By this time, it should be a well-known fact that it’s impossible to achieve any fragment of success dancing Latin if you don’t know how to apply fake tanning. Unless you’re natural skin color is exceptionally dark, knowing how to apply fake tanning is of absolute necessity. So in today’s post, we’re going to go through the process professional latin competitors use to apply tanning for latin dance competitions.
We need to be dark. How dark, you ask? Think of body builders. We tan AT LEAST as dark as body builders, but tanning for latin dance competitions is more brown. Body builders tend to veer towards an orange look, since they rely on DHA tanning creams which tend to turn your skin orange or greenish, depending on your skin’s pH level. They do this because they need to apply vascillating oils on top of their tan to make their skin shiny. This shows off their muscles better. As dancers, we don’t want shiny. We are looking for dark brown, matte, and golden sparkly.
When you are tanning for latin dance competitions for the first time – to the appropriate level of color – you will be afraid. It does not look natural. In fact, it shouldn’t look natural. But under the bright lights of a dance floor, the tanning looks normal. Actually, those who DON’T apply fake tanning look strange. So trust us, the better your tan looks, the more likely your grooming will not be used as an excuse to mark you down.
By the way, this is a great post to use in conjunction with our Latin Competition Makeup Tutorial which you can read or watch here. Also, we published a tutorial on Tanning for Latin Dance Competitions specifically for men, which you can watch here!
Why apply fake tanning?
We get this question from students all of them. Why is it necessary to apply fake tanning?
- The bronzed color makes our bodies look slimmer.
- The shadows created by the tanning accentuates the contours of our muscles.
- Without tanning, we will look completely washed out and unnatural on the dance floor.
- This is the style for competitive Latin dancing. However we got here, we’re here now. Accept, and learn!
The Products We Use
There are many different tanning products that exist on the market. They can be split into two main categories: chemical tanning products, and topical tanning products. We explain the difference and the lay out the pros and cons of each of those categories in this blog post right here. But for the purposes of this tutorial, we will be focusing on topical tanning products.
You need only a few products and less than 30 minutes when tanning for latin dance competitions. All of these products, you can buy directly from Amazon by clicking on the links below!
- Aery Jo Tanning Cream #3: Garnet Stone
- Aery Jo Bronzer Powder
- Aero Tan Shimmer Powder
- Makeup Brush
- (optional) Tanning Mitt
- Makeup Setting Spray
Tanning Tips
- Make sure your skin is clean, exfoliated, and dry! The cream has a tendency to be a little sticky, and when you’re tanning for latin dance competitions, you don’t want the cream to pull off any dry skin or collect in streaks on the surface of your skin. We suggest taking a shower to exfoliate in the morning and just make sure you’re completely dry when you start to tan. If you happen to be sweaty when you start tanning, it’s going to be even more difficult to make it even.
- Use latex gloves to keep your hands clean. Kora doesn’t bother with this, but some people swear by it. She has used latex gloves in the past, but she finds herself tanning for latin dance competitions so often that maintaining a supply of latex gloves is just an inconvenience for her. Try out both methods and decide for yourself.
- Don’t shave the day of! This is counter-intuitive, but in Kora’s experience, applying tanning on freshly shaved legs makes the tanning streaky. That is because the skin on your shins and thighs is a waxy type of skin, and becomes slippery when freshly shaven. Having a day’s worth of growth is the sweet spot for a beautifully brown latin tan. It grips the cream better, but is still small enough so that the growth is not visible.
- After tanning, wear loose fitting clothes. The method Kora is going to teach you uses topical tanning products. This means that if, after tanning, you wear clothing that will rub against your skin, the tanning will rub off. Kora has a special, loose-fitted jumpsuit that she wears while warming up and up until the time she changes into her costume.
- DO NOT apply the tanning cream to your face. Use proper liquid foundation and powder for your face. The tanning cream simply doesn’t work correctly on your face and will leave you looking very strange.
The Tanning Process
Alright, now it’s time to start the tanning process. Kora puts on two thick coats of the tanning cream when tanning for latin dance competitions, but she likes to spread out the coats so the bottom layer has time to sink into her skin. Apply your first layer of tanning after you’ve done your hair (if possible) but before you do your makeup.
