The bottom line: Brazilians perfect tans with electrical tape bikinis

‘The dream is to have a mark like a neon light.’ A woman tans in a bikini made of black electrical tape at the Erika Bronze rooftop salon in the Rio suburb of Realengo. Photograph: Renata Brito/AP

Summer has arrived in Rio de Janeiro and, away from the city’s beaches, business is booming in the rooftop tanning salons that dot the city’s low-income neighbourhoods. On these sun-soaked terraces, overlooking the urban sprawl and packed with women of all ages and sizes, the accessory of choice is electrical tape.

This unorthodox adornment is the secret to what has become a Rio fashion trademark: crisp bikini tan lines so perfect they are almost fluorescent. But not everyone is a fan. The practice horrifies dermatologists, and some Brazilians consider tape tan lines to be tacky and even vulgar.