Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaden Long.
Hi Jaden, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My relationship with beauty and esthetics began long before I ever realized it could become a career. From as early as three years old, I was styling myself from head to toe—experimenting with my hair, putting together outfits, and finding little ways to make myself feel polished and put together. I have always believed that when you look good, you feel even better. There is an undeniable power in presentation. The way you enter a room, the way you carry yourself, and the attention you give to the details of your appearance can communicate confidence before you ever say a word. When someone looks and feels put together, there is a certain presence that naturally commands respect. It isn’t about vanity; it’s about how confidently you occupy your own space.
By the time I was in college, I knew a traditional 9-to-5 wasn’t the life I envisioned for myself. I wanted the freedom to create something of my own, although I hadn’t yet figured out exactly what that would be. Then life changed completely. COVID hit, I suddenly found myself pregnant and single, and I remember thinking, How am I going to do this all on my own? In the middle of all that uncertainty, I found my answer in something that had been part of my life years before.
My very first job was at a tanning salon—shout-out to Coconut Beach—and I had always loved the way tanning could transform not only someone’s appearance, but their mood. I’ve always believed there is something therapeutic about sunshine. When you’re feeling low, sometimes simply getting outside can change the entire energy of your day. A luxury spray tan creates a similar kind of magic. It gives you that sun-kissed, “I just got back from somewhere beautiful” feeling without actually having to go anywhere. I jokingly call it pretend vitamin D, but the confidence it creates is very real. Even on the days when I’m feeling completely unmotivated, I know I’m sometimes just one spray tan away from feeling like myself again.
That realization became the foundation for SunKissed by Jaden.
I had attended esthetics school, so I already had a strong foundation in skin health, sanitation, and the safety principles of the beauty industry. But I knew that creating a truly exceptional spray tan required much more than simply applying solution. I immersed myself in research—studying professional tanning solutions, equipment, application techniques, skin tones, undertones, and color theory. I wanted to understand the artistry behind creating a tan that looked effortless and believable, rather than simply making someone darker. Every person has a different complexion, different undertones, and a different vision of what their perfect glow looks like. Learning how to customize that experience became one of my favorite parts of the craft.
I also loved that spray tanning offered a beautiful alternative to traditional tanning. One of the greatest benefits is reducing unnecessary UV exposure while still achieving that warm, luminous glow people love. To me, luxury beauty should never require compromising the health of your skin. It should be about enhancing what you already have while taking care of the canvas underneath it.
Once I made the decision to build my business, I approached it with complete intention. I ordered my tent, selected my professional solution line, found my machine, designed my business cards, built my social media presence, and marketed myself relentlessly—sometimes at all hours of the day and night. There was no established storefront, no large team, and no guarantee that anyone would book. There was simply me, an idea, and an unwavering belief that I could make it work.
I still remember booking my very first appointment. I was nervous—very nervous. I had spent months preparing for that moment, but preparation feels very different once there is an actual client trusting you with their experience. Then I packed my equipment into suitcases, walked out the door, typed an address into Apple Maps, and drove to my first appointment.
And just like that, Jaden Rain became an official small-business owner and operator.
SunKissed by Jaden began as a mobile spray-tan business, but the vision was always bigger than the tan itself. I wanted to create an experience that made people feel beautiful, cared for, confident, and completely at home in their own skin. Because at the end of the day, the glow is only part of it. The real luxury is the feeling you have when you catch your reflection afterward and think, Damn, I look good.
That feeling—that boost of confidence, that little shift in how you carry yourself, that moment of feeling like the best version of you—is what inspired SunKissed by Jaden from the very beginning. And that is still the heart of the brand today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has absolutely not been smooth sailing—and honestly, I don’t think any meaningful journey ever is. Like everything in life, there have been seasons of incredible highs and seasons that have tested me in ways I never could have anticipated. There were weeks when my books were so full that I genuinely couldn’t have asked for anything more. I felt incredibly blessed, not only by the success of the business, but by every person who came through my door. Over time, I realized I wasn’t simply building a client book; I was building lifelong friendships. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with brilliant, inspiring women, learning from people from every walk of life, and being invited into some of the most personal and exciting moments in my clients’ lives. I’ve spray tanned women who simply needed a little confidence boost, women navigating breakups and new beginnings, brides and entire wedding parties, college graduates, and women preparing for intimate boudoir sessions. I’ve been lucky enough to travel for weddings and celebrations and become a small part of some of the biggest days of people’s lives. Every single person has taught me something different.
