Tanning - when to start?

I'm very fair-skinned and am competing in my first show in 9 weeks.  When should I start tanning, to get a base tan?  I'm planning to go to a tanning salon to get sprayed - how often should I go, and how dark?
 
Thanks!

as dark as you can get! So start tanning...the sooner the better....I went to a spray tan booth yesterday and they said the spray tan will look the best if I do it a day or two before the contest(but it really helps to have a good base tan, either from a tanning bed or natural sunlight)....after that I will apply Pro Tan which is one of the most widely used tempory tanners for bodybuilding

Current Stack:
FOOD!
Alive whole food multi
Whey
Creatine
Flax Oil
Vitamin C

How much Pro Tan do you think I need?
 
I have no idea how many coats I'll need to do, so not sure how much to buy.  As I'm sure you know, it comes in 8 oz bottles - should I buy like 4 of em just to be safe?
 
And regarding the base tan, am I right to assume that a spray tan is not sufficient as a base tan?  Does the base tan need to be a "real tan"?  Is a tanning bed safe, as far as UV rays goes?
 
Thanks!

You should not need more then 2 coats usually....one 8oz bottle should be enough.

A spray tan might be an ok base tan....but then again the spray tan will look better if you have somewhat of a natural base tan.

Going to a tanning bed or tanning in the sun without sunscreen (tanning lotions don't have sunscreen in them) its not good for your skin either way, but are you going to have any negative affects after a month or two of tanning? most likely no

Current Stack:
FOOD!
Alive whole food multi
Whey
Creatine
Flax Oil
Vitamin C