Perfect tans, less COVID cares on Rio de Janeiro rooftop

By DIANE JEANTET
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Women in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas have been taking to their rooftops to get some sun and maintain tan lines during the pandemic. They had no option early, when beaches were closed. But even after the sands reopened, those anxious of catching the coronavirus on crowded seashores have found an alternative at tanning salons like the one that Sabrina Crespo da Silva runs on her rooftop in the Turano favela. She specializes in an increasingly popular technique that involves replacing traditional bikini with electrical tape. In an improvised changing room, da Silva covers her clients’ naked tops and bottoms with pieces of gauze, then fits tape on top as symmetrically as possible. When removed, the tape reveals the coveted crisp lines a looser cloth bikini can’t possibly create.