How Tanning Beds Work

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Tanning beds were first introduced in America in 1978 and quickly became all the rage, becoming very popular in the mid-1980’s. While various tanning health concerns regarding the use of tanning beds caused somewhat of a dip in their usage in the intervening years, tanning beds are gaining in popularity once more, thanks to the advanced technology that today’s manufacturers is incorporating into the production of tanning beds and booths.

With this technology, people no longer quickly dismiss tanning beds as unsafe, as what some tanning myths make them out to be. Armed with intense technological research, tanning bed manufacturers are now making sure that you get the lowest level of UV rays possible so as not to put you at risk of getting skin cancer.

But how exactly do tanning beds work?

All tanning beds, whether it’s a home tanning bed or those in a tanning salon, have lamps that provide UV or Ultraviolet radiation. They have both UVB and UVA rays, but it is the UVB rays that stimulate the production of melanin, which brings the dark color to your skin. The UV light is almost exactly like sunlight, except that you don’t get nearly as much of it in the short amount of time you spend laying in the bed. Still, you can get sunburn if you stay too long in one, which is why it’s important to follow instructions of tanning salons, and ask essential tanning questions as well before jumping into a tanning bed.

The UVA rays, on the other hand, oxidize the melanin produced by the UVB rays and help produce the golden color that your skin changes to. It is the UVA rays that make up the lamps in the tanning bed.

For people who are only beginning to use beds for tanning, it would be best to start with a conventional bed. To develop a base tan, it is advisable that you tan three to five times a week, at 20 to 30 minutes per session, for about a month. Afterwards, you can tan for only about 3 times a week to maintain your color. Then you can continue tanning all-year round for as long as you want to keep your tan perfect, even during the winter months.

Another type of bed that is more commonly in use now is the high pressure tanning bed. These beds are unique in the sense that they do not use UVB rays at all, and instead rely only on UVA rays to give you that bronze tan you so desire. High pressure refers to the atmosphere inside of the lamps or the bulbs that are made out of quartz. The air pressure allows the lamp to filter out all of the UVB rays that normally produce a sunburn if overused. You end up with a tan that is deeper and longer lasting which is what many of the people want nowadays.

With a high pressure tanning bed, developing a base tan is a much quicker process. For just 10 to 12 minutes per session, three to five times over the course of 10 to 14 days, you get not only a quicker tan but a better-looking one as well. You can also opt for a tan accelerator to increase the quality and speed of your tan. If you apply it both before and after your tanning session, the results are much quicker. Also, it will keep your skin more moisturized as opposed to not using tanning lotions at all.