Benefits of Home Tanning Beds
For many people the idea of owning their own tanning bed is the perfect scenario. With a home tanning bed you have the luxury to tan whenever you want free of charge. Well, with the small exception of electricity you use. But that doesn’t add up much with beds. It’s great because many tanning salons close up shop early around 5 to 6pm. And for us working folk, that can make for an annoying day trying to get in before they close. Tanning beds can be a bit pricey depending and where you buy one from, but, if you’re someone who tans consistently, the investment more than pays for itself in the long haul.
3 Important Things to Consider When Buying a Tanning Bed
Bed Type
When it comes to tanning beds there are basically two style options: a lay down bed (the traditional type) or a stand-up bed (more commonly found in salons). While the lay down beds are generally the most common and useful, you’ll have to determine whether or not you have room for them. They take up quite a bit of space so, if you’re tight on area, you may want to think about buying a stand up instead. Stand up booths require much less space and can even be stuffed in a corner of a room. When you make a final decision just make sure you take your personal preferences and home space into account.
Bed Bulb Types
The most significant aspect of a tanning bed is by far the type of bulbs it uses. Typically, tanning beds make use of a combination of UVA and UVB rays or just UVA. It’s not certain which are best but most tanning companies seem to like UVA bulbs more than UVB.
Make sure that the bulbs are placed in the bed in areas that are somewhat easy to access. You’ll be the one changing them out when they start to weaken or die out so make sure the bed allows for easy access. Also take note of what kind of bulbs it uses for when you need to purchase new ones.
Additional Features
Extras are always great to have but not if they aren’t useful. The best tanning bed additions you can get are facial tanning lamps and a built-in a/c unit. Beds with facial tanning lamps make it much easier to have an even, full tan. The integrated a/c unit is there for comfort. It makes it much easier and tolerable to bear the heat when tanning.
An A/C system is needed if you’re one who tends to sweat a lot during the tanning process. The fans provide cool air to ensure that your skin feels great no matter how hot your bubls are. Don’t mistake the cool air for your body’s tolerance to tanning, though. Never tan for more than recommended times. You can and will produce sun-burn that can lead to skin problems later on down the road if you overdo your tan. Also be sure to make use of tanning lotions to protect your skin and develop the best tan possible.
Types of Tanning Beds Available
Most tanning beds that are available for personal purchase are of traditional style. They use regular tanning bulbs to produce UV rays to tan the skin. One other option is to purchase a bed that uses other bulbs known as a High Pressure Bed. Instead of traiditional tanning lamps, these beds make use of high pressure quartz bulbs.
High pressure beds are the most widely used in tanning salons. You can, however, only tan one side of your body at a time with these. Some individuals claim that this type of bed is more comfortable to tan in.
Tips for Buying Used Beds
If price is something you’re a bit concerned about you can spring for buying a used tanning bed rather than a new one. This is a more affordable option. Always check for these things when buying a bed:
Check to be sure the bed is up to par and meets federal and state regulations for safety. If you don’t know this info look it up online or talk to a nearby salon owner to find out.
Ask about how much the bed was used. If it’s not a lot, great. If it was used consistently or in a tanning salon, however, you may want to reconsider or at least try to negotiate a fair price.
Always do comparison shopping. If the used bed isn’t much cheaper than the new one, spring for the newer bed.
Ask if the bed has ever been serviced and how often the bulbs are replaced. Make sure the bulbs were recently replaced so you don’t obtain an extra expense.
Check to see if there is a warranty for the bed.
Cypher Tanning Lotion
Cypher Tanning Lotion
Cypher Tanning Lotion
California Tan, a well known distributor of tanning lotion, developed the Cypher line. This line is one of the highest quality series of lotions in the industry. There are several names under the Cypher series including:
- Cypher Facial Tanning Lotion
- Cypher Optimizer Step 2
- Cypher Step 1 Dark Tanning Intensifier
- Cypher Step 1 Bronzer
- Cypher Step 2 Dark Maximizing Lotion
- Cypher Step 2 Bronzer
Being that these are some of California Tan’s best lotions, they can be a bit pricey. In most tanning salons these fetch about $100+ each. Most salons charge about $120 for each. They can, however, be purchased online for much better prices. The Cypher line is well worth the price, though. They are made of the best ingredients that give you the best tan you can get.
