Recently we released an article on ‘How Pageant Contestants can get sexier looking Skin Tone?’ by Traveling Sol. We approached Shelly Eredia further for an exclusive interview with us and tell us more about the services and share her experience on this field of her workings. Here is an extreme candid interview with Shelly.
TGPC: Please tell us something about yourself.
Shelly: My name is Shelly Eredia and I live in Anaheim, CA with my husband for over 10 years and our, three-year-old, twin sons. I am from Littleton, CO and will always be a Rocky Mountain girl at heart. My hobbies are hiking, traveling, crafts and construction. I absolutely love designing and building anything. After finishing high school, I moved to Oahu, Hawaii, spent the next 20 years there and met my husband. My Aunt, who had lived on Oahu for 30 years, had been working with Hollywood for some time, doing make-up and costume design. Most film and movie producers want their stars to look fresh and having a solid, natural color base on their skin is necessary to keep the actors from looking washed out in film or in picture. Initially, I was recruited to help spray tan background actors in larger productions, enabling me to really learn the art of custom airbrush tanning. Not only was this a great learning experience but it was also a great opportunity for me to use my skills outside of Hawaii, to help benefit the general public, not just movie stars. I have, since, moved to Orange County, CA and decided to use my knowledge of this art to benefit anyone who wants to complement their look and feel. After all, I have found that generally when people look better, they feel and perform better.
TGPC: You own a brand ‘Traveling Sol’ which is into tanning services, can you tell us more about it? Where exactly it is located?
Shelly: Traveling Sol is not a “brick-and-mortar” business, meaning there is no physical address, but I am based out of Anaheim, CA. Traveling Sol is a mobile spray tan service that uses a proprietary, organic, paraben-free, self-tanning formula that works with every skin tone and every skin type. It will tan you while moisturizing your skin. It will not clog your pores or irritate sensitive skin. This product’s naturally-derived tanning agents will not turn your skin orange, leave a bad odor, or stain your clothes. I wanted to create a brand that embodied and exhibited the “perfect”, natural, sunless tan while relieving the client of having to battle traffic, use their own gasoline, or worry about parking. Traveling Sol comes to you by appointment only. By customizing tanning sessions to the client’s schedule, the stress of racing the clock to make “normal” business hours, is removed from the client’s agenda. Online shopping and having goods or services delivered to one’s door is the direction most commerce is heading, it’s very common and most people do it. Why not include a beauty service, such as spray tanning, to be delivered to your door? In this day and age, it is very common and obvious knowledge that the sun’s UV rays causes irreversible and fatal damage to your sensitive skin. Wearing sunblock should be a mandatory, additional staple to every one’s summer wardrobe. Traveling Sol provides the client with a convenient, healthy, organic, cancer-free way to tan that absolutely, will not, prematurely age you.
TGPC: Why do you think people should opt for organic tan compared to other methods?
Shelly: Along with an organic diet, organic skin products should be considered and can benefit everyone. After all, your skin is one, vast, intricate, living organism. It’s no secret, most skin products are full of ingredients and preservatives that most people can’t even pronounce. I have listed, on my website Traveling Sol, all three, active, organic, tanning agents that the tanning product contains so that people can actually read and understand about the ingredients they are applying to their skin, which is so important these days. It works with all skin tones, complimenting any skin shade. You should not have to apply harsh chemicals to your skin to achieve a sunless tan. Traveling Sol’s tanning solution is a proprietary blend, created with your skin’s health in mind. When I first tan a client, the number one reason I hear as to why they are, or have been, skeptical about spray tanning, in the past, is because the product that was used on them made their skin irritated, itchy and orange. Many products used at many tanning salons will cause this, along with drying your skin out and leaving a “streaked” tan. Our tanning solution does not merely stain your skin, it actually triggers your own melanin (responsible for changing skin pigment color) to turn a natural bronze that is unique to your very own skin pigment, leaving you with a natural, perfect tan, every time.
TGPC: Who are the celebrities who have undergone such tanning?
Shelly: There have been many of Hollywood’s finest who have been spray tanned with the same proprietary blend that is used by Traveling Sol. Too many to name them all. However, some specific celebrities who can be seen with the results of our tanning product are:
1. From Sony Pictures’- Soul Surfer, the lead actress playing Bethany Hamilton, Anna Sophia Robb, was tanned with our same product along with the rest of the starring crew; Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and Lorraine Nicholson (Jack Nicholson’s daughter).
2. Daniel Dae Kim and most of the cast from the new Hawaii Five-0 have been tanned with our same product.
3. The cast of Baywatch-Hawaii received spray tans, regularly, using our same product from 1999 to 2001, when they filmed on Oahu. You would have seen our tan on David Hasselhoff along with the rest of the cast. In fact, David’s wife loved the results so much, she got a personal tan for herself.
4. From the sequel to ‘Journey to the Center of The Earth’, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the lead actors, Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens both are tanned by the same product we use. Although, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson worked on this movie, the director did not require him to tan, but he was good fun on the set 😊.
5. Alec Baldwin can also be seen donning the results of our tanning product on several occasions, including The Emmy’s. In addition to these mentioned actors, Traveling Sol has also had the privilege of tanning some of Southern California’s, own, teen beauties who have competed in past pageants. Ones of Traveling Sol’s regular clients who deserves an honorable mention is, Laura Locken, who is currently Miss Balboa Island Teen USA and held the title of Miss Historic Orange Teen USA, last year. Another regular client of Traveling Sol is, Giselle Monterrosas, who was crowned, MHI (Miss Hollywood International) Teen Title Holder in October of 2016.
