ETS Tanning Bed Blog
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Indoor tanning works, but how well it works often depends on you, the tanner. Follow these tips to get a golden tan with serious staying power: Avoid the Shower Before and After you TanYou shouldn't shower right before you tan. Showering can actually strip the body of its natural oils and you want your skin to be as moist as possible to both help the tan develop and prevent your skin from drying out. Showering right after a visit to the tanning salon is also going to wreak havoc on your tan. A hot shower, soap, and a loofah is a recipe for an exfoliation disaster. So. . . 
Don't Exfoliate Exfoliation actually works to take a tan away. It's great for keeping your skin healthy and fresh-looking, but every layer you scrub away is a layer of tanned skin. Unless you're committed to regular tanning, try to keep the exfoliating to a minimum. Wear a Shower Cap in the Tanning Bed if Your Hair is Treated Wear a shower cap if your hair is treated because some of the dyes and chemicals will hurt the acrylic on an indoor tanning bed. Plus, some chemicals may also react with the UV-B rays resulting in possible discoloration. Tan and green outfits may look great in the fall, but for your skin-hair combo, not so much. Moisturize and Use Lotions This one should be drilled into your head by now, but it's so critical it's worth saying again and again: always moisturize after you tan . UV lights can dry out your skin and moisturizing can prevent tan-stripping flaky skin. Tan Naked Tanning naked is the only way to avoid tan lines. If you're concerned about "certain areas" that may have never seen the light of day, you can use commercial cover ups or a small piece of cloth for protection to protect yourself during your time in the tanning bed.
If you're going to start indoor tanning, you should begin with at least an understanding of the different skin types and where you fall within that spectrum. Why? Because the tanning needs and restrictions for Type 2 skin are going to vary compared to, say, Type 4 skin. We provide all of this information to our tanning salon owners. If you're new to tanning, any salon owner can (and should) be able to provide you with this information. 
Skin Type 1 - Sensitive skin, burns easily and severely and does not tan. 
If you're very pale, have light eyes and have always burned easily, this is your skin type. Typically, redheads and people from far Northern Europe are Skin Type 1, and usually shouldn't tan.
If you fall under this skin type and still want to start indoor tanning, you really need to tread carefully. Work with your tanning salon to start as slowly and delicately as possibly. Don't push it, and don't assume you're going to get significantly darker.
For some very fair individuals or people with albinism, tanning simply isn't possible, indoor or outdoor. If you have Type 1 skin, consult your physician before you begin a tanning regimen.
Skin Type 2 - Light skin, burns easily and tans minimally.
If you're pale, but will occasionally tan, then this is your skin type. Skin type 2 is typical of most white people in North America and Western Europe. Start with a limited exposure and gradually work your way up. You'll need patience, but eventually, you'll get a great tan.
Skin Type 3 - Normal, burns moderately and tans average.
If you have a slightly darker skin tone, maybe brown or light brown hair, indoor tanning is perfect for you. Because you can limit your exposure, you're less likely to burn and your skin type makes you a great tanning candidate.
Skin Type 4 - Dark, burns minimally and tans easily and above average.
Olive and darker skin tones fall into this category. You rarely burn and tanning is a breeze for you. With the right lotions and exposure times, you can create a deep, rich indoor tanning tan that looks great.
But aren't there 6 skin types? It depends on who you ask. We only put 4 skin types on the warnings on our tanning beds. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Dermatology have developed six skin types. Classification into the various skin types is based on two causes: a person's sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun or tanning beds and the person's skin tone. The six types are: I - White skin, easily burns, never tans. II - Sensitive light skin, rarely tans, burns more often III - Light skin, tans more, burns equally IV - Light dark skin, tans more than burns V - Darker skin, rarely burns, tans darkly VI - Dark skin, never burns, dark even tans
Proposed law would regulate teens' right to tan more rigidly than their right to marry, drive a car, and join the military(Reprinted from the Indoor Tanning Association press release )
WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) denounced House Bill 173, which would require Ohioans under the age of 18 to get a prescription from a doctor before using a sun-bed. Inexplicably, the bill also applies to spray tanning .
John Overstreet, executive director of the ITA issued the following statement regarding the bill:
"It is inconsistent and illogical for a teen in Ohio to be forced to have a prescription from a doctor before they could use a tanning bed.
At 17 an Ohio teen can serve and die for his or her country by joining the military. At 16 an Ohio teen is entrusted with the ability to operate a motor vehicle entirely unsupervised by a doctor or parent. 16- and 17-year-olds in the state can even get married as long as a parent consents.
It defies common sense that an Ohio parent could send their son or daughter off to war, drive the dangerous Ohio highways, or navigate the murky emotional waters of marriage -- but has to get a doctor's note before they can tan.
It is already standard practice to get written parental consent before a teen can use a tanning bed. A parent can decide whether or not it's ok for their teen to tan. Not the Ohio legislature."
Overstreet also noted that tanning salons in Ohio are already among the most highly regulated in the country.
The Indoor Tanning Association represents thousands of indoor tanning manufacturers, distributors, facility owners and members from other support industries. The ITA promotes a responsible message about moderate tanning and sunburn prevention.
SOURCE Indoor Tanning Association To learn more about legislation in your state, contact your local government or visit the Indoor Tanning Association website.
I've blogged about the teen tanning ban in Texas before. And in the last few weeks, the situation has only gotten worse. On April 22nd, the revised version of House Bill 1310 was passed by the Texas House of Representatives, meaning it has now made its way to the Texas Senate. What began as a ban on anyone under the age of 18 was downgraded to age 16-and-a-half. But, a ban is still a ban and could seriously hurt tanning bed business owners. Luckily, the Indoor Tanning Association –– the trade association for tanning salon owners, and tanning bed manufacturers and distributors –– is doing something about it.
