1. Why isn't closing my eyes good enough?
Eyelids are not made of UV blocking material. The result
is that UV passes through, damaging the cornea, retina
and lens. Cumulative long term effects include cataracts
and eyelid cancers. Always wear eye protection!
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2.
How do I prevent "raccoon eyes?"
Raccoon eyes occur for the same reason that some people
who don't adjust the watch on their arm get raccoon
wrist. Adjusting the protective eyewear occasionally
during a tanning session will help to minimize this
condition. The adjustment can be performed by gently
sliding the eyewear to a new position. You should never
lift the eyewear off of your eyes to adjust their position.
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3. Why does a tan disappear?
The tanning process takes place in the epidermis (top
layer of skin). The epidermis replaces itself approximately
once a month. As the skin sheds, tans gradually begin
to fade. In order for you to maintain that cosmetically
pleasing tan, you need to return to rebuild and maintain
what you have.
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4. Why can't salon owners make any claims
regarding established medical benefits of indoor
tanning?
Tanning beds are considered as medical devices by the
FDA, so only physicians are allowed to make medical
claims. Tanning equipment operators may only make statements
regarding the cosmetic benefits of tanning equipment.
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5. What's causing the scent that I smell
after tanning?
In a word, melanin. Ultraviolet light in the UVA range
causes melanin to enlarge and turn brown. During the
process, dermatologists say a chemical reaction takes
place. A natural side effect of the reaction is the
aroma. This occurrence is normal whether you've been
tanning inside or outside. Some tanning lotions have
been designed to minimize or prevent the odor from
occurring, but ultimately a shower will remove the
odor.
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6. Can I use UV light from the tanning equipment
to sanitize the acrylic?
UVA and UVB, which come from the tanning equipment,
have never been effective at sanitizing. UVC, which
lamps are not designed to emit, is used as an effective
germicidal by other commercial industries. Even if
the tanning equipment were effective at killing germs
on the acrylic, we would still have to degrime the
acrylic between use by every customer.
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7. Why does some of a person's tan wash
away?
The top skin layer is continuously renewing itself.
The renewal cycle takes about once a month to complete
and skin cells that have finished their cycle lay on
the skin's surface until shaved or washed off. Since
these skin cells also tan, the skin sheds or loses
some of its tan when it is cleansed.
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8. I'm over 40, and I don't seem to tan
as good as I used to. Why is that?
The reason is that after 40 your body begins to lose
melanocytes. Not to worry though. Through controlled,
systematic exposures you can slowly replenish what
your body began to lose.
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9. Why did the FDA and other governmental
agencies get involved in the tanning bed industry
anyway?
UVB-only booths were consistently inducing erythema.
Also, people were making inaccurate claims regarding
the benefits of indoor tanning. Two direct results
from prior history are:
a. UVB-only booths are now allowed only for medical
use.
b. Both FDA and many state regulations prohibit the
usage of the words "safe" and "safer
than the sun" in any advertisement. Your state
may also prohibit making any therapeutic claims about
the tanning equipment. If we use the words "unlimited" or "unlimited
tanning," we may be required to define what
that means wherever we use the words. Obviously,
there have to be some limitations on tanning.
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10. Can I wear my contact lenses while
tanning?
Problems have developed in the past with contacts sticking
to the eyes while tanning. The primary reason is due
to demoisturization. Your whole body naturally loses
some moisture during the tanning process, including
your eyes. If somebody is going to tan with their contacts
in, it is recommended that they not only wear protective
eyewear, but use moisturizing drops prior to or just
after the tanning session to prevent any discomfort.
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11. What causes white spots?
There
are several reasons that a person will begin to develop
white spots. One common reason is vitiligo, which is
characterized by irregularly shaped white patches of
skin, surrounded by dark borders. The white patches
are sensitive to UV exposure.60 Doctors will often
use a lotion based form of psoralen (an extremely photosensitizing
agent) and induce up to second degree burns on the
specific areas. This in effect, reactivates dormant
melanocyte cells into producing melanin again. In time
the white areas will gradually begin to match the surrounding
areas.
