The Signature Service
Your custom airbrush tan, sprayed by an artist — never a machine.
Every tan at Sunkiss Studios begins with a consultation and ends with a formula that exists for exactly one person: you. No booths, no presets, no orange. Just an artist, an airbrush, and a glow matched to your undertone in our Falls Church studio.
Five Signature Tans — $69 each $345 for 5 · save $50
Book Your SessionWhat is a custom airbrush tan?
A custom airbrush tan is a sunless tan applied by hand with a precision airbrush, using a solution blended for your individual skin tone and undertone. Unlike an automated booth, an artist adjusts the formula, coverage, and depth in real time — contouring where you want definition and softening where you don't. At Sunkiss Studios, every custom tan includes a consultation, a custom-blend formula, pH-balancing prep, and a finishing powder, in about 30 minutes.
How does your session work?
Your appointment takes about 30 minutes from door to glow, and each step exists to protect the color:
- 1
Consultation. Your artist reads your skin tone, undertone, and the occasion you're tanning for — beach week, wedding, gala, or stage — and recommends a depth.
- 2
Custom blend. The solution is mixed for you on the spot — DHA percentage, undertone correctors, and hydration boosters chosen for your skin, not a machine's preset.
- 3
pH prep. A balancing spray neutralizes deodorant, hard water, and product residue so the color develops true and even.
- 4
The spray. Applied by hand in light, even passes — sculpted around collarbones, arms, and legs the way no booth nozzle can.
- 5
Finishing powder. A silky setting powder locks the solution so you leave dry, comfortable, and ready for real life.
Spray tan booth vs. custom airbrush: what's the difference?
A booth sprays the same pre-mixed solution on every body from fixed nozzles; a custom airbrush tan is applied by a trained artist using a formula blended for your skin. The booth is faster and cheaper — the airbrush is even, dimensional, and orange-proof. Here is the honest comparison:
| Automated Booth | Sunkiss Custom Airbrush | |
|---|---|---|
| Who applies it | A machine with fixed nozzles | A certified artist, by hand |
| The formula | One pre-mixed solution for everyone | Custom-blended to your skin tone and undertone |
| Orange risk | Real — DHA level can't adjust to your undertone | Color-matched, so the result reads bronze, not orange |
| Coverage | Misses creases, sides, and posture-shadowed spots | Every angle sprayed and checked in person |
| Contouring | None | Optional face and body definition (Photo-Ready Contour) |
| Fade | Often patchy by day 4–5 | Even fade over 7–10 days |
| Typical price | $25–40 per session | $79 Signature Custom ($69/tan in the five-pack) |
Booths sell speed. We sell the tan people ask about. If your glow is for a wedding, a stage, or a camera, the difference is the entire point.
Does a spray tan work on every skin tone?
Yes — when it's blended, not dispensed. Fair skin needs a lighter DHA percentage with cool correctors so it deepens without turning brassy. Olive and medium tones take a warmer, richer blend. Deep complexions glow with violet-based formulas that add luminosity and evenness rather than "color." That range is exactly what a booth cannot do, and it's why a custom tan is our name, not our upsell.
Prefer no cosmetic bronzer at all? Add a clear solution (+$15) and develop your color invisibly. Want extra depth for an event? An additional pass is +$20. Scent personalization (+$5) and a hydration finish (+$15) round out the blend bar.
The custom tan menu
The Classic
Signature Custom
$79
30 minutes. Consultation, custom-blend formula, pH prep, full-body airbrush application, and finishing powder. Rinse in 8 hours.
Faster Rinse
Rapid Signature
$99
The Signature Custom in a faster-rinse formula — shower in 2 to 4 hours. Built for same-day events and busy calendars.
The Editorial
Photo-Ready Contour
$119
45 minutes. Everything in the Signature plus airbrushed face and body definition — collarbones, arms, and legs sculpted for the camera.
Add-ons: clear solution +$15 · hydration finish +$15 · additional pass +$20 · face contour +$12 · scent personalization +$5.
Tanning more than once a month? Memberships start at $65/month with 12-month rollover and two free freeze months a year.
One artist. Every occasion.
The custom airbrush tan is the foundation of everything we do. Getting married? The bridal spray tan program pairs a trial with a wedding-day rapid tan. Prepping for the NPC stage? The competition spray tan builds show-day base coats. Rather glow at home? Our mobile spray tan service covers the entire DC metro. And for bachelorettes and girls' nights, spray tan parties bring the studio to the celebration.
Custom airbrush tan questions, answered
How long does a custom airbrush tan last?
A Sunkiss Studios custom airbrush tan typically lasts 7 to 10 days with proper care. Because your formula is blended for your skin rather than dispensed by a booth, it fades evenly instead of going patchy. Moisturizing daily, showering lukewarm, and patting dry all stretch your glow toward the 10-day mark.
Will a custom airbrush tan look orange?
No. Orange tones come from one-size-fits-all booth solutions with too much DHA for your undertone. At Sunkiss Studios your artist color-matches the DHA level and undertone correctors to your skin during a consultation, so the result reads bronze and believable — on fair, medium, olive, and deep complexions alike.
How should I prepare for my appointment?
Shower, exfoliate, and shave at least 8 hours before your session, and arrive with clean, bare skin — no lotion, deodorant, makeup, or perfume. Wear loose, dark clothing and sandals to leave in. We handle the rest in studio, including a pH-balancing prep spray before your tan is applied.
How long until I can shower after my tan?
For the Signature Custom Tan, rinse after 8 hours. If you choose the Rapid Signature Tan, you can shower in as little as 2 to 4 hours depending on the depth you want — your artist will give you an exact rinse time before you leave the studio.
Is a spray tan safe, and what is in the solution?
Yes. The active ingredient, DHA, is a sugar-derived compound that tints only the outermost layer of skin — no UV exposure involved. We spray in a ventilated studio, offer nose filters and eye protection, and can blend with a clear (colorless) solution if you prefer no cosmetic bronzer.
How much does a custom airbrush tan cost in Falls Church?
The Signature Custom Tan is $79, the faster-rinse Rapid Signature is $99, the tan-line-free Brazilian Tan is $99, and the Photo-Ready Contour with face and body definition is $119. The Five Signature pack is $345 — $69 per tan, a $50 saving. Memberships from $65 per month bring the per-tan price down for regulars.