Sunkissed and Curious

Base Tan

2008-04-25T00:57:00.000-07:00

A base tan is achieved by slowly and gradually tanning the skin (without any burning) in order to build up a tolerance of natural SPF. The average base tan provides the skin naturally with this SPF in order to help protect the skin from burning. Most people come to indoor tanning salons to build up a base tan before summer or going on vacations to warm places. It is far better to gradually expose skin to UV light and build some natural SPF than to overexpose fair, untanned skin to the harsh intensity of the natural sun.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Tanning

2008-04-25T00:48:00.000-07:00

Indoor tanning provides a safer way to tan because you can do it in a controlled environment with the help and direction of tanning professionals. Skin tans exactly the same in a tanning bed as it does under the natural sun. You will not recieve a different "color" in a tanning bed than from the sun. Tanning beds tend to have less UVB rays and are much more powerful than the outdoor sun so that you may get your tan quicker. Depending on the type and pressure of tanning bed you go in, one maximum-time tanning session is equivalent to approximately 4 hours in the natural sun. Indoor tanning is much more convienient, controlled, reliable, and safe than the sun.

UV Light

2008-04-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

It is important to understand the difference between the different types of UV rays and which ones are present in indoor and outdoor tanning.

UVA- UVA light is the most prominent ray found in both sunshine and tanning beds. They have been nicknamed the "tanning rays" because they penetrate deeper into the skin than UVB rays and do not cause a sunburn effect, but instead work to deepen your skins pigment. The UVA rays can break down skin's collagen fibers and vitamin A. These elements can be fixed by using a tanning lotion with collagen enhancers and vitamin A.
UVB- UVB light is also known as the "Burning Rays" because they can lead to skin's DNA damage when overexposure occurs. The UVB rays are, however, necessary in small doses to produce a tan because they stimulate the production of melanin in the skin. Tanning beds have a very small percentage of UVB rays (about 1%), the natural sun has slightly more than most tanning beds which is why it's important to wear sunscreen when going outdoors, even if you have a base tan (Approximately 98.7% of the rays that reach Earth are UVA).
UVC- UVC light is extremely dangerous and not found in tanning beds. The rays do not reach the Earth's surface because they are absorbed by the ozone.

How the Skin Tans

2008-04-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

The brown color of a tan is caused by melanin in the upper layer of the skin. Melanin is the dark pigment that is found in the melanocytes close to the surface of your skin. When UVB light hits your skin it stimulates melanin production. UVA light travels deeper into the skin to deepen the pigment of all of the new melanin. Oxygen also plays a key role in helping create more melanin production.