Beauty Is Political. Your Spray Tan Is Too.
They've been legislating women's bodies for centuries. The beauty industry just found a way to profit from it.
Let's start with a fact that makes people uncomfortable:
Beauty has never been apolitical.
Every standard you've been sold—what's "pretty," what's "professional," what's "too much" or "not enough"—was decided by systems that profit from your compliance.
Smaller. Lighter. Younger. Smoother. More agreeable.
These aren't preferences. They're power structures dressed up as aspiration.
And the beauty industry? It's been cashing checks on your insecurity since day one.
The spray tan industry is no exception.
Beauty Standards = Control Disguised as Choice
Here's what they don't teach you in beauty school:
Every choice a woman makes about her body is political in a world that won't stop trying to control it.
What you wear. How you age. Whether you shave, tan, contour, or cover your grays. Whether you take up space or shrink to fit.
We're told these are personal choices. Acts of self-expression. Empowerment.
But empowerment isn't a choice you make while following someone else's rulebook.
For decades, women have been told:
Pale skin is elegant (unless you're naturally dark—then you should lighten)
Tan skin is sexy (but not too tan—that's trashy)
Natural is beautiful (but also, fix everything that's actually natural about you)
The goalposts move. The rules contradict. The standard is always just out of reach.
And the beauty industry? It sells you the tools to chase it. The creams to lighten. The bronzers to darken. The serums to stop time. The procedures to "enhance."
All while pretending it's about self-care.
The Spray Tan Industry Was Built on the Same Lie
Let's talk about spray tanning specifically.
For decades, this industry has operated on a single, unspoken standard: lighter skin wanting to look sun-kissed.
One body type got the billboard. One shade range got called "natural-looking." One standard got to define what a "good tan" even meant.
Deeper skin tones? An afterthought. A "difficult market." A niche.
The message was clear: tanning products exist to help pale skin achieve warmth. Everyone else is a complication.
And when brands did expand their shade ranges, it wasn't because they saw deeper-skinned women as the baseline. It was because they saw a revenue opportunity they'd been ignoring.
Representation became a marketing campaign. Not a formulation priority.
So you got:
Formulas that turned deeper tones ashy or grey
Solutions that oxidized into orange on anyone outside the "ideal" pH range
Shade names that topped out at "dark" (as if one shade could represent the full spectrum of melanin-rich skin)
Marketing that featured one dark-skinned model and called it "inclusive"
The spray tan industry told women of color: "You can participate. But we're not rebuilding the system for you."
That's not inclusion. That's tokenism with a profit margin.
Your Tan Is Political Whether You Admit It or Not
Here's the part people don't want to hear:
Choosing to get a spray tan is political. Choosing which formula to use is political.
Because every time you choose a product, you're voting with your money.
You're saying: "This brand's values align with mine. Their formulation choices reflect what I believe is important."
So when you stock a formula that only works well on light-to-medium skin tones, you're saying deeper tones don't matter enough to formulate for properly.
When you use a brand that treats "diversity" like a buzzword instead of a baseline, you're endorsing that approach.
When you accept formulas that pull orange on some clients, ashy on others, and only look "natural" on a narrow range—you're accepting a standard that was never designed to include everyone.
Your product choice is a political statement.
And in an industry built on exclusion, neutrality is just another word for complicity.
The Political Act of Formulating for Depth First
ALT SUN didn't enter this industry to play nice with a standard that was rigged from the start.
We didn't add deeper tones as an afterthought or a trend. We didn't expand our range because it was good PR.
We formulated for depth first. Because that's where the industry failed hardest.
Here's what that means:
Every shade was built to develop true-to-tone—not as an adaptation of a formula designed for lighter skin.
pH optimization for range—because skin chemistry varies, and formulas should account for that instead of blaming the client.
Color correction built in—so deeper tones don't go ashy, lighter tones don't go orange, and "natural-looking" isn't code for one skin type.
Endurance that doesn't compromise—because all skin deserves a tan that lasts 7-10 days, not just the tones the industry prioritized.
We didn't ask permission to exist in this space. We rewrote the standard.
And that? That's a political act.
Beauty Is Political. So Is Your Business.
Let's bring this back to you.
You're a spray tan artist. A business owner. A professional who built something from the ground up.
Every choice you make in your business is political.