Reviews of the Cypher tanning lotion series are generally very positive. Most users agree that these lotions from California Tan are the best available. They are highly effective at helping you produce and maintain as much color as possible. Be sure to click on the individual lotion names above to read a better description about what each does, how effective it is and the discount price that we offer for it.
Australian Gold Vogue
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Australian Gold Vogue
This particular indoor tanning lotion was initially released for sale by AG in 2010. It packs quite a punch with loads of nutrients and DHA incorporated. Vogue is a bronzer that has the powerful 25x Black Onyx DermaDark solution in it which provides an instant color blast. This instant color change stays strong and visible for up to 8 days.
Vogue also contains a new hydrating formula that keeps your skin moisturized to the fullest extent. Usually your skin becomes very dehydrated after tanning or even just walking around in the sun so this is an important ingredient to have. This prevents your skin from becoming dry and also from cracking.
The suggested retail value and price that most tanning salons put on Australian Gold Vogue is around $115 to $120 per bottle. You can also purchase sample packets which can typically be found for $5 to $8 each. These are fairly high prices but, as always, both bottles and packets can be purchased for much less online.
Vogue comes packaged in a beautiful bottle. To be honest, it looks quite extravagant. It’s a mixture of gold and beautiful blue and is made of pretty tough plastic. This tanning lotion smells pretty good, too, which is a huge plus. Because, unfortunately, not every lotion smells that great and no one likes walking out the salon and out to public smelling terrible.
Australian Gold Vogue is a fantastic indoor tanning lotion choice for just about anyone. If you are a fan of the AG line, this one is no exception to the quality and effectiveness of the rest of their lotions.
Is Tanning Bad for You?
Is Tanning Bad for You?
For years, millions upon millions of people have been asking this very question. There are so many rumors and myths that have been spread around about tanning that it is ridiculous. To clear up the confusion, we decided we would answer this question for our readers to give them better insight on the subject.
First, you need to understand what tanning is. Tanning is the process of darkening the skin through the use of ultraviolet (UV) light which can be obtained from tanning beds or naturally outdoors. For whatever reason, people exclude outdoor tanning from the fear they have of the process. The truth of the matter is that tanning can be dangerous if you overdo it.
The absorption of UV light is actually moderately good for you. It provides and promotes extra vitamin D production which is great. Problems arise when you start tanning too much. Excessive exposure to UV light makes you more prone to certain health risks such as skin cancer. But, if you follow the general guidelines of safe tanning you don’t have much to worry about.
So, is tanning bad for you? Yes and no. Yes if you take it too far and aren’t intelligent about it. No if you have self control and tan in moderation using safe practices including not staying in a bed or outdoors too long, using proper protection for your skin, protecting your eyes, etc etc.
Your health is in your hands. You have control as to whether or not tanning diminishes your health. So, to be conclusive, you can’t blame tanning itself for health risks but rather the people that abuse the process and make it bad for themselves. Please, be careful and mind your health: follow safety guidelines to ensure that you do not damage your body when tanning. It’s as simple as that.
Austalian Gold Crystal XII
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Austalian Gold Crystal XII
This particular tanning lotion is one of the most popular and highest rated in customer reviews from the Australian Gold lines. Crystal XII has twelve different bronzers that provide the ultimate dark tan. This product also has an instant color effect that lasts between 5 and 8 days after application.
Also included in the Crystal XII lotion are multiple blushes that give your skin a beautiful glow immediately that stays. This lotion feels like fine silk which gives your skin a sleek, desirable touch. Australian Gold Crystal XII is usually sold for $100 to $120 per bottle or $6 to $9 per sample packet in tanning salons but can be purchased online for a much more reasonable price.
Customer reviews of this product are generally positive. In most cases 9 out of 10 people rate this indoor tanning lotion 5 out 5 stars for it’s quality, price and effectiveness. Be sure to check out other Australian Gold tanning lotion product pages on our website and compare. Or, visit the information pages of another brand such as Designer Skin or Devoted Creations to cross reference prices and reviews.
Click here to visit the official product information page of Australian Gold Crystal XII.
Australian Gold Tanning Lotion
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Australian Gold Tanning Lotion
If you’ve ever gone to a general store or even a pharmacy to get sunblock or tanning lotion, you’ve probably come across the Australian
Gold brand. This brand can be found almost anywhere including Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and tanning salons, too. Their cheaper products that are designed for not-so-regular tanners are usually found in department stores, pharmacies and grocery stores. Their top tanning lotions, however, can only be found in salons and online.
