedding! Or better yet skip the tanning salon all together.
Note: I was compensated for this post by the Clever Girls Collective.com. All the opinions expressed here are my own.
Linda Castillo is the Founder and Executive Editor of http://www.modernlatina.com/. She writes on topics that empower and inspire Latinas including art, motherhood, green living, culture, travel, and issues transforming the Latino community. Linda has earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.