Are you gearing up for a mid-winter getaway to sunny California or Florida? Is there a big event coming up that you want to look healthy and bronzed for? Have you just gotten over being sick for several days and nothing would feel better than basking in glowing warmth for a few minutes? There are many reasons why people head to tanning salons. At the end of the day, tanned skin makes people look healthier than pale skin. However, tanning isn’t healthy if you don’t take the correct precautions. Follow these helpful tanning bed tips to get the most out of your visit.

Finding the Right Salon

Finding the right tanning salon is your first step and one of the most important tanning bed tips. You’ll want a salon that keeps their tanning beds clean, changes the bulbs in the beds regularly, charges a reasonable fee and has a friendly, helpful staff. Ask friends for recommendations and tag along the next time your girl friend visits her tanning salon. You can check out the store and the staff without committing to the salon and spending money.

Proper Preparation

Once you’ve found a tanning salon that you’re happy and comfortable with, you’ll need to prepare for your first tanning experience. Tanning beds tips start well before you get to the tanning salon. Shower and exfoliate right before tanning – this will help you to get an even tan. Skip makeup and instead moisturie your face. Wear loose, comfy clothing that’s easy to change into and out of. Also, your skin may be a bit sensitive after tanning, and you’ll want fabrics that aren’t too tight, which will only add to discomfort.

Also, don’t wear too much jewelry – metal will get uncomfortable when heated up as you’re laying in the tanning bed, tons of jewelry can’t be removed quickly, you run the risk of forgetting your favorite earrings in the tanning room or you’ll have a strange outline of a pendant on your neck if you don’t remove it before laying down.

Protect your skin and eyes from damaging rays before jumping into the tanning bed. This is possibly the most important of all the tanning bed tips you’ll come across. The tanning salon should be able to provide UV protective eye goggles. You can also buy a tanning lotion with a low SPF from the salon. Many salons require you to wear some kind of protective cream or spray on your skin, so you can either bring it with you or buy it at the desk. If you’re going to buy it at the salon, keep in mind that the products may be pricier than you expect. Luckily, many salons have inexpensive, single-use packages with enough lotion to cover your body once, for one round of tanning.

Be Careful Not to Burn

If you’re a tanning bed neophyte, you’ll want to start out with a small amount of time and build up to longer stretches of time. It can be tempting to stay in the bed for longer, especially if you haven’t tanned in a long time and have pale skin – you’ll want an instant glow, especially if you’re spending money every time you want to bronze a bit.  However, spending too much time in a tanning bed, especially when your skin is on the pale side, won’t help you to tan, it’ll help you to burn – which is an even worse look than white skin. Basic exposure guidelines say that the lighter the skin, the more easily it will burn and the more slowly it will tan. Pale skin may never tan, only burn. Dark skin will almost never burn and will tan quickly. Adjust your time to your skin type, and if you need help, ask one of the tanning salon staff members – they will be able to suggest the right amount of time for your skin type. The staff at your salon will be able to give you plenty of helpful tanning bed tips.

If you’re tanning skin that’s never been exposed to the sun, such as your rear end or your chest, you’ll want to cover up this area for half of the time you spend in the bed. For example, if you tan for six minutes your first time, lay a towel over your chest for the first three minutes. The skin in these areas will be extremely sensitive and will burn much easier than the rest of your skin.

Conclusion

Once you’ve gotten your tanning schedule down pat and don’t have to worry about burning, you may want to tan as often as possible. However, daily tanning isn’t healthy. Try not to tan more often than every other day. Brush up on your tanning bed tips so that you don’t slack off as time goes on – you should always make sure you’re tanning as safely as possible.