Stars, they really are just like us. Take Kylie Jenner, who, on an episode of Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast, proclaimed, “Sometimes I think I’m depressed. Then I get a spray tan, and I’m like, I was just pale.” Jenner swears “nothing that feels better than a fresh spray tan.” And honestly, as we head into fall that stretches into a long AF winter, I get what Jenner was saying.
A 2022 study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology suggests she’s right. It reports that a tanned appearance (not from the sun!) is “strongly related to a general sense of emotional and physical well-being, physical attractiveness, and improved body image.”
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The founder of Tanned TO, a Toronto spray tan salon, Luna Chowdhury isn’t surprised by any of this. “Sometimes a little glow just makes you feel more like yourself,” Chowdhury says. “A spray tan can give your skin that healthy, warmer, more even, sun-kissed look that helps you feel less dull and a little more put together, especially on days when you don’t feel like wearing much makeup. It’s not about changing how you look; it’s about that extra boost of confidence when you catch yourself in the mirror and think, OK, I look good.”
So, while I’m not an investigative journalist, I had to test this all for myself. And I booked myself a spray tan.
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How I got a good spray tan
While Tanned TO didn’t give me therapy vibes, it didn’t seem like a salon either. It was more of a chic little spa nook: clean, well-decorated, the kind of space wouldn’t mind spending 20 minutes for that bronzed glow.
Everything I need was laid out and waiting for: a hairnet, disposable stickies for my feet, blending sponges, stickers (if you’re into that sort of thing to show a tan line), cream for my elbows and cuticles, and wet wipes for my palms hands.
Because it was my first visit, Chowdhry showed me how to use the machine, including which buttons turn it off and on. Then she showed me, most importantly, the poses to hit once the spray started spritzing. (On the second session and thereafter, the whole experience is self-serve. When you book online, you get a door code and let yourself into your own private room, no small talk required.)
Hairnetted, feet-stickered, elbows- and knees-creamed, I stepped into the booth and waved my hand in front of the sensor. And then, in under mild pressure, I messed up like Ross Geller. Kidding! The spray moves faster than you might think, and I panicked halfway through a pose and second-guessed my own arm placement.
Also, did you know the mist is cold? There’s a warm blow-dry cycle after the tanner is applied, but the spray itself is cool So, if you’re booking this between October and April, brace yourself.
Once I was finished, I wiped down my hands and fingers and I changed into dark loose clothes that I wouldn’t care if they got stained. I opted for the express application, which came with a hard three-hour deadline to shower it off.
Chowdhury advised that waiting any longer risks tips the colour into an orangey hue. This is not the appointment to book right before you run a full day of errands.
The colour kept developing after I rinsed, the way a good spray tan should. No streaks, no giveaway smell.
And then, the mood lift Jenner was talking about showed up. Now that I saw that it worked, I had to find out how and why.
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Why a tan lifts your mood
Sunlight triggers a release of serotonin, which is “why a sunny day improves your mood,” says Thom Tullo, RMT and founder of Face Pilates and Aman Spa, where his practice includes a variety of massage treatments and contouring lymphatic massages.
Plus, time outside kicks off an endorphin release, the same feel-good chemical rush you get from a hard workout. Sun exposure nudges your body into producing vitamin D, which helps fight the fatigue and low energy that tends to show up around, oh, November in this country.
Of course, any good health care provider worth their weight in SPF says to wear sunscreen.
But what about Jenner’s and my spray tans!? Is it a placebo?
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Why a tan makes you feel more confident
Some of the appeal is visual. A bronzed skin tint evens out skin tone, hides redness and blemishes, and brightens skin that eight months of short days that Canadians experience every year. “It also evens out the canvas, almost like a body foundation,” Tullo says. “It softens the look of veins, redness, cellulite and uneven pigmentation, and it makes the eyes and teeth look brighter by contrast.”
It also does something for how your body looks: a tan adds subtle shadow and contour, the same trick bronzer’s been doing to cheekbones, just applied to the rest of the body.
Then there’s the part that has nothing to do with the mirror. Dr. Eleni Nicolaou, a clinical psychologist whose research at the University of Cyprus looked at how sensory practices shape mood and self-perception, compares a tan developing to finishing a paint-by-numbers.
“A blank canvas is intimidating, just like a pale mirror is,” she says. “Tanning eliminates this pondering because there are no aesthetic decisions to make; the colour builds up at its own pace.” There’s relief in that, she says, the same relief you get from any visible proof that something changed. “When someone can see some physical evidence of a change in their appearance, there is instant relief.”
That’s why Jenner and I feel good after a spray tan sesh.
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Why self-tanning is better than real tanning
Tanning is having a massive surge online right now; search interest in “tanning” recently hit a five-year high, with searches for tanning beds up 30% and tanning oil up 50%, largely thanks to “tanmaxxing,” which is exactly what it sounds like: deliberately chasing peak UV (ultraviolet) hours to get as dark as possible, as fast as possible. People are intentionally seeking peak UV times to achieve maximum darkness at accelerated speeds, which is a very polite way of saying they’re doing the opposite of what a dermatologist would tell them to do.
The numbers don’t lie. Surveys tied to the trend found 37% of Gen Z didn’t know the risks of tanning, 64% frequently forget sunscreen, and a full quarter said they’d trade future skin damage for how they look right now.
Canada is projected to see roughly 11,300 melanoma diagnoses in 2026, with an estimated 1,250 deaths. Dr. Paul Cohen has compared deliberate, unprotected UV exposure to playing Russian roulette, which is not a phrase I want anywhere near my Saturday plans.
So, yes, I’ll take the spray tan. Tanned TO’s tan solution is a vegan, clean DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) formula. It’s considered safe. However, results vary when you overthink the poses, like I did. You get the evened-out skin, the contour, the 20-minute confidence ritual, without gambling with your health to get that bronzed look.
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Does a tan actually boost your body image?
Alli Spotts-De Lazzer, a licensed psychotherapist and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, has spent 20 years listening to what people actually say about their tans, and it’s not always “I feel refreshed.”
“I’ve heard people say that being tan makes them feel more desired, healthier, and, of importance, ‘it makes me look thinner’,” she says. “For paler-skinned folks, ‘it makes me not look dead’ statements.”
Underneath that, she says, is a culture that treats health, thinness whiteness like moral virtues instead of just physical traits, and people reaching for a tan the same way they’d reach for anything else that makes them feel like they belong.
So does a tan actually make me feel better?
Yes. Just maybe not for the reason you’d tell a friend at brunch. It’s the placebo effect, thinking we’ve got extra vitamin D, the warmth of the sun on the skin and a beauty standard we’ve all quietly signed onto without reading the fine print.
My 20-minute glow without the sun-damaged skin tax, and I’m not giving either one up: not the tan, and not the sunscreen.