Tag Archives | tanning

UV Tanning Tips

By admin on October 16, 2011 in Tanning - all

10 UV Tanning tips for your next visit to a tanning salon.

A while ago I was asked to write an article about UV tanning tips for the new Directory of Tanning Salons in USA.

They liked the article and asked me to publish it also in EZineArticles.com. That is why I can also re-publish it here on The TanningGurus Blog and make the translations to a couple of other languages.

Indoor UV tanning can be wonderful and beneficial if you know how to do it correctly.

Here are 10 UV tanning tips that will help you to get the most out of your visit to a tanning salon.

UV tanning tip 1: Select your salon. Believe it or not, but UV tanning can be one of the best skin-care and overall health beneficial activities you can provide for your body. You just have to get the right individual advice of how to do it correctly. Even if you follow all tips on this page, you will need professional advice at the tanning salon of your choice. Therefore, select to visit salons that have trained staff that can give you individual advice. Cleanness, modernity of equipment, the changing of lamps at regular intervals and the general atmosphere, are also important features when you make your choice of salon.

UV tanning tip 2: Know your skin type. To know your skin-type is very important for a good result and safe tanning. The amount of melanin in your skin, together with your goal for your tanning, will determine your tanning program and which kind of tanning lotions you should use. If you are skin-type 2, you will need to build up more melanin in order to develop a deeper tan. If you are skin-type 3 or 4, you might just want to darken you existing melanin with UVA-rays (but remember, this will not give you any Vitamin D).

UV tanning tip 3: Decide your tanning goals. Do you want the darkest possible color, or do you want a combination of Vitamin D and a healthy glow? Maybe you want to prepare your skin for a sunny vacation? Tell your tanning goals to the staff in the salon so they can give you suitable advice.

UV tanning tip 4: Which kind of UV-rays? Find a tanning salon with tanning beds (and staff) that can meet your goals. Remember that UVA-rays from high-pressure lamps only oxidize the existing melanin in your skin and do not produce any Vitamin D or build up any additional melanin in order to prepare the skin for further tanning. UVB-rays from low-pressure lamps, on the other hand, make the body produce both Vitamin D and more melanin. The amount of UVB in low-pressure lamps can vary. Look for a tanning bed with at least 3% UVB (in relation to UVA) for best result in shortest time. The staff in the salon should be able to guide you.

UV tanning tip 5: Do NOT burn your skin! Always stay on the safe side of burning your skin when tanning in a tanning bed (this goes of course also for tanning under the open sun). Even if you want to get as dark as possible, do not take any risks with too long tanning sessions in too strong tanning beds. You must let your skin get used to tanning slowly. Use the UVB rays to build up more melanin and use tanning lotions with bronzers and other active tan- and skin- care ingredients to help your skin stay young and healthy also after many years of tanning. Follow a tanning schedule advised by the staff in the tanning salon, and you should be fine.

UV tanning tip 6: Always use tanning lotions! Always use tanning lotions specially made for indoor tanning in tanning beds. The role of such lotions is to keep you skin well moisturized, provide anti-oxidation and rejuvenation as well as add bronzing tan-enhancers. Good indoor tanning lotions should have a rich moisturizing base (preferably Aloe vera or coconut milk), a fair amount of other active skin-caring ingredients (preferably with silicone to lock them and the moisture into the skin) and bronzers to assist the tanning process. There are three different kinds of bronzers, each with a specific task:

Natural bronzers (with Tyrosine) to speed up the natural production of melanin.
Delayed bronzers (with DHA and/or Erythrulose) that oxidize existing melanin.
Cosmetic coloring bronzers that dye your skin more brown (just like coloring your hair).

Delayed bronzers and cosmetic coloring bronzers work also without UV-light and are therefore common in self-tanning lotions.

Tingle lotions can be used carefully in order to provide more oxygen to the tanning process.

Remember – having a smooth, healthy and well moisturized skin that absorbs the UV-light, can make your session double as effective than when having a dry and wrinkled skin that reflects the UV-rays. Always buy your lotion in your tanning salon. Only then can you be sure of the quality and get professional advice on how to find and use the right lotion for your skin-type and goals.

UV tanning tip 7: Protect your eyes! Always use special goggles during your tanning session. Just closing the eyes will not prevent the UV-rays from harming your eye-sight. The goggles must have a broad-spectrum protection towards both UVA and UVB. Even if you believe that the staff in your tanning salon follows the highest hygienic standards for the goggles they provide, it is better to buy your own, personal, goggles in your salon. Ordinary sun-glasses are not suitable for indoor tanning in tanning beds.

UV tanning tip 8: When to shower? It is better to take a shower before your sunbed session than directly after. The reason for this is that when you apply the tanning lotion, your skin should be as clean as possible. Furthermore, if you use lotions with delayed and/or cosmetic coloring bronzers, they need to stay on the skin for at least four hours in order to give the optimal benefits.

UV tanning tip 9: Horizontal or vertical? This is mainly a matter of taste. Many prefer horizontal beds because you can relax better during the tanning session. Others prefer vertical tanning units because you can move around in order to increase the blood-circulation for a more even color without white pressure marks. The choice is yours (if your salon offers the alternatives).

