Tanning bed bulbs are used in every tan bed or suntan lamp in the shops. When you are buying a new or especially a used suntan bed, make a careful examination of the bulbs. Make sure that they are proper tanning bulbs and meet the FDA regulations with regard to health and safety. You should also estimate how difficult it is to get at the bulbs. Make sure that the lamps are easy to change when the time comes. It is very important, and a lot cheaper, if you can perform such simple maintenance yourself, if you have a home tanning bed.

There are two very different, non-interchangeable types of lamps used in low pressure and high pressure beds. You need to make sure you buy the right sun bed lamps for your sun bed, because you cannot use just any bulb you like. If you are buying replacement bulbs on the Internet, check the make and model of your existing lamps very carefully, because you have to make sure that the bulbs you are ordering are made for your bed.

High Pressure Tanning Bulbs: high pressure beds have quartz-tube lamps in a multitude of 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 only from above. 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 great deal more comfortable than a regular tanning bed.

One of the biggest benefit of these HP bulbs is the amount of time you have to spend on the tanning bed. Since you tan faster, you need to spend less time in the tanning salon, which means it works out cheaper. You can achieve the level of tan you want in about three weeks of three to five sessions a week. However, with a low pressure bed, it would take you at least a month to acquire the same level of colour. Maintaining your tan is much easier too. You only need two or three sessions a 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 look like household fluorescent tubes. The lamps are located in the top and the bottom of the sun bed, which means that all the body parts are tanned at the together, without needing to roll over 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 responsible for the (premature) ageing effects on the skin and UVB rays are the burning rays that produce skin burn when you are outside in the sun. It is very important to determine which kind of rays your sun 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 factor when selecting the type of bed you use at home or in the salon, is the tanning bed lotion you will use. Different lotions are better for each type of bed. The staff at your tanning salon can help you choose a lotion that will work for the bed you are using and your skin type. No matter what bed you are using, you should definitely always use a lotion. Lotions help you tan more quickly and moisturise your skin at the same time.