Australian Gold produces many different sun care products including sunblock, tanning intensifiers, self tanning lotions, bronzers, tinglers, tan extenders and more. This is an extremely popular brand for both outdoor and indoor tanning. All lotions created by this company are of high quality. Wanna know exactly what they carry? We’ve compiled a list of their products below. Simply click the link associated with the product you’re interested in to learn more about it.
Australian Gold Indoor Tanning Lotions:
- Crystal XII
- Vogue
- Crystal X
- Vintage Gold
- Infamous
- Mood Indigo
- Bronze Minerals
- Risque Ritual
- Beyond Famous
- Rumors
- Satin D Sol
- Confessions
- Saint/Sinner
- Dream On
- Wicked Lovely
- HOT!
- Almost Famous
- IDOL
- Creamy Gelato
- Free Spirit
- Jaded
- Pure Romance
- Rewed
- First Blush
- Frankly Scarlet
- Funkey Monkey
- Intimidation
- My Passion
- Eternal Twilight
- Sex Magnet
- Sun Dreams
- Bronze Minerals Legs
- No Worries
- Browning Fury
- Iced Creme
- Urban Legend
- Bearly Legal
- Kiss Kiss Bronze Bronze
- Australian Sun
- Cheeky Brown
- Sinfully Black
- Ex Appeal
- Gelee with Bronzers
- Global Hottie
- Going GaGa
- Green Queen
- Raydiant
- Sol Search
As previously mentioned, you can simply click on the name of the indoor tanning lotion you are interested in above to read the product information related to it. All these names are trademarked by Australian Gold which is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. This company was formed in 1985 and is one of the largest tanning product retailers across the globe.
Airbrush Tanning
Ever heard the term airbrush tanning and get a bit confused? Don’t worry, it’s common. To be as simple as possible, airbrushing is basicaly the same thing as spray tanning. Normally, the term airbrush is used when there is a qualified professional that will be applying your tan rather than a machine with spray tanning. 
We covered a lot of information about this topic on our spray tanning page. If you would like to learn more about airbrush tanning and/or spray tanning, we suggest you visit it to get the best info. We included a huge FAQ and a list of great tips for getting the best tan results possible within that article.
If after you visit that section of our website you are still confused about what it is or how it works, please feel free to leave a comment below to ask any question you may have. You never know, we might end up using your question on our FAQs page if it’s something we haven’t covered.
Also, please be sure to check out our tanning lotion section to find a lotion that is perfect for you to use. In most cases, you will need to use a tan extender after an airbrush tanning to make sure the tan sticks and stays for as long as possible. We review loads of indoor tanning lotion on the site, so be sure to read up and find out what is a good fit for you.
Spray Tanning
What is Spray Tanning?
Spray tanning is a process in which DHA solutions are sprayed onto the body. This is usually done in a booth or by a qualified tanning associate at salons. Spray tanning is also called airbrush tanning and sunless tanning. It’s a very popular procedure that allows you to get a deep, gorgeous tan in as little as 30 minutes. Spray tans usually last 5 to 10 days. If you would like to know more, please visit the spray tanning section of our website.
When do Spray Tan Results Show?
You may notice that you don’t see much color difference on yourself directly after your spray tan is applied. There are bronzers in the solution that will make you a little darker instantly but the true color will not be visible until 6 to 8 hours after the procedure is done. This is because the DHA solution has to have time to soak into your skin and develop. Don’t worry, you’ll be a golden god or goddess soon enough!
What Do I Need to Do Before a Spray Tan?
There are a few things that you should do to prepare yourself before you receive a spray tan. First of all, make sure you remove any moisturizers, perfumes, oils and makeup from your skin. It’s important that your skin is as clean and dry as possible to make it receive the tan as best as it can. If you want to make sure the spray tan really takes and stays for a while you should exfoliate your entire body before heading to the salon. You can find specially made exfoliating scrubs that are designed to not leave any oil behind. These are perfect and should definitely be applied to ensure a great tan.
What Should I Wear for a Spray Tan?
If you choose to bring your own clothing you should select dark colored, loose clothes. Some tanning salons will give you the option to use disposable panties, thongs, boxers, etc so it’s up to you if you would like to use these or your own clothing. After you have your spray tan applied you should have dark clothing to wear home, or wherever you go, because there may be a bit of residue that will rub off onto your clothing that will leave brown or orange spots. Some salons offer the option to be sprayed while fully nude but others require that you wear a top and bottoms or at least bottoms. You will need to check with the salon about this beforehand.