According to LookingFit.com, the ITA is urging all Texas business owners, supporters and employees to join the fight against this bill . They've created a pre-formatted letter wizard for tanning bed business owners that will automatically address and create a letter to your Texas Senate representative and even a separate letter for consumers . The Texas Senate wants to dictate what they deem acceptable for families, and take decision-making out of the hands of parents. Their actions could ultimately harm the livelihoods of many Texas small business owners, which is the last thing we need in this economy. Over-regulation is a serious threat and one that could seriously hinder our industry. So, if you live in Texas or know anyone in Texas, I urge you to write a letter and encourage your friends to write letters speaking out against this ban. To learn more about legislation in your state, contact your local government or visit the Indoor Tanning Association website .
If you're considering making the switch to stand-up tanning beds or outfitting your salon with a few stand-up models, keep reading for an overview of the benefits of these versatile, fast and cost-efficient machines. No Pressure Points On a tanning bed, the tanner lays on a flat or slightly curved acrylic, meaning the flow of blood is inhibited to certain pressure points (like the shoulder blades), a phenomenon that can affect how these areas tan. And because the tanner is lying flat, certain parts of the body are not exposed equally to the UV rays affecting the uniformity of the customers tan. In a stand-up tanning booth there are no pressure points and the entire body can be exposed to the UV rays with the help of built in handles that allow the tanner to easily keep the arms raised during the tanning session.
Shorter Tanning Times Stand-up tanning booth tend to have faster tanning times than their laydown counterparts. The ETS Tan 756V is an 8-minute stand-up booth , making it perfect for tanners who are pressed for time. Stand-up tanning booths in many salons are considered higher level tanning units and can return higher revenues. Smaller Footprint Stand-up tanning booths take up less floor space and can return more revenue per square foot however each salon will need to determine customer demand and offer tanning booth options accordingly. ETS offers three levels of tanning booths that can easily match up with tanning bed levels offered so that the salon can offer both options at three levels. Built-In Changerooms Most stand-up tanning booth models ( and ALL of the ETS Tan stand-up booths) come with optional add-on dressing areas eliminating the need for rooms and the cost that come with them. Comparable, if not Lower Pricing Here at ETS Tan, our top-of-the-line stand-up tanning booths sell for around $19,000 with our smallest model priced at $9000. With the same number of lamps as the laydown units, they're either priced similarly or, in some instances, lower. Sanitation
In a recent study in the journal Pain Medicine, Mayo Clinic researchers have found a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of pain medication taken by patients with chronic pain . They found chronic pain patients with inadequate levels of vitamin D were taking nearly twice as much medication as those with adequate vitamin D
Also, low vitamin D has been linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain, muscle weakness or fatigue, fibromyalgia, rheumatic disorders, osteoarthritis, hyperesthesia, migraine headaches, and other complaints. According to the Mayo Clinic study, a low-level of vitamin D can also result in mood disturbances of chronic fatigue syndrome and seasonal affective disorder. Current evidence says that supplemental vitamin D can help to alleviate chronic pain and fatigue in many patients who weren't helped by other therapies. Vitamin D therapy is easy for patients to self-administer, is well tolerated, and is very economical. In short, vitamin D is very important in order to help reduce chronic pain, and too easy to not use it. The reasons are pretty clear. We've discussed again and again that if vitamin D is deficient in the body, then people will suffer things like rickets and fibromyalgia. And some researchers believe many syndromes, like chronic fatigue, are actually caused by a Vitamin D deficiency. Some of the best, most effective ways to get UV-B rays is from sunlight or indoor tanning beds, as well as from foods rich in vitamin D. Tanning beds are especially helpful when we're in the grip of another cold winter with short days and no sun, or your busy schedule doesn't let you outside for longer than it takes to walk to your car. Indoor tanning is a fast and easy alternative to spending time outside.
Vitamin D is essential to our health and luckily, it's one of the few vitamins that our body can create on its own, simply by synthesizing sunlight. It's responsible for maintaining calcium and phosphorous levels, improving bone growth and boosting the immune system. Osteoperosis, Rickets, Osteomalacia and arthritis have all been linked to vitamin D deficiency. A recent 2006 study published in the American Journal of Public Health even determined that healthy vitamin D levels could reduce cancer incidence . Recommended Vitamin D Levels According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin D is 400 IU for anyone over the age of 4.
How to Get Vitamin D One of the easiest ways to get vitamin D is through UV-B ray exposure. In other words, via sunlight or artificial methods such as tanning lamps. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , "Most people meet their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight." The NIH goes on to say, " It has been suggested by some vitamin D researchers, for example, that approximately 5-30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually lead to sufficient vitamin D synthesis and that the moderate use of commercial tanning beds that emit 2-6% UVB radiation is also effective. " Vitamin D can also be obtained through dietary sources, with wild-caught fish having some of the highest levels in the food chain: Cod liver oil, 1 tbsp: 1,360 IU Wild mollusks or oysters, raw, 8.7 ounces: 794 IU Salmon, cooked, 3.5 oz: 360 IU Mackerel, cooked, 3.5 oz: 34I U Sardines, canned in oil, 3.5 oz: 270 IU Beef Liver, cooked, 3.5 oz: 30 IU Whole Egg: 25 U Many foods are also fortified with vitamin D. For example, most of the U.S. milk supply is fortified to the tune of 100 IU/cup since fortification became standard practice in the 1930s as a way of combating rickets. The FDA does not endorse indoor tanning, nor does the National Institutes of Health. However, both organizations agree that vitamin D is critical to our health and UV-B ray exposure is a primary source of the crucial vitamin.
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