Evidence of this can be clearly seen throughout time and across cultures. The women of ancient Greece and Rome used lead-based cosmetics to lighten their complexions. Modern-day Japanese geishas continue the tradition of their forebears by wearing white makeup. In Elizabethan England, women actually used to paint faint blue lines on their faces to lend a translucent quality to their complexions. Even the belles of America’s South wouldn’t step one foot outside during daylight hours without their trusty parasols.

The preoccupation with pale shifted dramatically in the mid-1920s when French designer Coco Chanel sported a golden bronze tan at a fashion show after cruising from Paris to Cannes. Around the same time, Josephine Baker, an African American singer from St. Louis, Missouri, was taking France by storm. Star-struck fashionistas, in an attempt to emulate Chanel and Baker, began a love affair with the sun-kissed look that continues today.

Just as the golden glow can trace its roots to Europe, so too can indoor tanning. The first indoor tanning equipment was developed in Europe as a means to treat medical disorders. Unfortunately, those early tanning bed lamps emitted harmful ultraviolet B (UVB) light, resulting in poor results and potentially dangerous burns.

In 1972, West German scientist Friedrich Wolff altered the wavelength of the light spectrum and was able to isolate ultraviolet A (UVA) rays. Unlike UVB rays, the long wavelength UVA rays produced tanning rather than burns. After spending three years developing this new technology, indoor tanning was introduced in Europe where it gained immediate acceptance.

In 1978, Wolff’s tanning bed lamp technology was incorporated into the design and manufacture of commercial tanning beds in the United States. The popularity of indoor tanning and the use of both commercial and residential tanning beds continues to grow at a tremendous clip.

According to the Indoor Tanning Industry, there are approximately 25,000 indoor tanning facilities throughout the United States that employ 160,000 people and contribute $5 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

About the author:
Doug Tyler, an authority in the Tanning Bed Industry with over 17 years of experience owns MasterTanning.com, a premiere Tanning Bed provider that also offers consumer information on the benefits of tanning and heliotherapy.

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There are solutions to the problem of harmful UV sunlight that allow you to have all of the aesthetic benefits of a rich tan without the harmful side effects. The answer is in the types of tanning products you use to care for your skin while in the sun and after. Pre-Tanning Preparation It is always good to keep your skin moisturized. Cold weather and dry air can dry it out as well as salt water and chlorine. Always protect your skin with moisturizers day and night. They are most effective if applied immediately following a shower because the skin is moist and freshly exfoliated from washing.

Before going out in the sun, even in the winter, it is important to protect skin with a moisturizer that has a SPF protection factor of 15 or more. This rating is how many times more protected skin is than if it had nothing on it. It is so important to protect the face because it is more susceptible to sunburn. Tanning Beds Tanning beds are only slightly less harmful to the skin that the actual sun. However, there are tanning bed lotions meant especially for tanning beds that give a deeper tone to the skin and protect it at the same time. Artificial tanning bed light bulbs are extremely strong, and that is why you can tan in just a few minutes per session. This also prepares the skin to deepen in colour each time you go to the beach.

Many salons have tanning booths where you stand or beds where you lie down and get all areas of the body tan at once. This is a good place to go if you are planning to go on vacation to a warm weather climate in the middle of winter. You can enjoy all of your holiday without having to worry about sunburn, because you can condition your skin to the sun before you leave home. Lotions & Creams and other Tanning Products It can be confusing knowing what type of lotion to use to best protect your skin and still give you great colour. There are spray on lotions, facial tanner products, a lotions with all kinds of number on them! Much of what you should use depends on your skin type.

If you are fair skinned then you need to choose a tanning product that protects the most. An SPF rating of at least 15, but 30 would be better. Those with darker, olive skin tones can use a lotion with an SPF of 8 and be adequately protected, provided they reapply the lotion frequently if there are going to be in the sun for long periods of time. There are also sunless tanning products that offer no protection from UV rays, but will change the skin colour without the sun.
About the Author

Jerry Blackburn released a lot of articles for the news section of http://www.tanning-lotions-tips.com . Amongst his works Jerry is working on topics like tanning products http://www.tanning-lotions-tips.com/sunless-tanning-products.html and provides information on sunless tanning.

