THE TAN PLAN
HOW TO ACHIEVE THE IDEAL
COLOURING TO LOOK YOUR BEST ONSTAGE
I’m an amateur
bodybuilding
competitor, and my goal
is to work my way up to
the national contests and
vie for a pro card. I’m
wondering, are there
certain tanning errors
you’ve seen that I should
try to avoid? I am fair-
skinned, so I tend to get
“blown out” by stage
lighting.
STEVE WEINBERGER
Many people have been scared
away from allowing their skin
to get a natural tan by warnings
of skin damage from the harmful
exposure to ultraviolet light.
However, as a fair-skinned
competitor, you have a much
better chance of achieving an
even, natural-looking tan if you
can get some colour from the sun
before applying any bottled
tanning product.
Of course, any real suntanning
should be done carefully, for
short exposure periods, and
preferably in a private area so
you can eliminate tan lines. If this
is possible, then I encourage you
to build up a natural tan while
carefully monitoring your skin
and keeping it exfoliated and
moisturized.
Beyond that, to get the dark
tan required to look good
under strong stage lights, you’ll
need a tanning agent applied to
your body. The most popular,
convenient method now is to hire
a company that provides contest
spray tans, which can be applied
very close to the competitionday—usually the day before—
along with touch-ups on the day
of the show. Make sure that the
company you use is reputable,
as a poorly applied, patchy tan
can severely detract from the
appearance of your physique.
Before you go for your spray tan,
make sure that your skin has
been exfoliated, to remove dead
skin cells and rough skin, and
that you are clean, with no oils
or lotions applied.
Give your spray tan a chance
to dry before allowing anything,
including clothing, to touch your
body, and do not apply oil when
the tan is still wet, as this can
cause streaking. In addition,
keep the palms of your hands,
knees, and elbows away from
the substance, as it quickly
soaks into the dry skin and canLAST SET
PER BERNAL130 FLEX| JUNE 2017
JUDGE’S TABLE BY MICHAEL BERG