But life has a funny way of throwing a wrench into your plans when everything seems to be going perfectly. I’ve had plenty of the everyday challenges that come with being a small-business owner—canceling appointments because of car trouble or a sick child, unexpected emergencies, and even losing power in the middle of spray tanning a client, which is a story for another day. Those moments can be frustrating, but they are also part of learning how to build a business around real life.
Then came the biggest wrench of all—the night everything changed.
At the height of my career, when my books were fuller than they had ever been, I experienced the most devastating loss of my life. After being a single mother for so long and wondering if I would ever find someone who truly accepted both me and my son, Kai, someone incredibly special entered our lives. For the first time, it felt like our little family was whole. And then, unexpectedly, just days before Christmas, my partner tragically passed away.
I don’t think there are really words for that kind of loss. I was completely distraught, and for a while, I couldn’t imagine how I was supposed to continue with life, let alone run a business. Getting back to work required a tremendous amount of healing, therapy, and simply learning how to get back on my feet one day at a time.
What I didn’t expect during that time was to see just how deeply SunKissed by Jaden had become woven into my community. My clients reached out in so many different ways. Some sent condolences. Some checked in and asked what they could do. Others simply gave me grace and allowed me the time and space I needed to step away. And perhaps the most meaningful thing of all was that they stayed.
They waited for me.
When I was finally ready to return to my spray tan tent, so many of the women who had supported me before were still there, ready to support me again. In the middle of one of the lowest seasons of my life, my clients reminded me of the very thing I had spent years reminding them of: confidence can be rebuilt.
That experience completely changed the way I view my business. What I thought I was creating was a luxury spray-tan company. What I had actually created was a community. These women had come to me for a glow, but somewhere along the way, we had built something much deeper—a network of support, friendship, trust, and genuine connection.
I will forever be grateful to the women who stood by me when I couldn’t show up for them. They helped me find my way back to the confidence I work so hard every day to give to others.
Life happens. Plans change. Sometimes you have to step away, regroup, grieve, heal, and begin again. But if there is one thing this journey has taught me, it’s that resilience is just as beautiful as confidence.
And despite every difficult season, I wouldn’t trade my hardest day in this industry for anyone else’s best day. I genuinely love what I do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a sunless luxury spray tan artist, which means I specialize in creating customized, sun-kissed, luminous, and beautifully even-toned skin without the UV exposure associated with traditional tanning. For some clients, that means creating several shades of rich, bronzed color. For others, it may mean something much more subtle—a soft glow that simply brings their complexion together, blends areas of discoloration, or creates a more even appearance. At SunKissed by Jaden, we don’t believe in imperfections. We believe in enhancing what makes each person uniquely beautiful.
While the tan is technically what I do, I’ve always felt that the experience is what truly sets me apart.
I would say my positivity, warmth, and genuine light are some of the biggest things that distinguish me from others in the industry. I meet my clients exactly where they are. Sometimes they need a little beauty therapy; sometimes they need advice, encouragement, or simply someone who will sit there and listen while they unload the week’s drama. There really isn’t much I wouldn’t do for someone who steps inside my tent. My one rule is simple: there is absolutely no negative self-talk allowed inside the SunKissed by Jaden tent.
I am constantly speaking life, love, and confidence into my clients. I’m often told how grateful women are that I make them feel comfortable and confident throughout their appointment, and that means more to me than any compliment about their tan ever could.
What people may not realize is just how intimate and vulnerable a spray tan appointment can be. My clients are trusting me to see them in a way that most people never do. They’re completely undressed, standing in front of a stranger while exposing every part of themselves they may have spent years feeling insecure about—uneven skin, scars, stretch marks, birthmarks, body hair, discoloration, and everything in between. There is a tremendous amount of trust involved in that.
My job is not only to create a beautiful tan; it’s to make them forget they were ever vulnerable in the first place.
