Skin Preparation

Make sure you remove body hair at least 3 to 5 days before your competition, as shaving or using depilatory creams irritates the skin, which can cause fluid retention.

Applying sun.TAN.on with a foam brush or roller

Foam Brush Method : Pour tan in a tray. Don’t load up brush too heavy and paint on. This method is definitely the easiest to master.

Roller Method : Pour tan into a tray. After soaking roller squeeze excess tan out of roller by rolling in tray (as you would when painting making sure not to load roller too heavy). This will prevent the tan running. Roll evenly onto the skin – this is a very fast and convenient way to apply the tan. Note: this method does take some practice.

Allow sun.TAN.on to dry between coats 10 to 15 minutes. A hair dryer can be used to speed this process. Wear old clothes whilst applying tan and sleep on old sheets.

Warning, tan residue may be visible on clothes and sheets after using this product. If this occurs please wash using a light stain remover.

The Perfect TAN,

Bodybuilding is moving art, it’s sculpture. Finish your work of art with the perfect tan.

 After 48 competitions over 24 years, this subject is one I consider I have some expertise on. I have gone as far as to develop what I consider to be the best extreme competition colour tan on the market in Australia, sun.TAN.on. Put simply it’s brown! During the development of this product I discovered there are many reasons some colours don’t seem to be this colour after being applied to the skin, but for this article I’ll focus on the correct preparation and application of your competition Tan.

 The choice of whether to tan in the sunlight or solarium is a personal one. For every article/study we read on the dangers of the sun there seems to be a conflicting article/study on the benefits. Living recently on the Gold Coast in Queensland the sun is definitely not as harsh as Victoria therefore some exposure to it was fine. I chose to have a solarium once a week. Moderation is key in my opinion, so regardless of whether you use natural sunlight or solarium I will explain what I feel is the best way to apply a contest tan from scratch.

 Hair removal

Shaving should be done at least 2 to 4 days before the competition dependant on a person’s rate of regrowth. Using a depilatory cream like Nair or Veet should be done even earlier eg 4 to 6 days at least, the reason is both these methods cause some damage and irritation to the skin which can cause fluid retention. If there is any regrowth at all it will be minimal and the judges will never see it.

 Some competitors choose to use no base colour opting to use one of the cream type tan products on the day of the contest only. The issue I have with the creams regards the application which many competitors seem to not get right. Applied incorrectly they sit on your skin really blurring definition. I have seen many a physique ruined this way and suffer lower placing accordingly, some competitors even use oil over this tan – the results looks like the competitor has rolled in mud! A judge needs to see through the tan so the competitor’s definition and condition is visible. Back before all these cream type tans came on the market, we were a little lighter coloured on stage maybe, but you could see the quality of one physique clearly.

 I always use a good base tan, the liquid type eg sun.TAN.on. Application is a matter of personal constraints eg if one has to wear certain clothes to work they may choose to start the tan as close to the competition day as possible. Below is a simple and effective protocol I used at my recent show to achieve a great consistent tan.

 For a show on Saturday

Wednesday night, pour sun.TAN.on into a small plastic paint tray or similar (I heat the tan in a microwave for about 20 seconds as it helps drying time and it’s not so cold). sun.TAN.on comes with its own foam brush. Dip the brush into the tan and press excess out on the tray – this will avoid loading the brush too heavily and the tan running, simply paint it on the skin. If there are any runs just pick them up with the brush and smooth them out. I do one really nice even coat and then wait for it to dry. One can speed this process by using a hair dryer but it only takes 5 to 10 minutes anyway. I would then put on relatively old clothes of a dark colour, some residue will come off over night but this is easily removed by washing clothes in a stain remover type cleaner I have an old black sheet that I normally sleep on just to be safe as well, sun.TAN.on wil not permanently stain anything.

 Thursday morning, shower off the excess. Thursday evening I repeat the process.

 Friday morning I put on a coat of sun.TAN.on. I do not shower the excess off, just wait for it to dry and dress. Friday evening after  showering I applied another coat, this was my last shower before the show.

 Saturday morning – the competition day (I do not shower off the excess)

There are few options for finishing your tan before going on stage. I mix some of the tan and a light mineral oil together so the oil is brown and just use a very light coat of this to add a slight sheen to the muscles – this is very effective and  really enhances definition. I have seen competitors use the oil spray which can give the desired effect but I don’t recommend this as its very messy and dangerous for other competitors as the environment becomes very slippery. There is also the option of using one of the cream type instant tans ,this is where if applied correctly they can be very useful. Instead of patting a thick layer of the cream on the skin, you can rub a small amount into the skin , this just to gives the tan a slight shimmer.

 In the very near future I will be releasing the perfect finishing product to compliment sun.TAN.on.

Enjoy your competition day and remember we are only responsible for our effort not the outcome. The process and journey are more important!

Wayne Wilson