Technorati Tags: tanning lotion, spray tan, sunless tanning, tanning

There are also those who desire quicker results than what natural sunlight offers. For such people, sunless tanning is an alternative. Sunless tanning refers to the process of attaining the appearance of a tan by using such products as lotions, sprays, powders, pills, and tanning beds. The efficacy and results of these methods vary.

The body has its own way of protecting us from UV radiation. Our skin protects us from UV damage by producing melanin, a substance that absorbs the harmful rays in order to protect our DNA. When the body produces melanin, our skin darkens, taking on a darker appearance. This is how we tan.

A sunless tanning booth is a small room where the client tans by either receiving a spray tan or by using a tanning bed. Tanning beds are controversial, particularly for their use among teens, because of concerns about the risk of developing skin cancer from their use. While the tanning beds used to work using UVB rays, salon owners switched to using beds that emit UVA rays, believing them to be safer. Sadly, it is UVA rays that are associated with development of skin cancer.

Another kind of sunless tanning booth is much safer: The tanning spray booth. Currently, spray tans are found at high-end salons and can run up to $100 for a few one-hour sessions. A sunless tanning booth that uses spray instead of a tanning bed works via use of a spray containing dihydroxyacetone (DHA.)

DHA is applied in a fine mist to the entire body of the customer. DHA reacts with dead skin cells on the surface of the body, causing them to turn brown. Most tanners who use the spray method report good, realistic results and excellent coverage. The spray-on tans last five to seven days, typically.

A good sunless tanning booth can be found by calling local day spas and in particular, tanning parlors. Prices will vary, but many salons offer packages, which might include multiple tan sessions, tanning products, and follow up advice.
About the Author

Sunless Tanning Info provides detailed information about sunless tanning lotion, booths, sprays, salons, and pills, as well as reviews of best sunless tanning products and methods. Sunless Tanning Info is the sister site of Tanning Beds Web.

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Tan extender lotions should also be in your bag when you are using a tanning bed. The main role of this lotion is to keep the tan intensity constant between exposures to the artificial light. Sometimes, if you are not using the moisturizer and extender, you might lose half of the potential tan. However, do not use the same outdoor tanning oils when you are tanning indoors. Because of the differences between natural sunlight and artificial tanning light, the outdoor oils might actually prevent you from getting a good and uniform tan.

Being constant about your indoor tanning sessions is important, as skipping a few will put a hold on the process. Your tan develops in time and is a gradual process, and repeated exposure to ultra violet (UV) lights is the only way to keep it going. If you just skipped a session or two, chances are you can go back to your regular tanning schedule without any worries. If you took a longer break, make sure to consult with the manual of your tanning bed and see if you need to start over.

You also need to be very careful when planning your initial tanning session, as one exposure time might be just fine for one skin type and disastrous for another. If you are a fair skinned person, try to find a program that will target pigmentation more precisely, without risking burns, of course. Getting to know your skin type is important - there are 5 categories, starting from 1 (albino - extremely white skin) and going all the way to 5, with highly pigmented skin. Consult your tanning bed manual for exposure times for each skin type, or ask the attendant at the sunning parlor to create a safe and efficient schedule for your particular skin type.

Many people wish to eliminate trips to the tanning facility and get their own tanning bed. You may choose the vertical or horizontal tanners. The horizontal ones, also known as capsules, are the classic tanning beds and they are more relaxing than the vertical ones. However, vertical tanning beds do have some strong points, such as a better all-round tan and no pressure points that you get in horizontal tanning beds. Before purchasing the tanning bed you should check the space it requires to be installed and what the electrical specifications are. Models that use more tanning lamps will also eat a lot more electricity - on the other hand they are the ones producing the fastest tan. Although the initial cost of the tanning bed will be higher, you might still consider this investment a good one, especially if you are a frequent tanner.
About the Author

George Anderson knows the right way to use both commercial and home tanning beds.

