Tanning Basics

What You May Not Know About Tanning Indoors

Tanning Tip #1: If you are just beginning to tan, remember to start out conservative. Whatever you do, you don't want to burn- you cannot tan on top of a burn and you will have to start over.

The old saying "I always burn first and then I tan" is completely false, it simply does not have to be this way. If you burn, your skin is telling you that it's getting too much sun, and then you will peel.

So start out with a low number of minutes and work your way up. If you have fair skin but do have the ability to tan, you should not go more than 6-7 minutes your first time in a standard 20 minute tanning bed (also known as a Level 1 tanning bed).

For stronger beds with shorter tan times, you would go for even less minutes.

Tanning Tip #2: Tan once every 24-48 hours to build your base. Depending on how well your skin is doing, you can decide whether you can go once a day or once every other day (talk with one of our Tanning Consultants about your tanning goals). A good rule of thumb is if your skin is not pink within the 24 hours after your session, you can probably go again the next day without any problem. If your skin is pink, feels dry and itchy, or you get a rash, this is a signal that you went for too many minutes and need to take a break until it feels better and then start over again.

Tanning Tip #3: Once you build up your base, you really don't need to tan as often. So depending on the type of bed you are using, you should only go 2-3 times per week to keep your tan, even less in stronger beds. Tanning every day is not necessary.

Many people enjoy the relaxation time that tanning provides, but tanning too often can and will speed up your aging process and potentially cause other skin ailments over a long period of time.

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