Proper Skin Prep = A flawless tan

by Marilyn Spatola January 08, 2019

The best way to guarantee a perfect competition tan is proper skin prep. Every tanning company has, or should have, detailed skin prep instructions no less than the week leading up to a competition tanning service for stage. So…lets break it down more specifically.

At LSR we believe good skin care should be part of everyone’s daily regime, like brushing your teeth, or putting your shoes on. A habit. The better condition the skin is in, the better the tanning result, and the happier the client and the tanning company! Our goal is to turn out the most flawless tans in the industry. This means that you, the client, must also do your part as well.

One of the big issues we see is overly dry skin! One of our service providers, a professional painter, had one of the best analogies I have ever heard! The skin is much like wood! The better condition the wood is in, the better it accepts the paint. Dry uncared for wood yields a very poor result when the paint is applied, by absorbing the paint unevenly ,and the drier areas grab the paint and produce darker patchy areas. Not a good look! Also difficult to correct once you show up backstage the morning of your competition!

When questioning some of our clients that have a less than flawless result, they more than not, tell us they stopped moisturizing their skin a week, sometimes two weeks before to “ensure” their skin was DRY. This is a misconception. We want the skin well moisturized and hydrated! Exfoliating is also important, but over doing it too aggressively will also work in a negative by irritating the skin. The day OF the tanning appointment we want the skin clean and free of surface dirt, body oils, cologne, perfume, and deodorants. etc. These things can react with the tanning products, especially deodorant! Deodorant, besides creating a barrier, also reacts with the skin and turns armpits green! Not a pretty look! However, overly dry skin can be just as bad, if not worse…thus the wood analogy!

In certain situations where one has more mature skin, dry skin and specific skin conditions (noted below), we often recommend using our LSR body lotion the day of, and many times will apply immediately before the tanning session. We know the ingredients are compatible with our LSR Bronzer. There are no doubt other moisturizers that can be used, but since we do not know what a person may use and the ingredients…we only recommend ours.

So…. help us, help you …. have a flawless result. You spend so much time and effort prepping for your competition so please pay attention to every detail to make sure you look perfect on that stage. It is so important to make sure the largest organ of your body is well taken care of.

Below are some of the skin conditions we commonly see. We encourage you to reach out to your tanning professional with any questions or concerns. A well-trained company will know how to advise you.

Dry Skin

Dry skin tends to absorb the tanning solution quickly. The skin also exfoliates faster, so the tan may fade faster and more unevenly. DHA can also cause more dryness, so skin can feel tight and itchy if the skin is dry to begin with. We recommend moisturizing twice daily after shower.

In the cases of exceptional dryness – Liquid Sun Rayz Moisturizer can be applied over the body just prior to tanning

Scars & Stretch Marks

The solution may not absorb through scars. The spray tan may disguise the appearance of scars and stretch marks but will not cover them completely. If the scarring is significant, we apply barrier cream so the scar does not take tan too much, BUT We will not apply any tanning solution on fresh scars. In this instance Liquid Sun Rayz Secret Weapon can be used to hide the scarring also and is applied about 30 minutes prior to stage.

Acne or Sensitive Skin

Acne is common in bodybuilders and there’s little that can be done to disguise it, if anything you are more likely to see tan developing around spots making its appearance worse. If this is the case at the time of stage appearance Liquid Sun Rayz Secret Weapon cosmetic product can be used and applied to disguise it.

Eczema

Eczema is an inflammation of the skin, characterized by redness, itching, and the outbreak of lesions that may discharge and become crusty and scaly. There are many variations of the condition, some not as bad – possibly just dry patches. It’s a quite common condition.

doctor’s approval preferred. You should exfoliate your skin prior to being tanned, however should not do so on Eczema-prone areas. Barrier cream or our moisturizer will be applied to these areas to prevent tan overdeveloping on the dry patches.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease of the skin by which the body’s immune system attacks healthy skin cells causing a rapid overgrowth of skin cells, affected areas appear as red patches with silvery flaky dry skin cells.

In this scenario, as with eczema, we would cover the affected areas with barrier cream or our moisturizer and spray as normal.

Tina Versicolor ( Most commonly seen in this industry)

Is a non-infectious fungal infection of the skin, it typically presents as:

Patches that may be white, pink, red, or brown and can be lighter or darker than the skin around them.

Spots that do not tan the way the rest of your skin does. Spots that may occur anywhere on your body but are most commonly seen on your neck, chest, back, and arms. Very often we will not discover this until we tan the athlete, as like in regular sunshine the affected skin areas do not take to tanning of any kind. If it is noticeably bad, we can wipe away some of the tan where it has grabbed on to the affected area with our Liquid Sun Rayz Moisturizer. If this does not work – then at stage time the Liquid Sun Rayz Cosmetics range can take care of that by disguising the affected areas. Typically, this is caused by sun exposure i.e. tanning beds, or excessive sweating i.e. working out and sweaty gym equipment etc.

In this situation if you are not already aware, we will refer you to your GP for diagnosis and treatment.

I hope this information is helpful and gives you a better understanding of how imperative proper skin care and prep is to achieve a perfect, flawless competition tan as well as having healthy, conditioned skin!

We look forward to seeing you in one of our tanning tents in 2020!

Get Your Rayz On!!

#preppedsprayedandonstage

#ichooseLSR

EXFOLIATE DAILY: 1 week prior to show use Liquid Sun Rayz® PH Balancing Body Wash and Citrus Body Scrub

MOISTURIZE DAILY: 1 week prior to your tan, moisturize with Liquid Sun Rayz® Nutrient Rich Body Lotion, making sure to pay attention to areas that tend to get drier (hands, feet, elbows,knees)

DAY OF YOUR TAN:

DO NOT participate in any physical activity that may cause perspiration, this will also raise the skin’s PH causing you to turn green.
Wear dark, loose fitting clothing & flip flops. NO RED clothing!
Be prepared for bad weather and pack an umbrella, to avoid getting wet and ruining your tan.
HAIR REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS
WAXING: We recommend waxing at least 2 weeks prior to your tan.
SHAVING: We recommend shaving 24 hours prior to your tan. Make sure to exfoliate before and after you shave as some razors may leave a soap/conditioner type of residue on the skin and this could affect your tan application.
LASER: We recommend if having laser hair removal, to do so at least 2 weeks prior to your first application to allow the hair to shed out.

All forms of hair removal are dependent on how sensitive your skin may be. We also recommend full body hair removal to achieve the best application.

* NOTE: This skincare regime is suggested for any spray tan service….competition or everyday!