Confessions of Competition Tanning

Though I had never done any sort of bodybuilding competition, I did know one thing before hand, and that was I would have to be extremely dark in order to see my muscles on stage. Even before I began the tanning process I was dreading it. Tanning has never been a favorite of mine especially due to the premature wrinkling factor. Yes, I am vain.

Seven weeks out from the competition I began going to a tanning bed once a week. My first session in the bed was dreadful. The salon assistant did not want me to burn so she set the timer for seven minutes. Unbelievably, I still burned and was very upset by this. I hate to get any sort of sunburn so my loathing of the tanning bed increased immediately. I tanned two more times and did not burn but I didn't get any darker either.

My fourth visit to the tanning bed made the other three sessions a walk in the park. The spa employee was kind enough to give me "Gorgeous Gams" lotion for my legs. He said it would increase the darkness in them. I used the cream, tanned and drove home. Within the hour it took to get home from the gym the cream caused my legs to break out. I had an inflamed red rash covering both of my legs and I was mortified. After this happened I told my husband I would never do a show again just because the tanning was such a miserable experience. Of course, he just laughed at me. After this session I stuck to my once a week visit but used no creams and went into the beds for minimum time. Perhaps it was a waste of time but I was trying to create a nice base tan.

The day before the figure competition I was sprayed by a Mystic Tanning machine. Stepping into the machine I was unsure of what to expect. It gave me a warning the machine was about to start and then the fire power began. The jets sprayed out liquid tanner and for the first time since I was six I thought I was going to drown. Breathing between the sprays in the face and the fumes is nearly impossible and is the closest feeling to drowning possible. After finishing I stepped out an extremely tan person. I used a towel to blend in the tanner, got dressed and drove home.

Before I even made it into the house the tanning agents were irritating my skin and my nether regions. I could not believe it. After nearly drowning I had to get back into the shower to wash the tanner off.

Later that evening my husband came home to help me apply the Jan Tana Competition Tan. Its looks and has the consistency of espresso and I couldn't wait to see what would develop from this foray into tanning.

Standing in the bathroom naked, and in the most compromising of positions, my husband started to coat me with tanner. It took a considerable amount of time but did make me very dark. It streaked slightly but was a much better alternative to my other attempts of tanning. After it dried I went to sleep with nothing but an old blanket to wrap up with because these tanners stain very badly.

The next morning I noticed that the streaks had disappeared and the tanner looked really smooth. My husband woke up to help do my second coat which didn't turn out as nicely as my first coat. As a matter of fact, the tanner was clumping up and he could not get it to smooth out. By the time he finished the second coat I had begun to look like a zebra. This was a sign. I should not be doing this competition was all I could think.

Getting dressed I hoped that the tanner would smooth itself out like it did the night before but it did not. By the time I arrived at the performance center my tan had become even blotchier and I was mortified I would have to go on stage like that. Standing in front of a mirror in the dressing rooms I told Nicole, another competitor, that I was severely streaked. She offered me her Dream Tan and told me it would blend with the other tanner and fix my problems. So I vehemently went to work on repairing the terrible tan I had. Nicole had been right. The Dream Tan blended with the other tanner making my tan very smooth in appearance. It also made me extremely dark which is what I had hoped for.

My tanning experience is enough for me to never do another figure competition. Actually, everything comes with time and experience. Many of the professionals have their own home spray tanners so that is why they have such a smooth glow. If I were to do another show I would use one coat of Jan Tana and a good layer of Dream Tan. The tanning bed and Mystic Tan proved to be the least affective for me so I would not use them again.