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Sun bed lamps, as used in up-market tanning beds, are a large part of the mystery of the Hollywood suntan. You can have any type of tan you require with the wide variety of bulbs available on the market for sun beds. There are deep-tanning lamps, bronzing bulbs, face lamps and plenty of others besides. These high-tech bulbs utilize the latest technology to tan you comfortably and in safety.

Furthermore, there is a different lamp for every kind of skin too. The sun bed industry produces different lamps for dark to light skin colours. Besides that, you can have a soft tan, a golden tan, a bronze tan, or one the deepest of darkest tans you have ever seen. You can also change the kind of lamp, as your tan progresses, so that you can achieve any combination of quite amazing results.

A tanning bulb is like having your own source of sunlight in a tube. In fact, it is even better, because you are in control of it! Modern tanning bed bulbs are manufactured to the strictest standards and so are very safe. The tanning industry and the government have implemented strict guidelines to ensure your safety. So, if you carefully follow the instructions supplied with the bulbs, you may feel sure that you will not be putting your health at stake in order to look like a Hollywood film star.

The UV rays they emit are well within prescribed safety limits to ensure you remain healthy and tanned. Furthermore, there are plenty of choices open to you, ranging from UVB and UVA combinations to pure UVA. It is your choice! So, why not get a little extra tan?

Tanning bulbs are ultraviolet-emitting devices that act as the main element of the various types of tanning beds and booths. Tanning bed lamps have as their main purpose the enhancement of a cosmetic tan, although these lamps also have a reputation for the successful treatment of eczema and psoriasis. The depth and colour of tanning depends on the spectrum of light produced by the tanning bulbs and the vast majority of tanning bulbs produce more ultraviolet light than the sun.

Practically all tanning lamps use a unit called a ‘ballast’ to regulate their power consumption. The ballast stabilizes the flow of electrical energy inside the lamp and is required to ensure that the bulbs use only the exact amount of wattage that they need in order to work effectively.

There are various kinds of sunbed bulbs on the market including reflector sunbed bulbs and high output bulbs. The majority of bulbs fall into two main groups: high pressure and low pressure types. (Within the tanning industry, it is usual to refer to high pressure tanning lamps as bulbs and low pressure tanning bulbs as lamps). Both high and low pressure tanning bulbs require a lack of oxygen inside its housing.

High pressure tanning bulbs vary in length from three to five inches and operate with 250 to 2,000 watt ballasts, although 400 watt high pressure tanning bulbs are the most popular. They are usually included in the face tanning compartment of a sun bed. High pressure tanning bulbs are most often manufactured from quartz glass and an additional specialized coating, which is necessary to filter out the lethal UVC ultraviolet rays.

These HP tanning bulbs, containing mercury or argon, create ultraviolet light in high concentration. Handling high pressure tanning bulbs requires a great deal of care, because even a tiny amount of oil from your hands will cause the bulb to fail prematurely. High pressure tanning bulbs should be replaced after about 1,000 hours even though they will shine for up to ten times longer.

Low pressure tanning lamps are very similar to fluorescent lights, but the glass that makes up low pressure tanning bulbs automatically filters out UVC ultraviolet rays. Low pressure bulbs have a lifespan of six hundred to sixteen hundred hours of use.

Tanning bed bulbs are used in every sun bed or suntan lamp on the market. When you are buying a new or especially a used suntan bed, take a good look at the lamps. Ensure that they are proper tanning bulbs and meet the FDA guidelines for health and safety. You should also consider how easy it is to get at the bulbs. Be sure that the lamps are easy to change when necessary. It is quite important and a lot cheaper if you can perform such simple maintenance yourself, if you have a home sun bed.

There are different kinds of lamps used in conventional and high pressure beds. Make sure you buy the right sun bed lamps for your bed, because they are not interchangeable. If you are buying replacement bulbs on the Internet, check the make and model of your existing lamps carefully. Ensure that the bulbs you are buying are made for your bed.

High Pressure Sunbed Bulbs: high pressure beds use quartz lamps in various sizes. The gases used in these bulbs are pressurized to slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. The bulbs in these beds are located in the top of the bed, so that you tan from above only. When you have tanned the skin on one side of your body for about 10-12 minutes, you turn over and tan the other side. The flat bed of these devices is a lot more comfortable than a conventional tanning bed.

One of the biggest benefit of these HP lamps is the amount of time you have to spend on the tanning bed. Because you tan faster, you need to spend less time in the tanning salon, which means it works out cheaper. You can achieve the depth of tan you require in about three weeks of three to five sessions each week. However, with a conventional bed, it would take you at least a month to achieve the same depth of colour. Maintaining your tan is a lot easier too. You only need two or three sessions each month to maintain the colour, as opposed to four times that many visits to a low pressure salon bed. Many of these bulbs produce UVA rays only, not UVB rays which cause sunburn.

Conventional Sun Bed Lamps: Conventional, or low pressure beds use long tube lamps that resemble household fluorescent tubes. The lamps are situated in the top and the bottom of the sun bed, which means that all the body parts are browned at the together, without needing to change positions during the tanning session.

Low pressure beds use UVA and UVB rays in varying mixes. Some use both rays and others emit mostly UVA with some UVB rays. UVA rays are the cause of the (premature) ageing effects on the skin and UVB rays are the burning rays that cause skin burn when you are outside in the sun. It is very important to discover which type of rays your tan bed’s bulbs emit. You must ensure you replace your existing bulbs with the same new lamps after about 1,000 hours of use.

Another consideration when selecting the type of bed you use at home or in the salon, is the tanning bed lotion you will use. Different lotions suit different sorts of beds. The owner of your tanning salon will be able to help you choose a lotion that will be best for the bed you are using and your skin type. Regardless of the bed you use, you should certainly always use a lotion or a cream, because they will nourish your skin and help you tan faster.