Here is the PureBronze.co.uk guide to getting the most out of your sunbed tubes.

Before you get on the bed

1. If you are taking any medication that you should check with your doctor that it is still OK to tan as some medications react to UV light.
2. Make sure that you skin is clean, as clean skin tans better. Also, make sure that you leave an hour between showering and using the sunbed.
3. Make sure that you remove all cosmetics and perfumes before going on the bed as some of them react with UV light and it can cause you all sorts of problems!
4. If you are wearing jewellery – take it off. It will get hot, give you white marks and may react with the light.
5. If you are sunbathing in the nude, make sure you protect the “sensitive” areas that are not normally exposed to UV light for the majority of the session. The more you use the equipment, the more these areas can be exposed – but don’t be in a rush!

Whilst on the bed

1. Make sure you have eye-protection. Eyelids block less than 25% of harmful UV rays, so closing your eyes is not protecting you from the UVA and UVB rays from a tanning bed. Red, itchy or watery eyes may be an indication of short-term damage - your eyes have been sunburned! Repeated exposure will reduce night vision, diminish colour perception, and increase your probability of brunescent cataracts. Relax. One of the side benefits of using a sunbed is the relaxation that is brings, as well as combating SAD.
2. Monitor your body carefully. Don’t ignore any burning, itching or uncomfortable sensations that you get. Get off the bed and check them out.
3. Stay in your tanning time and power. Make sure you use a tanning time suitable for your skin type and no more. Over exposure will lead to sunburn. Some sunbeds have different power settings. Do not increase these if you have been told to use a specific power setting by the salon operator.
4. New tubes – less time! If the sunbed has recently been re-tubed, remember that it is a lot more powerful for the first 20 hours of usage. So if a bed has been re-tubed, you should reduce your tanning time by around 20%.
5. Protect your lips with a lip balm that blocks UV light; lips cannot produce melanin, leaving them at risk for overexposure.
6. Move you arms and shoulders occasionally. Some people complain of white patches on the shoulder blades and at the base of the back. This happens because there are fewer blood vessels in this area of the body, and as you rest on them – you lower this blood flow even further. The only answer to this is to move occasionally.
7. Use the fan! Remember heat does not mean that you will tan better. It might make you look redder, but then again – so will sitting in a sauna, but it doesn’t mean you have a better tan. Staying cool and relaxed is much better than get too hot and sweating all over the place. Not only that – the tubes on sunbed have been designed to run at an optimal temperature. Running the bed too hot will result in a drop in performance of the tubes, and therefore your tan will suffer.
8. Make sure that you don’t burn by staying on the bed too long.

After your sunbed session

1. Avoid the shower for around 2 hours as the lotions will carry on working to develop your tan and moisten your skin. One of our customers who is a nurse advises that you do not shower more than once a day as you rid the skin of too many oils and nutrients.
2. Moisturise at least once a day, especially after your shower. Moisturising twice a day is good if you can do it.
3. Avoid tanning for another 48 hours at least. You will over expose your skin if you tan too often. Most people that develop that “leather look” tan too often and don’t moisturise their skin.
4. Don’t be in a rush. Tans take time to develop, especially if you are new to tanning. Your skin is too important to rush the tan. You can do more damage than good. If you want a colour quickly – use a bronzing lotion of sunless tanning product whilst you build your tan. This is a much better way!
5. Seek the advice of a medical professional whenever you have a health concern-such as rashes, itching, or any other skin problems or irregularities.
6. Remember the 6 hour rule. It can take 4-6 hours after your tanning session before the colour will come through. Seeing colour as soon as you get off the bed is not necessarily a good sign and can mean that you have overexposed the skin, used a tingle lotion or sat on a bed that is too hot.