ETS Tanning Bed Blog

It’s almost the stuff of urban legends – the famous (or infamous) baby oil tan.

For years people on beaches and in backyards slathered themselves down with baby oil to get a deep, dark tan. And it worked. People who could tan would find they did tan when they “laid out” coated with baby oil.

Those were also the days of some pretty serious bikini lines.

But as always, times have changed, and so have people’s tanning accouterments. So is tanning with baby oil a classic? Or a dinosaur? Here are a few questions we're commonly asked about tanning with baby oil:

Do people still even use baby oil?

Yes, it has a distinctive glisten!

Does it speed up getting a tan?

Yes, sort of. Baby oil moisturizes your skin yet has no SPF sun protection in it, and therefore there is zero blocking of the sun’s UV rays. And while that may contribute to speeding up the tanning process, it can also mean speeding up the burning process.

So, is baby oil good or bad for my skin?

That depends. Bad, perhaps, if you overexpose your skin to the sun with no SPF, but good as a moisturizer. It’s actually a pretty serious moisturizer. And moisture helps with the absorbtion of UV rays.

Should I wear it for moisture with indoor tanning beds?

No. Nope. Negative.

Why not? It’s good moisturizer, right?

It's good for the skin, but bad for the beds. Baby oil will damage the acrylics on the tanning beds. As it damages the beds, the salons need to replace the acrylics, which increases the costs of operation, which ultimately means higher prices for you.

What should I use instead?

Tanning salons carry a wide variety of tanning lotions which are formulated specifically to protectively moisturize your skin without damaging the tanning beds. And, as always, be sure to use a good moisturizer after you’re done with your tanning session. Moisture helps with overall skin health.