Tanning Beds, Lamps

A tanning bed or sunbed is a device emitting ultraviolet radiation (typically 95% UVA and 5% UVB, +/-3%) used to produce a cosmetic tan. There are a few units called "high pressure" beds that generate only UVA, but these are much less common and much more expensive. more...

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Regular tanning beds use several fluorescent lamps that have phosphor blends designed to emit UV in a spectrum that is somewhat similar to the sun. Smaller home tanning beds usually have 12 to 28 100 watt lamps, while systems found in salons can run from 24 to 60 lamps each consuming 100 to 200 watts.

The maximum exposure time in most tanning beds is 20 minutes, but varies from bed to bed. This is calculated by the manufacturer according to the amount of time needed to produce 4 MEDs (minimal erythemal doses). This is essentially 4 times the amount of UV that is required to produce a reddening on unexposed skin. A person would start with a much shorter session time and work their way to the maximum exposure time in about 4 weeks. Every tanning bed is required to have a "Recommended Exposure Schedule" on both the front of the tanning bed and in the owners manual. It must also list the original lamp that was certified for that particular tanning bed, and salon owners must replace the lamps with either the exact same lamp, or a lamp that is certified by the lamp manufacturer to be legally equivalent. Lamp replacement and salon compliance is regulated by the individual state in the USA, whereas the manufacturing and sale of new equipment is regulated by the federal government.

Since many factors can change the performance of any given individual lamp, the FDA requires that every tanning bed model is certified separately, and lamps themselves do not have MED ratings. Lamps do have typical TE (or Time Exposure) ratings, but these are not used for certifying beds. Session times on beds can range from 5 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on many factors.

Because of several adverse effects on human health, the World Health Organization does not recommend the use of UV tanning devices for cosmetic reasons. For example, using a sunbed without goggles may lead to a condition known as arc eye.

Typical Usage

Tanning beds are used for somewhat different reasons in the US than in Europe. In the US, tanning is more seasonal, where most users begin in January and stop or slow down by June. It is most often used as a way to jump start the tanning process, so that once the summer begins, they can go to the beach or enjoy other outdoor activies and already have a significant base tan build up. This is also why tanning lotions and bronzers are more commonly used in the US.

Europeans may enjoy tanning seasonally, but less so than Americans. This is due to many areas in Europe having significantly less days of sunshine than the USA, so Europeans are more likely to use a tanning bed all year long, for both the cosmetic and mood altering benefits. European tanning beds generally use a different type of lamp as well, with UVB ratings in the 1% to 3% range (using US measuring methods) whereas most tanning beds sold in the US use 4.2% to 6.5% UVB ratings, and aftermarket lamps with up to 8.5% or higher being popular. Of course, these lamps have less UVA and will produce a sunburn quicker, but many Americans seem to like them because a short session produces a "reddening", or instant gratification. These lamps actually produce a slower deep tan (but a faster base tan) that fades faster, but are simply marketed as "hotter", although technically they have about the same amount of UV but with different ratios of UVA and UVB.

Read more at Wikipedia.org