1. Layer Number 1
Make sure you take a cloth and wipe down the skin behind your ears, on the back of your neck, and your shoulder-blades. Those areas tend to collect the most hairspray residue. Begin by squirting out a quarter-sized blob of tanning cream onto your fingers and rub it into your legs. Work from the bottom, up. Using brisk, circular motions, continue to rub the cream in until it is even. Add more if necessary. Try to feather out the edges of the area you’ve been working on so it’s easier to blend when you go back for more tanning cream. Tan your arms last, as they do the most work and the tanning will tend to crease at the armpits and elbow-pits when working the tanning in to the rest of your body. Now, put on that loose-fitting outfit and continue with your makeup.
2. Layer Number 2
After you’ve finished your makeup, it’s time to apply layer number two! Repeat the same process you used with Layer Number 1, but be very careful that you don’t allow the cream to sit on top of the skin for too long before rubbing in. Work quickly, without pressing too hard. Sometimes, the second layer of cream can have a tendency to strip away the first layer, which is exactly what we want to avoid! Although you are still going to use the same brisk motions, try to keep the motions in straight lines this time instead of circular. Double check the backs of your knees, your elbow joints, the back of your neck, and behind your ears. You may need your partner to apply the tanning to your back. Also, make sure you extend the tanning up your butt-cheeks a bit. When we dance, our leotards can ride or move around, and the last thing you want is the movement of the leotard to reveal the line where you stopped the tanning cream.
3. Aery Jo Bronzing Powder
Applying this powder has two purposes. First, the powder will set the cream so that it doesn’t rub off as easily. Second, it will deepen the color and mattify the tan. When you are tanning for latin dance competitions, you have to remember that we are looking for matte and golden. Shimmer is good, shine is bad. So use the bronzing powder to create a matte base for the golden shimmer to go on top.
The bronzing powder can be a little tricky to work with. Use a large makeup brush for this process. Dip the bristles of the brush into the container, shake off the excess, and draw the powder lightly across your skin. Then, using circular motions, blend the powder in. Kora suggests doing this in the bathroom or even in the shower stall if it’s big enough, because the powder will drip on the floor and it’s a pain to get out of carpet. Repeat this process for all of the tanned skin, paying special attention to blending at your jawline, where the tanning cream and your face’s makeup meet.
4. Aery Jo Shimmer Powder
After applying the bronzing powder, reach for your shimmer powder. For this part of the application, Kora uses a compact powder applicator in order to rub in the shimmer powder more. However, you can use a makeup brush, too; but you will find that the shimmer is not as obvious with the makeup brush. Hands work also!
The shimmer powder is even more difficult to work with. Using the compact powder applicator, dip the soft side down into the powder, and shake off the powder over a large area of your skin. Then, pressing lightly and using soft sweeping motions, blend in the shimmer powder. It’s important not to use too much. If used too much, the shimmer powder will overpower the color of the tan, making you look like a liquid gold cream just vomited on you. We’re looking for a brown tan with a hint of golden shimmer, not a walking gold-leafed statue!
5. Makeup Setting Spray
To set the tan, spritz all of the tanned parts of your body with a makeup setting spray. Apply the setting spray more heavily on parts of the body that sweat more. Remember to wear loose-fitting clothes up until the time you put on your costume. You’ll notice that Kora does not tan her toes in the pictures That’s because her toes tend to sweat while she’s warming up, and she rubs in a coat or two of tanning just before walking onto the floor.
A Long Lasting Tan
When it comes to sweat, this tanning process wins. The only issue Kora has is the fact that the tanning products are topical. That means in all of the places where there is rubbing, the tanning wears off. This includes her ankles where her shoe straps rub, as well as the spot where her ankles rub together while dancing. She has a movement in her Paso Doble where she spins and drops into a kneeling position on the floor, which invariably wears a white spot onto the top of her arch. And often, Simeon’s arm on her back with often create a white spot on her back.
These spots are fixed with more tanning cream and powder to blend in between rounds. We never go to a competition without bringing our tanning supplies with us! But as you can see in the picture to the left, the tanning lasts through two sweaty rounds easily! That is a picture of Kora AFTER the competition, after her warm up and two rounds of competing. As you can see, the tanning survived beautifully.
Do you have another method of tanning you’ve used?
We would love to hear if you have another method or another product that you recommend. Throughout our years of competing, we’ve certainly tried a number of them. For a breakdown and explanation of the two different categories of tanning products, check out this article here. Please remember to subscribe to our newsletter and check us out on our social media channels. Thanks for reading!
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