Technorati Tags: sunless tanning, tan lines, tanning salons, home tanning

Technorati Tags: tanning equipment, suntan, tanning, tanning salon

Tan extender lotions should also be in your bag when you are using a tanning bed. The main role of this lotion is to keep the tan intensity constant between exposures to the artificial light. Sometimes, if you are not using the moisturizer and extender, you might lose half of the potential tan. However, do not use the same outdoor tanning oils when you are tanning indoors. Because of the differences between natural sunlight and artificial tanning light, the outdoor oils might actually prevent you from getting a good and uniform tan.

Being constant about your indoor tanning sessions is important, as skipping a few will put a hold on the process. Your tan develops in time and is a gradual process, and repeated exposure to ultra violet (UV) lights is the only way to keep it going. If you just skipped a session or two, chances are you can go back to your regular tanning schedule without any worries. If you took a longer break, make sure to consult with the manual of your tanning bed and see if you need to start over.

You also need to be very careful when planning your initial tanning session, as one exposure time might be just fine for one skin type and disastrous for another. If you are a fair skinned person, try to find a program that will target pigmentation more precisely, without risking burns, of course. Getting to know your skin type is important - there are 5 categories, starting from 1 (albino - extremely white skin) and going all the way to 5, with highly pigmented skin. Consult your tanning bed manual for exposure times for each skin type, or ask the attendant at the sunning parlor to create a safe and efficient schedule for your particular skin type.

Many people wish to eliminate trips to the tanning facility and get their own tanning bed. You may choose the vertical or horizontal tanners. The horizontal ones, also known as capsules, are the classic tanning beds and they are more relaxing than the vertical ones. However, vertical tanning beds do have some strong points, such as a better all-round tan and no pressure points that you get in horizontal tanning beds. Before purchasing the tanning bed you should check the space it requires to be installed and what the electrical specifications are. Models that use more tanning lamps will also eat a lot more electricity - on the other hand they are the ones producing the fastest tan. Although the initial cost of the tanning bed will be higher, you might still consider this investment a good one, especially if you are a frequent tanner.
About the Author

George Anderson knows the right way to use both commercial and home tanning beds.

Technorati Tags: suntan, sunburn, tanning salon, tanning safety, tanning salons, spray tan

Now of course that s just a simple example using coffee. But how do you feel about your choices when it comes to selecting a tanning or sunscreen agent?

Not surprisingly, when faced with the variety and range of products on the market today, the average consumer can find this selection process a little more overwhelming than ordering a cup of coffee.

Tanning products or sunscreen agents are not only available in multiple forms including sprays, lotions, sticks, gels etc.: they can also be targeted to different activities, age ranges and skin types. They are produced by both smaller (less familiar) manufacturers, as well as by the more popular brand name manufacturers such as Banana Boat’, ‘ChapStick’, ‘Clarins’, Clinique , Coppertone , Estee Lauder , Johnson s , Neutrogena , Oil of Olay , and Vaseline .

In response to the demands of consumers, manufacturers continue to provide an ever increasing number of products for you to choose from, with many targeted to specific markets. However, the variety of choices doesn t mean it makes the selection process easy.

So where on earth do you start?

Besides your skin type, here are some simple tips to consider when making your selection from the variety of tanning and sunscreen products available:

a) Chosen Activity: Being outdoors is not the only element to take into consideration when factoring in your amount of exposure to the sun. You also need to note the intensity with regards to climate, the season, location and time of day.

For example, just because you may be hiking in a cool mountain region or snow skiing, doesn t mean you should throw all caution aside. Wind and UV rays still reach you, so protection would be wise. Consider also any exposure to surfaces with reflective qualities (i.e. snow, water, sand, etc.), as these can intensify UV ray harm. Activities that make you work up a sweat or those involving water (e.g. basketball, jogging, sun bathing on a hot beach, biking, water skiing, jet skiing, parasailing, outdoor work and exercise etc.), have the potential to wash off your sunscreen, and therefore need to be addressed also.

Choose a sunscreen product for these activities with both UVA and UVB protection and an SPF of 15 or higher, when possible. As for water / sweat activities, choose a product that offers a waterproof or water-resistant agent.

