Page 8 - August 2021 Isle of Palms Magazine (1)_Neat

Featured

Growing up in Florida with 9+ months of shorts

weather, this pale, freckle-faced Irish girl spent an
embarrassing amount of time trying to fit in with fellow
sun-kissed friends. From frying her skin at the beach,

which resulted in blistering sunburns and sun
poisoning, to slathering on sunless tanning lotion in her

teens, which resulted in looking like an Oompa
Valerie Erb
Loompa. In her early twenties, Valerie found, what she
thought, was the holy grail. The tanning bed. She purchased memberships and baked

herself almost daily. If she had only realized what she was doing to her skin back then.
The use of tanning beds has led to 30+ precancerous lesions being removed, as well as

premature sun damage and aging. The numerous age spots on her legs are also a
constant reminder of her bad decision.

She discovered spray tanning in her mid twenties. Her first experience was in a booth and,

although the tan wasn’t perfect (stained feet, orange hands, and some serious streaking), it
was still better than being translucent. Spray tans have come a long way since then. Gone
are the days of streaky, orange tans and that God-awful fake tan odor. Now, you can get a

beautiful, natural-looking tan and no one will know it isn’t from the sun.

Since first discovering spray tans, any special event always started with a visit to the spray
tanner. It was after one of these appointments Valerie had the idea to start her own
business. Although she loved getting spray tans, she dreaded the chore of finding a

babysitter for her two children if her husband wasn’t available, and the hour or more of
driving to and from the appointment. That $50 tan just got a whole lot more expensive and

inconvenient.