At my last fitness competition where I competed at the Victoria Cup In Men's Physiques Masters and Open, I decided to go with a (DIY) Do it Yourself Tan to save some money and also have a little more flexibility in when and where to "get my tan on" so to speak!
I did a fair amount of research and after reading lots of reviews online I decided to go with a product from Jan Tana called Jan Tana Competition Tan Bronzer. I ordered it online and when I tested it out on my leg, I found that even after several coats it was going to be too light.
After some more research I decided to incorporate a Spray On Tan called Color Perfecting Complex California Tan to pre-darken my skin initially before applying the Jan Tana Competition Tan Bronzer.
This system proved to work really well, I also recommend you get a base tan by either getting some sun or using a tanning bed, the darker you natrually get the better!
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This is how I apply my (DIY) Do it Yourself Tanning System:
- Get a base tan naturally or via a tanning bed. The darker the better!
- Make sure to exfoliate before applying the tanning products, I start a week before and exfoliate my entire body several times during the week and right before applying the tanning products.
- Make sure to shave the day before or day of when you apply your tanning products.
- Start with the Color Perfecting Complex California Spray on Tan. It will go on pretty even but more than likely you will get some splattering from the spray nozzle. Do not worry about this, simply rub the splatter drops into your skin with your hand, it will all even out in the end. I recommend you apply your spray on tan about mid day the day before your competition.
- Once the appropriate dry time has been achieve you can then apply the Jan Tana Competition Tan rub on Bronzer. I used large facial pads to do this and had my wife get some of the area I could not reach on my back. I would recommend you apply your rub on tan in the evening before your competition or the morning of. Some touch ups can be done as required and will blend well.
- That's pretty much it, you can also apply an additional glaze right before you go on stage, I recommend Jan Tana Hi-Def Glaze.
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Some things to keep in mind...
- Your spray on tan will stay with you much longer than the airbrush styled spray on tans since the Color Perfecting Complex California Tan actually reacts with the top layer of the skin to darken your skin. It can take about a week or so to slowly fade away.
- I also found that the Color Perfecting Complex California Tan died my toe nails pretty much permanently so cover up your feet if you do not want this to happen.