TGPC: How different is ‘Travelling Sol’ compared to other tanning service providers?
Shelly: Besides having the best product for the absolute best price in Orange County, CA along with the greatest convenience, Traveling Sol is the only spray tanning service in Orange County, that I know of, that actually leaves the client with a parting gift, after their first session, to say ‘Thank You’, instead of trying to sell you a skin product. I enjoy creating and making, what I call, Skin Butter. I began looking into making my own body lotion some time ago because I realized that many lotions bought at your local store contain mostly water, that is why you have to re-apply them so often. I began designing my own Skin Butter, using 100% organic, Grade-A, raw, unrefined, ivory shea butter as a base and blending in essential oils for texture and skin healing properties. It is, now, the only lotion I use on my own skin, so I decided to package it as a gift for my clients when they book their first tanning session. The Skin Butter helps deeply moisturize the skin after spray tanning which will help make the tan last longer. Traveling Sol is different than other tanning services because we always coat the client twice, every tanning session. I am the only mobile spray tan service, that I know of, that does not charge an extra $5 to $10 for an additional spray tan coat. I believe that by covering the client twice, it eliminates the chance of missing an area. It also ensures full, even coverage every time you tan with Traveling Sol. There are no hidden fees with our tanning service. Traveling Sol will provide a spray tan service to most of Orange County for one price. As clearly stated in the website, South Orange County and some parts of neighboring Los Angeles county are subject to slight traveling fees. Many other spray tan services determine your fee by calculating your distance, in miles, from their starting point and adding it to the basic tanning fee. That can get pricey and confusing. Any additional traveling fees are clearly discussed and agreed upon prior to the first session.
TGPC: Is there any side-effects of undergoing this treatment?
Shelly: None. There are no side-effects of getting a spray tan from Traveling Sol. If the client does not properly prepare for the treatment, by thoroughly cleaning their skin from head to toe, I will know because there will be a slight reaction that may or may not affect the final color.
TGPC: How long have you been into this industry? Any funny/embarrassing experience with your client you would like to share with our viewers?
Shelly: I first moved to Honolulu, Hawaii in September of 1994 and began renting a room from my Aunt, who worked doing make-up for movie & television productions. Soon after getting settled, I wanted to earn extra money and she needed the help so my tanning career began. Most of the celebrities who get tanned are very appreciative and really easy to work with. People usually get spray tan services for special, fun occasions, when they want to enhance their look and feel better or different than an average day. It has been said that a person has more confidence and feels more attractive when they exhibit healthy, bronzed skin. With this being said, my clients are generally in great moods because they’re getting married in a couple days or they are going on stage to compete the next day and super pumped. I am fortunate. Because of the nature of my business, most of my clients are nude and it is usually them who might be a little embarrassed at first. But believe me, I have seen it all 😉 and am not embarrassed easily. It is my job and I look at it like an art. I am literally airbrushing your skin, and that is all I am concentrating on when I’m tanning someone.
TGPC : If you had to tan a Hollywood celebrity, who would he/she be? Why?
Shelly: If I had an opportunity, I would LOVE to tan Anna Faris. She is one of my all time, favorite actors and seems like she would be a riot to spend 30 minutes with (it only takes that long). Not to mention her coloring is great and I’m guessing the results would be outstanding.
TGPC: As per popular myth, tanning can’t be of any value to brown skin. Is it true?
Shelly: We tan brown skin all of the time. There are many shades of skin and our product only works with what you already have. Our product does not turn you any shade that your skin can not naturally produce on its own. We are just achieving that color without the sun and with the aid of organic sugars and simple, biological reactions. By getting a spray tan when you already have a browner base, you will only enhance your coloring, bringing it to a new level, the healthy way. This product has been used on many fitness models and body builders. To achieve the deep, very dark brown that you see on stage during their competitions, requires at least 3 sessions, back to back. This is to build the tan in layers and to help with shading in the muscle creases, giving the illusion of exaggerated depth. It would be equivalent of laying out at the beach for three afternoons, in a row, but without the sun damage, of course.
TGPC: What kind of dresses would you suggest to people who undergo tanning treatment?
Shelly: Traveling Sol will give you that perfect bronze to complement any dress, really. Many of our clients use our services to rid their chest and shoulder area of common tan lines from a triangle top or shoulder strap bathing suit. Most formal and wedding dresses are strapless or spaghetti strap and a tan line will stand out like a sore thumb, that is where I step in. Getting a spray tan will even your skin color, rid your chest area of any tan lines and make your dress color “pop” against your gorgeous, bronzed skin. Tanning the legs is a big request. For some reason, legs seem to be the last body part to tan. A great pair of legs deserves a great tan. I definitely recommend our services when you feel like showing off a little more skin and when you are looking to really fine tune a look or an outfit.
TGPC: How long does organic tanning sustain?
Shelly: I recommend getting a spray tan 1-3 days before your event. Generally, a spray tan will last about a week. It can last a little longer with proper care. Prolonged swimming, excessive work outs, any exfoliation of the skin, continuous shaving of the skin, harsh cleansers and lack of skin conditioning can all aid in fading your spray tan. So, using gentle, non-abrasive body cleansers, keeping your skin well- conditioned and avoiding excessive shaving will help pro-long your spray tan.
For more details and appointment, please contact Shelly Eredia at:
Website: Traveling Sol [Click Here]
Email at: travelingsol@gmail.com