Spray Tan Before Bid Day: The KU Girl’s Guide to Recruitment Week
Spray Tan Before Bid Day: The KU Girl’s Guide to Recruitment Week
If you’re going through recruitment or getting ready for bid day, you already know the rounds are long, the outfits are planned, and the photos are forever. Booking a spray tan lawrence ks students actually trust matters more this week than any other week of the semester, and it’s one of the easiest things to get wrong if you wait until the last minute or try a drugstore self-tanner the night before. Here’s how to actually do it.
Why bid day isn’t the day to test something new
Every PNM has the same instinct: fix everything the week of. New self-tanner, new hair color, new skincare routine, all in the same seven days. Your skin doesn’t need a science experiment right before rounds. A professional spray tan uses a solution matched to your actual skin tone, not a one-size-fits-all bottle from Target that turns half the sorority orange by Wednesday.
When to book, relative to bid day
KU’s 2026 recruitment runs Open House (Sun Aug 16 & Mon Aug 17), Philanthropy (Tue Aug 18 & Wed Aug 19), Sisterhood (Thu Aug 20), Preference (Fri Aug 21), and Bid Day on Saturday, August 22. The demand window isn’t just Saturday, it’s the whole week. PNMs want to look their best through every round, and new members want to be tan for bid day photos.
Book early in the week if you can. Spray tans typically develop over several hours before you rinse, so plan around whichever round comes right after. Waiting until the day before bid day means you’re competing with an entire pledge class for the same handful of slots.
What to actually expect from your first tan
If this is your first professional spray tan, here’s the honest version: it’s not a booth, it’s a person. Your color gets matched by hand, applied by hand, and adjusted to how your skin actually takes it, not a fixed setting. That’s the difference between a natural bronze in your bid day photos and the orange-tinted regret you’ve seen in someone else’s Instagram.
Quick prep list:
- Shave or wax at least 24 hours before, never same-day
- Exfoliate the night before, skip lotion the day of
- Wear loose, dark clothing to your appointment
- Skip the gym or a sweaty rush event until after you’ve rinsed
The offer that gets you in the door
New students get their first tan for $20, any day, no specific day of the week required. It’s low-friction and built for exactly this week.
The offer that gets you through the rest of the semester
Bid day isn’t the only tan-worthy day on your calendar. Game days, formals, philanthropy events, and eventually grad photos all show up before you know it. That’s what the Semester Pass is for: four tans, priced below the standard student rate, so you’re not paying full price every time fall throws another event at you. Book bid day now, use the rest through Homecoming and beyond.
Bringing your whole pledge class
You don’t have to book solo. Group bookings work well for a whole new-member class getting ready together, and they’re an easy way to make sure everyone matches for photos instead of one person showing up several shades off from the rest of the group.
Ready before Saturday
Recruitment week moves fast and bid day photos are the ones that end up everywhere. A custom spray tan, the kind KU recruits book from a real spray tan lawrence ks studio instead of a booth, means one less thing to worry about when you’re already thinking about outfits, rounds, and your new house. Real talk. Great tan.
Getting married instead of rushing this fall? See our bridal spray tan page for timeline and prep. Not a student but want in on the routine? Check out The Sunless Society membership.
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