Monday, August 31, 2009

Tanning Lamps

By Gail Jones

There are a number of tanning bed bulbs in every tan bed on the market. When you are getting a new, or especially a used or older tanning bed, make a careful examination of the lamps. Ensure that they are real tanning lamps and meet the FDA regulations with regard to health and safety. You should also estimate how easy it is to get at the bulbs. Make sure that the bulbs are easy to change when the time comes. It is very important, and a lot cheaper, if you can perform such routine maintenance yourself, if you buy a home sun bed.

There are two completely different kinds of lamps used in low pressure and high pressure beds. Make sure you buy the right tanning bed lamps for your sun bed, because you cannot use any bulbs you like. If you are ordering replacement bulbs on the Internet, check the make and model of your existing bed carefully. Make sure that the lamps you are buying are made for your bed.

High Pressure Sunbed Bulbs: high pressure beds use quartz lamps in various sizes. The gases used in these bulbs are pressurized to slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. The lamps in these beds are located in the top of the bed, so that you tan from above only. When you have tanned the skin on one side of your body for about 10-12 minutes, you turn over and tan the other side. The flat bed of these devices is a lot more comfortable than a conventional sun bed.

The biggest advantage of these bulbs is the short time you need to spend on the bed. Since you tan faster, you need to spend less time in the salon, which means it works out cheaper. You can achieve the level of tan you want in about three weeks of three to five sessions each week. With a conventional bed, it would take you at least a month to acquire the same depth of colour. Maintaining your tan is much easier too. You only need two or three sessions a month to maintain the colour, compared with that many sessions every week on a conventional bed. Many of these bulbs produce UVA rays only, not UVB rays which are responsible for burning.

Conventional Tanning Bed Bulbs: Conventional, or low pressure sunbeds use long tube lamps that resemble regular fluorescent tubes. The lamps are located above and below the tanning bed, which means that all the body parts are browned at the together, without having to roll over during the tanning session.

Conventional beds use UVA and UVB rays in varying mixes. Some use both rays and others emit mostly UVA with some UVB rays. UVA rays are the cause of the (premature) ageing effects on the skin and UVB rays are the burning rays that cause skin burn when you are outside in the sun. It is very important to discover which type of rays your sun bed's bulbs emit. You must ensure you replace your existing bulbs with the same new lamps after about 1,000 hours of use.

Something else to think about when selecting the type of bed you use at home or in the salon, is the tanning bed lotion you will use. Different lotions suit different sorts of beds. The owner of your tanning salon can help you select a lotion that will work for the bed you are using and your skin type. Regardless of the bed you use, you ought to definitely always use a lotion or a cream, because they will moisturise your skin and help you get a Hollywood tan more quickly.

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