5 Best Tanning Bed Tips

My husband and I owned and operated the #1 Tanning Salon in Charlotte for over 12 years. During that time, we developed a certification program for training Tanning Bed operators that was endorsed by the State. In searching out a good tanning bed, it is important to do 5 things:

1-Begin low on your time, and build up
2-Tan every other day at most
3-Cover skin that has never been exposed for 1/2 the time
4-Find a bed with 2% UVB rays
5-Ask how often they change their tanning bulbs

1- Beginning low on your time prevents red striping and over-exposure. If you burn in a tanning bed, it itches something awful instead of hurting like a regular sunburn. That is because your body is producing melanin - the pigment in your skin that we call a tan. If you produce melanin too fast, you itch. If you are itching, DO NOT return to the tanning bed until 24 hours after the itching has completely subsided. In addition, reduce your time from your previous session.
If you get out of a bed and have red stripes or itching, the best solution is to get an Aveno Oatmeal Bath and soak for 20 minutes. This will usually get rid of the itching - but not the redness. Wait until all redness has been gone for 24 hours, before returning to a tanning bed.

2- Tanning every other day helps prevent the above, as well as will give you a better tan more quickly. Why? Because it takes 24 hours for the pigment to go into full production and show up on your skin as your tan. Waiting a day in between insures that you can keep going a build a deep, dark tan the fastest. If you go daily, you are likely to over-expose and have to wait 4-5 days before you can resume tanning. During that time, you will lose much of the progress you made. Also, you should only need to go once or twice a week to maintain your tan.

3- Skin that has never been exposed to sunlight is like baby skin. It has never learned to produce melanin/pigment. No more than you would want to put a baby in direct sunlight for very long, you do not want to expose your most precious skin to sunlight for too long. The best way to tan all over is to begin by wearing a bathing suit or your undergarments for 1/2 the time you are in the tanning bed. Do this the first 6-10 times that you tan. Once you have a good base, you can tan these areas as usual.

4- Finding a bed that puts out about 2% UVB is essential if you want a true tan. The UVB rays are the ones that stimulate the production of melanin and Vitamin D in your skin. If these are missing, you only get a false tan, and no sun protection or vitamin D.

5- Tanning bulbs are not like regular light bulbs. They stop ‘working’ long before they burn out. We were able to get peak performance out of our bulbs for up to about 800-1000 hours. There is a meter on the bed that registers the total hours, so the owner can keep a log. This number won’t tell you anything, but if you have not seen any improvement in your color after a few sessions, look for another salon.