Before my trip to Sayulita, Mexico, I did some pre-beach prep that I’d never tried before: a spray tan. 
In Kensington, I discovered Canada’s first professionally applied spray tanning salon. Sundrops has sprayed 10,000 clients over nine years, so I felt ok about offering up my epidermal layer. Owner Laura Downing’s friendly welcome to her cabana-like enclave assured me that this is a better alternative to the bottle — the bottle of self-tanner, that is. 
In a soothing, blue-tiled room, I stripped down and got sprayed with a fine mist. It felt a little like the cool shot on my hair-dryer.
A mere three minutes later, spray tan success! No streaks, no weird color and no extra tan around the ankles. The Sundrops sprayer will wipe down your fingernails, but I would go further and wipe between your fingers and the palms of your hands. Don’t touch the rest of your body for a few minutes either. How does this sun-free chemical-free tan work? It’s a sugar beet derivative which reacts with the amino acids in the top layer of your skin. 
The tan lasted a solid seven days, even though I was in and out of the ocean on my trip. Stocking up on Sundrops’ line of homemade, food-grade, all-natural moisturizers helped with the maintenance. Now that I’m in Calgary staycation mode, minus the cation part, I feel a return trip coming on… to Sundrops! 