UV tanning tip 10: Respect your fellow tanners. Be quick and efficient in the tanning booth before and after your session. (But don’t stress since tanning should be a relaxing experience). Make it easy for the tanning salon staff to clean after you by picking up and dispose of any paper, empty tanning lotions packets etc.

Please be aware of that the tips above are valid for you only if you are in normal condition. In case you are suffering from any medical problems, you better first consult your doctor before using indoor UV-tanning.

Hopefully you found the tips for indoor UV tanning useful and, if so, please share them with your friends.

This article is provided by Goran Olsson as a contribution to the unique directory of tanning salons in USA.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Goran_Olsson

Please feel free to copy and use this article about UV Tanning Tips from article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6603338

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How Tanning Can Make You Healthy?

By admin on July 22, 2011 in Tanning - all

Can tanning really make you healthy?

Today there are two totally opposite opinions among people about tanning:

Tanning is dangerous because you can get skin-cancer from it; and
Tanning is healthy because it will give you Vitamin D

The fact is that both opinions above about tanning are right but the second is more right than the first.

Like with almost all good and healthy treats, having too much tanning can be negative. Consuming any vitamin, medicine, healthy food or food supplement, in small doses are good for your health, however taking too much can give you serious side-effects.

To determine the correct amount you can safely take of a food-supplement or medicine is difficult because it varies from person to person depending on many different individual circumstances. To regulate your tanning is easier; the most important factor is to be sure to stay well clear from burning your skin.

That is also one of the reasons why tanning is the preferred way to raise your level of Vitamin D. Tanning is also the only natural way for your body to absorb Vitamin D. If Vitamin D was meant to take by swallowing it, Vitamin D would have been present in a mother’s milk. Since all other nourishment needed for a newborn are present in a mother’s milk, except Vitamin D, it gives us a hint of how nature wants us to get it in another way, namely by tanning.

During the last five years, modern medical science has confirmed what our ancestors always knew – sunshine and tanning are necessary for human life. Modern science has also identified Vitamin D as one of the hormones responsible for the healing process that is trigged by sunlight. Exposing your naked skin to UVB rays (270 – 315/320 nanometers wavelength, with the Vitamin D creation peaking at 297 nm), is the most natural and safest way for your body to start its own production of Vitamin D. It is not necessary and likely not 100% safe, to take Vitamin D as food supplement or to drink huge amounts of fortified milk. Tanning is the best solution to get Vitamin D.

So now maybe you are convinced to get healthy by raising your Vitamin D level by tanning, you just have to find the all-important UVB-rays.

If it is summertime or perhaps if you live close to the equator, this will be easy. During the rest of the year, it is more difficult. The farther from the equator you are, the more problematic it is to find UVB in nature. The sun has to be at an angle of 50 degrees above the horizon for the short UVB rays to reach the earth and the sky must be clear and free from pollution.

The Vitamin D you managed to get by tanning in the right way during the summer will disappear at the same pace as your skin loses its tanned color. My own experience is that it takes about six weeks without tanning for my level of Vitamin D to go from very high to insufficient.

There is also a way to stay healthy during the “flu-season”, by visiting a tanning salon. The tanning lamp emitting UVB (together with UVA), is probably the most important health-improving invention during the last 50 years. It is an invention well worth a Nobel Prize.

Unfortunately and for reasons described in several other articles and posts on my blog, indoor tanning has become the main target for the “sun-scare” lobby. A few person’s obsession to get as dark as possible by abusing the means of indoor tanning, is motivating a fierce anti-tanning campaign. The fact is, however, that regular and moderate indoor tanning is probably the best way to stay healthy during the time when UVB cannot be found in nature.

A regular tanning regime is good for your health, but you have to help your skin to stay smooth and healthy in order for the tanning sessions to work. Using dedicated tanning lotions (without SPF) of good quality, preferably based on Aloe Vera, will keep your skin young and smooth while tanning in moderation.

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Do you know how to tan?

By admin on February 7, 2010 in Tanning - all

Do you know how to tan in the right way to get all the benefits from time spent basking in the sun?

If you are like most people, you probably believe that you should avoid the midday sun and that you always have to apply a sun-protection (SPF) lotion before and several times during your time under the sun.

Unfortunately, this way of tanning is a guarantee for NOT getting any Vitamin-D benefits at all from the sun and if you read on, I will tell you why this is not the best way to tan.

But first, for those of you who are not interested in why and just want to know the solution, here is the short version of how to optimize your Vitamin-D tanning. Continue Reading →

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Hello tanners!

By admin on September 10, 2009 in Tanning - all

It’s no use to deny it – I am devoted to tanning for health and Vitamin D. Not only to my healthy tanning but mainly to yours. Therefore I am starting this blog in order to share with you my thoughts about tanning and how you can get the most out of your time in the solarium or under the sun. For more details about me, see my biography

Mostly I will write about Vitamin D and about tanning lotions. Those subjects have become my specialty since a couple of years back. I will write about how to tan for Vitamin D and about the ingredients and quality of tanning lotions. This will help every tanner to tan right and how to select the correct lotion for every tanning purpose.

The “Black Marketing” campaign from dermatologists sponsored by large manufacturers of chemical sunscreen lotions is another topic which I will give my view on.

I will make no secret of my connection to Devoted Creations and their European web-shop at www.lotionsdirect.com. For reasons that you soon will be aware of when you follow this blog, I consider the lotions from Devoted Creations superior to any others.

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