Tip: Where appropriate, you should also consider dressing to cover up as much skin as possible (e.g. wearing long sleeves, a scarf or hat, slacks or jogging pants).

b) Age: There are only a few words of caution about age. First of all, health care providers do NOT recommend using alcohol-based sunscreen products on children. And they do NOT recommend using sunscreen agents of any type on babies under the age of 6 months. For children older than 6 months, a lotion is the preferred form of sunscreen, over a spray, for example. And the SPF should be a minimum of 15.

c) Use on Your Body: Your choice of tanning product also depends upon where you are going to apply the lotion, gel, spray or other form. And it also depends upon the health of the area of the body.

For example, there are lip balms with sunscreen (solid or gel-based ones), which not only help the lips, but can also touch up spots in a hurry. Also if you re trying to apply protection to fingers, ears, nose and other small areas, a physical sunscreen agent, lotion or gel may be easier than a spray. If you have dry skin, you might want to try a product in lotion or cream form. For oily skin, gel-based or alcohol forms of sunscreen might be better choices. N.B: A word of caution: Do not use alcohol-based products with inflamed skin or eczematous.

Keeping the above considerations in mind, should give you a great starting point from which to choose your tanning product or sunscreen agent.

In addition, a recommendation from a friend for a particular product, (assuming they have similar skin type and circumstances), - or even a particular brand name (remembering that the more popular manufacturers produce products catering to different skin types, activities etc.), can sometimes also be helpful in narrowing down your choices.

Ultimately the choice should be based upon your individual situation, your skin type, and your personal preferences. What works for one person may not be the most ideal for another.

Once you’ve done some basic research and have found a particular product you feel is suitable, then why not just start with that product. If you find it doesn t offer you the results you expected, then simply be prepared to do a little more research, look around further and modify your choices accordingly. While there may be some trial and error involved initially, by becoming more familiar with your preferences and the types of products available, you’re sure to find the product that s right for you.
Angela Perin is editor of the ‘Safe Tan Ezine’, which features practical articles and tips on Beauty, Fitness, Nutrition and more. SAFE TAN - The Ulimate Experience in Natural Sunless Tanning

Technorati Tags: tanning, tanning bed, tanning lotion, tan lines

Make no mistake: the ultraviolet light used in tanning beds is almost exactly the same kind of ultraviolet light that comes from the sun, and therefore comes with the same risks. But if you understand how tanning beds work and how to use them without abusing them, tanning beds can be a great way to get that perfect olive or bronze hue you ve been yearning for.

All conventional tanning beds have lamps that produce ultraviolet radiation both UVB and UVA rays. The UVB rays are accountable for stimulating production of the naturally occurring skin pigment melanin. However, minor overexposure to UVB rays causes burn, while major overexposure is linked to skin cancers. The UVA rays are the ones that oxidize the melanin, producing the golden brown color. The UVA rays account for the majority of rays originating in the lamps or bulbs in a tanning bed.

If you are using a conventional bed, first develop a base tan by tanning for twenty to thirty minutes, three to five times a week, for about four weeks. Then, maintain the tan by tanning two to three times a week thereafter.

High-pressure tanning beds are different, in that they utilize only UVA rays and no UVB rays. The term high-pressure refers to the atmosphere inside the lamps or bulbs, which are made out of quartz. The higher air pressure is what allows the lamp or bulb to filter out virtually all UVB rays - the rays that produce burn. The result is a faster, deeper, longer-lasting tan.

If you are using a high-pressure tanning bed, develop a base tan by tanning for ten to twelve minutes, three to five times total, over a matter of ten to fourteen days. Maintain the tan with only two or three visits per month.

Use a tanning bed lotion or tan accelerator to increase tanning speed and quality. Apply tan accelerator all over your body before and after your tanning session, since melanin oxidization and production continues long after you ve been exposed to UV light. This will keep your skin cool, comfortable, moisturized, and just generally healthier.

Always wear tanning goggles while inside the tanning bed. Simply closing your eyes or wearing regular sunglasses is not enough protection from UV light.

About the Author

Tanning Beds Info provides detailed information about home, commercial, and wholesale tanning beds for sale, as well as tanning bed lotion and other products and accessories. Tanning Beds Info is the sister site of Sunless Tanning Web.

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