Saturday, December 13, 2008

Are Tanning Pills Effective?

Tanning pills are probably the biggest myth in the history of sunless skincare products. They have proliferated on a market that supports and promotes their use as supplements by all means possible, from magazines, ads and web pages to promotions in drug stores. Tanning pills are sold as dietary supplements but they are not FDA approved and they all include the disclaimer that they are not designed to treat, cure or prevent any health issue whatsoever. It has happened several times that the tanning pills safety should become subject for controversial debates, but no decisive measures have been adopted to discourage their use. What efficiency rate do tanning pills have? What is their safety level?

Knowing the main factors that have an impact on tan formation could turn out to be helpful for the understanding of the working principle behind tanning pills and their efficiency or lack of efficiency. This means that genetic predisposition and the level of exposure to ultraviolets are the two main elements that influence tanning. As for nutrition, diet has a very light word to say in the matter of getting tanned. Consider for example a fair-skinned Caucasian person; regardless of how many tanning pills she/he will use, getting brownish naturally will still be difficult given the low melanin concentration in the skin cells.

Some tanning pills contain canthaxanthin which is also used as a color additive in the manufacturing of food products. Though the Food and Drug Agency has approved this use, not the same thing can be said about the assimilation of cantharxanthin as a tanning agent. The difference comes from the fact that in food, only a small quantity of chemical is necessary, whereas in tanning pills, very large concentrations are required. The result of this chemical administration consists in the depositing of the substance under the skin layers giving it the brown orange-brown pigmentation; unfortunately, serious adverse reactions are related to the administration of this kind of tanning pills.

Liver disease cases have been related to the use of canthaxanthin tanning pills; FDA banished these products and passed warnings in relation to their use. Another kind of tanning pills that are currently tested in Australia rely on a hormonal compound to stimulate the secretion of melanin; it seems that this drug increases results when combined with UV exposure too. Besides these two drug variants, there are all sorts of herbal supplements labeled tanning pills. Yet, nutrition does not seem to play such an important role in the quality of the tan, and thus the efficiency level of tanning pills remains pretty low.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Tanning Solons

There is a strong doubt about the safety of tanning salons as long as we know that even the smallest level of exposure to ultraviolet rays could prove harmful for the body system. The problem with the lamps and tanning tools used in tanning salons is the intensity of the rays that are directed at the user; the dermis is actually absorbing much larger amounts of radiation than when simply sunbathing. A false impression many users share is that only UVA rays are used in tanning salons: well that's really far from the truth, as there are also small amounts of UVB that get produced and this small percentage contributes to plenty of skin cancer cases.

statistics indicate that even when tanning outdoors, we do get a small level of protection by the secretion of melanin; moreover, natural sun light causes a thickening process at the skin level. Such “defenses” against radiation are missing from the body reaction to the UVA rays used in tanning salons. Scientists even point out that the chances to get skin cancer are 5% higher for people who use tanning salons just once a month, and the risk increases with more frequent exposures. Investigate the following when you change tanning salons.

Tanning salons that do not have usage instructions and goggles to protect your eyes from the radiation could be a threat to your health. Maybe they offer cheap services, but your health deserves better. In some beauty centers, a towel is used as the only eye protection from the action of the ultraviolets; well this is surely a bad point. Burning is no longer the nastiest side effect to follow ultraviolets exposure: there are more dramatic problems to be considered, and our ignorance will surely not make them vanish in thin air. You have to shield not just skin, but the sight and overall body structure as such.

Even though the risks of tanning salons have been widely approached, their services are still more popular than outdoor sun tanning during the summer months. More than two million Americans choose to go tanning every day particularly during winter. On the other hand, studies show an alarming rate of melanoma, the most devastating form of cancer that can affect the human body. Only in the United States, one million people get ill with some form of skin cancer, and the highest rate has been reported in the areas with intenser ultraviolet exposure.