When Can I Shower After My Spray Tan?
This is a very popular question that pretty much everyone asks. You should prepare yourself to not shower for quite a while after a spray tan. Due to the DHA solution having to have 6 to 8 hours to take, you will need to wait at least that long before showering. Most salons will suggest that you don’t shower until the following morning. This is by far the best option. Have your spray done in the evening and then go to bed while the DHA goes to work in your skin. Then, in the morning, you are free to shower without having to worry about washing off your gorgeous new tan.
How Can I Make a Spray Tan Last?
Spray tans generally last 4 or 5 days if left untreated. If you take care of your skin, however, they can last 8 to 10 days. So, what can you do to make the tan stay? After your first shower make sure you use a good moisturizer at least once a day. Keeping your skin hydrated is one of the most important steps in maintaining a spray tan. You should use a tan extender as well to really make the color come out and stick. Also, avoid things such as nail polish remover and Jacuzzis. These can strip your tan right off your body quite easily.
Building a Base Tan
It’s summer now and most people want to look their best and hit the beaches. If you’re like just about everyone else on this planet you probably want to have a great tan to show off during the summer days as you strut around on the beach or even just in town. In order to quickly build up a tan you should go to a tanning salon a few times before heading out to the sun. 
Tanning in a salon before hitting the beach to tan allows you to build what is commonly known as a base tan. This first tan allows you the ability to go out in the sun and have a much less chance of getting burnt. But, that’s just the health benefit. The best benefit is that you’ll be hitting the beach with an already sexy, gorgeous tan while everyone else is white and trying to soak up the rays!
Now, we all know that building a base tan is important but what many people don’t know is what products to use to obtain it. You, of course, need a reliable tanning lotion to really get a dark, even tone. Lotions contain tan extenders and bronzers which give you an extra glow and make your tan last longer than normal. These are essentials to a person that wants to get dark and stay dark.
That being said, what is the best tanning lotion to use? Well, there are loads to choose from. There are hundreds of brands of tanning lotion but only a few are top quality and worth the price. If we were to recommend ANY, we would say you should buy something from Designer Skin, California Tan, Australian Gold, Devoted Creations, Playboy or Miami Ink. There are many more that are great but these brands produce the best tanning lotion lines that really work well.
Before you hit the salon you should first purchase a lotion and also read our page about tanning beds so that you know exactly what kind of bed you will want to use, too. It’s important to figure out which bed you will prefer because different beds offer different levels of tan and comfort.
Designer Skin Tanning Lotion
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Designer Skin Tanning Lotion
There are many different brands of tanning lotion available to choose from but, if you want the highest quality and most effective lotion, those produced by Designer Skin are the best choice. This particular tanning company is well known and respected in the tanning industry. They produce the best quality lotions around and if you want a great tan, they are the best to use.
Designer Skin has released many different lotions that are aimed at helping with different aspects of tanning. The following lotions fall under their brand name:
- Obsidian
- Celebutante
- Brilliant
- Epiphany
- Liberate
- Pandora
- MMM
- Ravish Me
- Little Bronze Bitch
- Black Tan Extender
- Just Say Yes
This is the Designer Skin line of lotions at the time of this writing (July 2011). All of these can be purchased in tanning salons but they can be bought online for a better price. Salons charge quite a bit and make huge profits on lotions but if you purchase a lotion online you are more likely to get a discounted price.
While you can buy these lotions online you should stay away from buying them from websites such as Amazon and eBay. The reason for this is because a well known scam runs rampant on these sites. Lotions purchased from them might possibly be the brand name bottle filled with cheap lotion such as Jergen’s. This scam happens a lot on both Amazong and eBay which is why you should never buy tanning lotion from sellers on these websites.
There are highly reputable online retailers, though. Browse our posts about individual tanning lotions and you will find links to websites that sell lotions for a great price and without scam. We provide our users with the most quality products and services and would never lead them to scams or frauds.
If you would like to learn more about Designer Skin tanning lotion please visit lotion product pages to find out more about each individual lotion’s purpose, price and effectiveness. The list above of lotions is a list of links. Click each one to visit the product information post and purchase pages.