Who you hire. Who you market to. Whose bodies you center in your content. Which brands you stock. Which standards you uphold or challenge.
You can choose formulas that only work well on a narrow range of clients—and accept that some people will leave disappointed.
Or you can choose a brand that formulated for everyone from the jump. That saw deeper skin as the baseline, not the exception. That refused to treat representation like a marketing stunt.
ALT SUN is that brand.
We're not here to fit into the spray tan industry's existing playbook. We're here to burn it down and build something better.
Something that doesn't make women chase a standard that was designed to exclude them.
Something that doesn't treat diversity as decoration.
Something that performs as hard as the people who use it—regardless of their depth, their tone, or their place in the beauty hierarchy.
What Changes When You Choose Different
Here's what happens when you stock Alt Sun:
Your clients stop getting coded messages about whose skin matters.
When your formula works equally well on every tone, you're not just offering a service. You're offering equity.
You stop losing clients to preventable formulation failures.
No more orange undertones on light skin. No more ashy finish on deep skin. No more tans that only look "natural" on a narrow range.
You align your business with your values.
If you believe representation matters, your product choices should reflect that. If you believe beauty standards need to change, you need to stop funding the brands that uphold them.
You make more money.
Because when your formula actually works on every client, your retention goes up. Your referrals increase. Your reputation as someone who delivers consistent results? It compounds.
Politics aside, performance pays.
The Industry Won't Change Until You Do
Here's the uncomfortable truth:
The spray tan industry will keep formulating for one skin type as long as pros keep buying those formulas.
Brands follow money. If you keep stocking solutions that only work well on light-to-medium tones, they'll keep making them.
If you keep accepting formulas that treat deeper tones as "difficult," they'll keep treating them that way.
But if you demand better—if you choose brands that built for depth first, that refuse to compromise on representation, that see all skin as the standard—brands will follow.
ALT SUN exists because someone got tired of waiting for the industry to catch up.
Tired of formulas that only worked on some clients.
Tired of brands that talked about inclusion but didn't formulate for it.
Tired of an industry that treated women of color like an optional market segment instead of the baseline.
We didn't ask for permission. We just built what should have existed all along.
Your Formula Is Your Statement
You can't separate your spray tan business from the political reality of beauty standards.
You can't stock a formula that excludes and claim to be inclusive.
You can't profit from an industry built on exclusion and pretend you're neutral.
But you can choose different.
You can choose a brand that formulated for every shade. That built endurance into every bottle. That refused to treat representation like a buzzword.
You can choose ALT SUN.
Not because it's trendy. Not because it's good marketing.
Because it's the only credible choice in an industry that's been lying to you—and your clients—for decades.
Freedom Looks Good on Everyone
Here's what we believe at ALT SUN:
Beauty isn't about fitting a standard. It's about freedom from one.
Freedom to take up space in your natural skin. Freedom to enhance it without chasing someone else's ideal. Freedom to exist in a body that wasn't designed to be palatable.
And freedom to use products that were actually formulated for you—not adapted, not adjusted, not included as an afterthought.
That's not a marketing message. That's a mission.
And every bottle of Alt Sun solution is a vote for that mission.
For formulas that work on every shade. For brands that don't treat diversity like a trend. For an industry that finally catches up to the women it's supposed to serve.
Stock the Change You Want to See
The spray tan industry won't change from the top down.
It'll change when enough artists like you decide they're done stocking formulas that exclude.
Done accepting subpar performance on deeper tones.
Done funding brands that see representation as optional.
Alt Sun Pro Solutions:
Formulated for depth first—every shade develops true-to-tone
7-12 day endurance across the full spectrum
pH-optimized for all skin types, not just the "easy" ones
Built-in color correction so no one turns orange or ashy
Made by a WOC who refused to accept the industry standard
Because beauty is political.
Your spray tan is political.
And it's time your formula reflected the values you claim to have.
Freedom looks good on you. Endurance makes it last.
— ALT SUN
Related Reading:
Why Your Clients Turn Orange (And How to Stop Losing Money Over It)
The "Clean Beauty" Lie: Why Your Spray Tan Shouldn't Be Simple
Representation in Formulation: What It Actually Means
Ready to stock a brand that built the standard the industry should've had from day one?
ALT SUN Pro Solutions: Built for endurance. Formulated for every shade. Made for pros who refuse to compromise.
