As most competitive ballroom dancers know, it is important to look the part on the dance floor. These days, that means going beyond costumes, hair and make-up. It means looking tan. Unfortunately, most of us are not born with the dark caramel skin tones we'd like, nor do we have the time to lie and bake in the sun (plus with all the fears of skin cancer, most of us wouldn't anyways).

For all the reasons above we turn to "fake tanning". Your first option is to go to a tanning salon and use a booth or a bed. In this case you are building a gradual, natural tan by continually exposing yourself to UV light. Your tanning salon professional will advise you on the appropriate amount of time for someone with your skin tone to spend in a booth. While many people choose this route as it avoids messes, unnatural color, orange palms and streaks, it is important to remember the dangers of UV tanning. You are exposing your skin to ultra-violet rays and therefore damaging your skin cells. The youthful dark color you experience now belies the sun damage to your skin. In addition to premature aging, sunspots and wrinkles you are putting yourself at an increased risk of developing melanoma, or skin cancer. So, while it's your choice to make I urge you to consider the consequences of tanning booths.

Just because a natural tan is dangerous, doesn't mean you don't have a "natural looking" alternative. With the advent of sunless tanning, a healthy glow is always at your fingertips. All sunless tanners, whether over the counter at the drugstore, mystic tan at the salon, or pro-tan have one main active ingredient. This ingredient is DHA, or dihydroxyacetone, a carbohydrate that reacts with your top layer of skin (dead skin cells) causing a dark/orange color to appear. The color will last 3 to 7 days depending on the type of tanner and gradually come off as your skin cells slough off. DHA is FDA approved and proven to work safely. It has been used in sunless tanning products since the 1960's. In the early 20th century DHA was used in X-rays, when it was accidentally spilled on skin, its skin darkening properties were accidentally discovered.

Today you have limitless sunless options. For newcomers to sunless tanning, I recommend a moisturizer with tanner that will gradually provide a dark glow with daily continued use. I prefer Jergens Natural Glow in medium skin tone. It has received numerous awards and delivers a fairly natural looking very even color. You will begin to see the color after a few days and the full color with develop after a week or two of use.

What you do have to prepare yourself for it the specific smell of sunless tanner. The smell cannot be washed off as it is a result of the reaction between your skin and DHA however it will fade a few days later and is not so foul as prevent use of the product.

For those who want darker color and faster results there are various affordable sunless tanning products at your local drugstore. Most will cost between 10 and 15 dollars and will last for three or more applications. Especially for beginners it is best to choose a product with instant bronzer because it will help you during application by showing where you have applied the product. There are several tricks to successfully applying sunless tanner. Before applying any tanner it is important to exfoliate your skin with loofah or body scrub to ensure even application. Whether you have a cream, foam, liquid or gel it is important to use brisk circular motions and make sure to cover every area. Wash hands often with warm soap and water during the process to avoid orange palms. Use sparingly on dry areas such as elbows knees and ankles. If you choose to use a spray, especially one without bronzer you must be confident that you have sprayed evenly your entire body otherwise you will come out in blotches or stripes. After application wait until you dry before dressing. Most manufacturers recommend that you want 4-6 hours before showering, swimming or sweating. Some newer products are waterproof. You will get best results if you wait overnight before showering off your tanner. The color will develop gradually you will begin to see it after about 2 hours and it will continue to develop for up to 24 hours. If you are not satisfied with the darkness of your color you many apply another coat (however, do not exfoliate again). Many latin dance competitors apply 3, 4 as many as 6 coats of tanner before their competition. After having tried several over the counter brands, my personal recommendation is L'oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self Tanning Lotion. It has a light non-greasy gel like formula, a pleasant smell and it goes on evenly with great results (it's even waterproof)! The only thing is that it is sparkly so it may not be the best choice for men.

A slightly more expensive but mess-free option is Mystic Tan available now at most local tanning salons. It uses the same ingredient, DHA but it is an automated spray tan done in a special booth. A single session will cost 20 to 30 dollars and is usually not sufficient for competitive dancers. A second session maybe desired. Again, it is important to exfoliate prior to the session and follow all provided instructions.

Still, for many competitive dancers none of the above options provide enough pigment. They opt for a more professional product called Pro-tan. It is also DHA based, comes in a liquid form and needs to be applied with special sponges. Several coats are usually desired and the bottle is slightly pricier than over the counter tanners. It can be purchased online on dance retail websites or at some specialty ballroom stores.

If you are completely opposed to altering your skin, your last choice is a bronzer/make-up type product. You put it on the day of the competition and was it off in the shower. While these type of products (Profi-tan) can provide nice color, their downside is that they tend to streak and run when the dancer sweats.

So consider your options well, but do us all a favor and don't show up on the dance floor pale!