Another cause for white spots is a skin fungus known
as tinea versicolor. This fungus actually begins in
the hair and falls down primarily onto the upper body
like dandruff (however, this is not dandruff). The
affected areas prevent the skin from tanning and as
a result create white spots. Sometimes the spots can
be a little scaly. The fungus in tinea versicolor produces
an acid that inhibits the production of tyrosinase
in your skin's melanocytes, which in turn prevents
the production of melanin in the affected areas. Treating
tinea versicolor is fairly easy, but recovery may take
up to several months. Shampoos like extra strength
Selsun Blue are very effective at killing the fungus.
Properly cleaned tanning equipment, by the way, will
not spread tinea versicolor.
The third cause for white spots is caused by how a person
lays in the tanning bed. Three areas of the body are
affected by how a person lays in the tanning bed: shoulder
blades, tail bone area, and the backs of the calves.
What happens is that pressure is created on those areas
of the body which restricts blood flow. A person needs
UVA and UVB in order to tan; however, they also need
oxygen (those who sleep in tanning beds often get these
white spots). There is a simple way to minimize and
even eliminate this condition-- take your right forearm
(not your elbow and not the heel of your hand) and
the bottom of your right foot and push up gently for
a few seconds. This will relieve pressure on the right
hand side of your body, allowing your skin to breathe
for a few moments. After you have done this, you should
lower your right side and raise the left side up the
same way.
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12. How does the tanning process work?
There are three components that make the tanning process
work. UVB starts the tanning process by stimulating
the tanning cells (melanocytes) to produce melanosomes,
which contain melanin (pigment). UVA darkens the melanin
that has been produced, but before that can happen,
melanin needs a certain amount of oxygen to facilitate
UVA. The third component, oxygen, comes from blood
vessels beneath the skin and outside the skin. Of course,
the tanning process can be optimized through the use
of professional tanning lotions which contain nutrients
for your tanning cells.
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13. Does tanning indoors have the same
effect as tanning outdoors?
The advantage is "control." You always know
what you're getting from an individual tanning session.
It is a very precise, calculated, controlled exposure
designed to give you a cosmetically pleasing tan without
burning your skin. When you go outdoors, you place
yourself in an uncontrolled environment. You don't
know how much you are getting and frequently tanning
outdoors results in developing erythema (sunburn).
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14. Can indoor tanning salons use their
equipment to treat medical conditions like psoriasis,
acne, and S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?
NO! In many states not only we are not allowed to treat
medical conditions through use of tanning equipment,
but we are also not allowed to make therapeutic claims
other than the cosmetic darkening of the skin. Exposure
to ultraviolet light has been demonstrated to be helpful
to these conditions; however, only medical doctors
are allowed to use tanning devices for medical purposes.
In some cases a dermatologist may advise a psoriasis
or acne patient to visit a tanning facility to help
treat their condition.
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15. Is it okay for pregnant women to tan
indoors?
It is always best to get your Doctor's advise
before tanning. We do not reccommend tanning
if you know you are pregnant. There are no known
ill effects from the lights, but a rise in body temperature
is what should be avoided.
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16. An indoor tanning session is equivalent
to how many hours in the sun?
One study seemed to indicate that based on very specific
controlled factors, a single tanning session is approximately
equal to two hours of outdoor sun. However, this is
a very controlled study. The fact is that the tanning
bed is a relatively stable source in terms of energy
output. The sun is a highly unstable source in terms
of ultraviolet energy output. Factors that influence
the sun's UV exposure are: clouds, pollution, dust
in the air, ozone levels, elevation from sea level,
geography, the season of the year, and especially the
time of day.
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17. Should people tan who have had skin
cancer in the past?
NO! They shouldn't tan indoors or outdoors even though
a doctor may have removed all of the skin cancer. You
don't know whether or not another one may be forming
in its place. Although not every skin cancer is caused
by overexposure to ultraviolet rays, most are. You
don't want to contribute to pre-existing damage that
has not yet surfaced. However, the skin cancer that
these people are seeing today is due to overexposure(s)
they suffered 20 to 30 years ago.
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18. Do I have to wear protective eyewear?
The answer is not only "yes," but it is important
to emphasize the need and reason why you should wear
eyewear. Federal Law requires that you wear special
eyewear protection that meets Federal guidelines for
use in this facility. Please buy your own pair
of tanning eyewear to avoid risk of infections.
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