I’m talking them through every step, keeping the energy light, making jokes, directing them into what can sometimes feel like ridiculous poses—arms up, arms down, turn this way, shift that way—and somehow, by the end of the appointment, the woman who was nervous to even undress in front of me is laughing, completely comfortable, and telling me the juiciest office gossip like we’ve been friends for years.
That transformation is what I’m most proud of.
I’ve had women tell me they struggle to look at their own bodies, even privately, yet somehow they leave my tent smiling, laughing, and feeling completely comfortable in their skin. Being able to create that kind of environment is something I consider one of my greatest accomplishments.
I want every person who walks into my tent to know, without question, that SunKissed by Jaden is a judgment-free zone. You will never be examined, criticized, rushed, or made to feel like you need to look a certain way to belong here. My goal is for you to feel so comfortable that you forget you were ever nervous in the first place.
Because imagine having to undress and put all of your insecurities on display in front of someone who stands there with an RBF, looks you up and down, and makes absolutely no effort to make the experience comfortable. If that were my experience, my pants would be back on faster than I could realize I was somewhere I shouldn’t be!
Instead, come see me. Let’s gossip. Let’s laugh. Let’s talk about life. Let me hype you up, remind you how beautiful you are, and give you a glow while we’re at it.
The tan may be the service, but confidence is the experience.
And if you leave my tent feeling a little more beautiful, a little more confident, and a lot less afraid to take up space in your own skin, then I’ve done exactly what I came here to do.
How do you think about luck?
I often joke that if I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all. And honestly, I’ve been through enough to say that with a little more truth than I’d probably like to admit.
One of the first stories that comes to mind is what I can now laugh about as one of my more expensive lessons in business. I had just finished a completely packed day of appointments that ended with a bachelorette party of nine women. Nine women were counting on me—SunKissed by Jaden—to have them bronzed, glowing, and vacation-ready before their early-morning flights out of KCI. I had my beautiful, expensive equipment and a brand-new haul of professional tanning solutions and powders packed into my vehicle. At the end of the night, I parked in my downtown garage, went home, and left everything in my Jeep overnight.
I knew better. I wouldn’t have even left a full grocery bag sitting in plain view.
But apparently, hindsight has excellent judgment.
The next morning, I got up early, got ready, makeup on point, outfit a 10, coffee order placed, and was ready to take on another full day. I walked out, locked the door behind me, headed toward the parking garage—and discovered that every single window of my Jeep had been smashed.
And it wasn’t just the broken windows. Whoever had gotten into my vehicle had essentially been handed a neon sign that said, “A luxury spray tan artist lives here.” My equipment, solutions, powders, and everything else that made my business recognizable had been sitting inside.
The feeling in that moment was indescribable. There was this immediate lump in my stomach and a feeling of How am I supposed to fix this? I had clients counting on me, a business to run, and suddenly a huge portion of the equipment I depended on was gone.
Yes, technically, you could call it a mistake because I knew better. But for the sake of this story, I’m going to call it bad luck and stand by that decision forever.
What’s funny, though, is that moments like that have taught me that luck isn’t really one isolated event. Sometimes bad luck shows up and completely derails your plans. Other times, good luck is quietly happening all around you, and you don’t even realize how fortunate you are until you stop and look at the bigger picture.
I experience that kind of good luck almost every single day.
It’s in the little notification that pops up when someone books an appointment. It’s opening my phone and seeing a new five-star review from a client who loved their experience. It’s meeting another incredible woman through my business. It’s being trusted to spray tan someone for their wedding, graduation, vacation, or another milestone they’ll remember forever. It’s the friendships and relationships I never could have planned for.
So yes, bad luck has certainly made an appearance throughout my life and business—and sometimes it has shown up with a broken window and an extremely expensive lesson attached.
But I refuse to let the bad outweigh the good.
Because every time I get to wake up and do something I genuinely love, every time another woman trusts me with her confidence, and every time I see someone leave my tent feeling happier than when she walked in, I’m reminded that I am actually incredibly lucky.
Maybe I’ve had some terrible luck along the way. But I’ve also built a life and a business I feel unbelievably fortunate to call mine—and no broken window is going to change that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @sunkissedbyjaden https://www.instagram.com/sunkissedbyjaden
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19Gkf3VozU/
- Email: jrain012@gmail.com – subject line SunKissed by Jaden
- Business number: 816-681-3602
