Three Tips to a Better Tan

If you have a home tanning bed or if you are considering tanning at a tanning salon, you want to make sure you get the best possible tan. Following are three tips to get a better tan when using a home or commercial tanning bed.

Use a tanning accelerator – Most indoor tanning lotions have ingredients that help you produce more melanin while tanning. More melanin produced means a darker tan. Tanning lotions also have ingredients to keep your skin moisturized during and after your tanning session.

Use a daily moisturizer – Tanning in tanning beds causes most people to sweat. This can make your skin dry if you are not using an accelerator or a moisturizer to replenish the moisture lost. Having dry skin can actually deflect the UV tanning rays and if this happens, you are not getting the most out of your tanning session.

Do not overexpose – I know we live in a society where we want to get the most out of what we pay for. This can be a negative when trying to achieve the best tan. For example, you pay $8.00 for a tanning session and the maximum time on that tanning bed is 20 minutes. The tanning salon attendent makes a recommendation of 12-14 minutes based on your skin type. You argue that you can go in longer and actually talk them into the full 20 minutes. If you burn, your skin will exfoliate faster and you will end up back at the beginning. Building a tan is a gradual process. It is better to gradually build up your tan than to be overexposed.

Why Use Indoor Tanning Lotions

Most indoor tanning lotions contain ingredients that will actually help your skin produce more melanin. One of these main ingredients is called L-Tyrosine. When you are exposed to ultraviolet light, your melanocyte cells start to absorb this L-tyrosine and will actually produce more melanin. When this melanin oxidizes, it turns brown. So having more melanin being produced by your body will get you more tan.

Some of today’s indoor tanning lotion accelerators also contain bronzers, tingle, cooling and sunless ingredient in them. Each of these ingredients does a completely different thing and you should choose the tanning lotion that will work best for you.

A tingle lotion or “hot” lotion as some people call them should be used only by people who have reached their tanning plateau and cannot get any darker. These “hot” tingle lotions will help stimulate circulation by bringing the blood toward the surface of the skin. You will notice that your skin gets a reddish color when using these “tingle” lotions and you will also feel a slight tingling sensation.

Tanning lotions that contain bronzers help tint your skin with plant derived ingredients. Using a bronzer lotion while tanning will give you that extra color you need if you are needing to look as dark as possible that same day. Lotions with the sunless ingredient called DHA is similar to a bronzer except that this DHA is the type of ingedient found in spray booths and airbrush tanning solutions. It will tint your skin as a bronzer and will last a few days longer.

Another main reason to use tanning lotions is because when you are tanning, you start sweating. Sweating this moisture out of your skin will also cause your skin to become dry. Most indoor tanning lotions have moisturizers to keep your skin moisturized even while tanning. Using an after tan moisturizer is also very highly recommended.

Editor’s Note: Please remember that “Indoor Tanning Lotion” contains no sunscreen and provides no protection from the sun.

Budget For The Off-Season

The tanning salon industry can be a prosperous one, but it is important to expect that, while tanning salons make the most money during spring and summer months, slow months occur in the fall and winter. Many salon owners who don’t make it through the off-season don’t realize that a budget would have saved them from having to close their doors. Budgeting during the tanning season is extremely important. Don’t get caught without security money in the off-season. Plan for expenditures that will keep your business running by budgeting for basic operating costs, equipment, and supplies.

Just because money is rolling in during the season does not mean it can be spent frivolously. Putting money aside for basic operating costs should be a primary goal heading into the off-season. If you plan for the basics you will be able to successfully manage your tanning salon without having to close up shop.

Obviously, without the basics, your business would easily close. Rent is the first of the basic costs. It is important to have at least 2 to 3 months of rent saved up for the off-season. If you have a few really bad off-season months, at least you’ll have saved up enough money to keep your doors open without your landlord re-taking possession. You want to keep your salon doors open; otherwise, you will not be making any money to keep the salon afloat during these rough times.

Basic costs such as electric, phone and employee salaries are also extremely important. For utilities, such as electric and phone, You should save up at least one third of what you spend on these during the busy season. In other words, if you’re spending $1000 a month on utilities, you will want to put away $333 for the off-season. Your utilities will probably not be a third of your cost during the off-season, but it will help cushion the expense.

Tanning salon owners tend to forget that, not only do they need to keep basic operating costs going, they must continue to maintenance equipment and keep them running for customers during the off-season. These customers are of utmost importance because without them, you will not survive the off-season. Without keeping up with the maintenance on your equipment, like changing lamps, acrylics, etc. the customers will be turned off and either find another place to tan, or stop tanning altogether. Budgeting for lamps, acrylics and other equipment maintenance items will keep your salon in tip-top shape during the off-season. Not only that, but your salon will be ready for the busy months without having to scramble to put cash together to get everything in operating order for the season.

Survive the dreaded off-season simply by putting money aside. With these few areas of your business that need budgeting, you will be better poised for the off-season and will likely see another successful year.

Maintaining Your Tanning Beds: Cleaning Tips

1. Every four to six weeks, you should open up the ballast tray.  This is where all of the electrical components are held.  Vacuum any dust or dirt that has accumulated. Dirt can sometimes cause electrical fires, so this is definitely a must.

2. The tanning lamps also accumulate dust and the dust clings to the lamp itself. This thin layer of dust will prevent some of the ultraviolet light being produced by the lamp from penetrating through, hindering the results of the tanning session. Keeping the lamps and reflectors under the lamps clean will give you the best tanning results.

3. Tanning Beds with Facial bulbs: When cleaning the tanning lamps, you also should clean the blue filter glass that covers up the facial bulb. If you wipe down the facial bulb as well, you need to be real careful not to touch it with your bare hands. The oils in your hand will cause the lamp to burn up when it is turned on again. If you accidentally touch the facial bulb, just wipe it down with an alcohol swab.

4. Starters: A starter is what ignites the tanning lamp. These starters should be replaced every other lamp change. If you have tanning beds in a tanning salon, you should be replacing these regularly. If you have a tanning bed in your home and haven’t changed lamps yet, you may want to replace these starters at the same time you replace the tanning lamps.

5. Acrylics: When cleaning your tanning lamps and you have these acrylic shields off, you should wipe them down on both sides. Just a little layer of dust will prevent some of the ultraviolet light from passing through, affecting the results of your tanning session.