Get more information on tanning here Tanning Indoors

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Efficiency Of a Tanning Lotion

Tanning Lotion Video

The maximum benefits of tanning can be enjoyed at the maximum if people know how to use a high quality sun-free tanning lotion. Scientific research continues to bring unsettling facts to the public attention in relation to the damage of excessive or uncontrolled sun exposure. Where does the efficiency of a tanning lotion lie? The UVA and UVB represent the main threat to human skin, but with a sunless tanning lotion you can get a dream golden skin without any risks whatsoever. Even so, complaints do exist about the not so great quality of some bronzer items present on the market. The most common of problems consists of the lotions tendency to streak and spot, which can ruin not only the look but clothes too.

Artificial tanning lotion products rely on the use of DHA as the bronzer agent; this substance enters into contact with the amino-acids present in the upper skin layers and causes the appearance of the beautiful tan color. Hence, when shopping for such products, keep an eye open on whether they contain DHA. Then, skin moisture care is also important given the fact that a tanning lotion with some herbal hydration ingredient will make the skin silky, beautiful and elastic. Aloe vera for instance works as a great moisturizer, and many of the skincare products have it in their composition. The packages should indicate the concentration level or the proportions in which herbal extracts are present in the lotion.

In the end, any user must check the sunscreen properties of the tanning lotion he or she uses. This is the only way to make sure that you don't get exposed to intense radiation without even knowing it. Most of the tanning lotion categories include sunscreen built in, but experts point out that it is often too little. Even if you have golden skin from the use of a sunless lotion, apply a sunscreen product all the same. Not only will it add to the beautiful bronze look, but it will stop the discomfort of sunburns too.

How can a tanning lotion increase the intensity of the tan? A more intense dark color of the skin is achieved after several applications of a tanning lotion product. The instructions on the package should assist you step by step towards a nice tanned look with all the precautions necessary. It is advisable to ask for a doctor's advice in case you have some skin problem; chemical side effects are possible given the fact that the tanning lotion mainly contains a combination of laboratory created substances that induce the pigment at the skin level. Moreover, one of the basic elements could also show low tolerance, which may cause skin rashes and even allergies.

Get more on tanning here Used Tanning Beds

Advantages Of Tanning Indoors

Tanning indoors stands out as the more rewarding and safer alternative to direct sunbathing, but even so, the method is not without risks as long as ultraviolet exposure is necessary. Beautiful skin makes the best premises to start tanning indoors, as the tanned look is directly dependent on the condition of the tissues. If you naturally dry-skinned, then, the use of special skincare items for tanning indoors purposes is essential. Statistics show that failure to apply a moisturizing cream on the skin before a tanning period, no matter if you have dry, normal or oily complexion, leads to flaking and an short-lasting tan that will fade away in about a week.

One important thing you should know about tanning indoors is that all countries have legal schemes that force salons and other tanning facilities maintain a high quality level in the procedures. Constant tests, maintenance inspections and all sorts of check procedures are also performed in order to fight the overuse of the tanning equipment and the possible malfunctions resulting from it. Moreover, for tanning indoors conditions, salons have to post warnings, instructions and lists of drugs that are not compatible with ultraviolet exposure. Even so, the the possibility to promote good skin health is definitely higher with artificial tanning than with normal sunbathing.

What makes the sunburn risk higher? There is a maximum time interval per session meaning that in the case of a regular tanning bed, the usage is limited to twenty minutes at the maximum, while with a tanning booth, the time frame is of ten or fifteen minutes. Even so, these are the average values for a person who has already developed a base tan. If you have never not been exposed to artificially created ultraviolets, then, tanning indoors asks for a lot of patience and gradual exposure. You will afterwards be able to get to the twenty minutes limit only after a month of progressive tanning.

Drug-induced photo-sensitivity is one very serious and frequent problem associated with tanning indoors facilities. Such problematic events occur when the person is unaware that the medication she/he is taking could become harmful to the skin when in contact with UVA and UVB. Blister formation, burns, rashes and other irritation plagues could be the immediate consequence. Preventive measures make the best way to remain unaffected by these incidents. You cannot lay blame on the tanning indoors salon for the issue, since the drug list they bring to your attention is a general not a complete one.

Get more on tanning here Tanning Accessories

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Using Tanning Equipment

The market for tanning equipment registered a true boom some ten years ago when the popularity of tanning beds and home lamps reached the peak. Everybody wanted to remain honey-skinned all year round, and all of a sudden that was possible. Tanned skin looks great, but it is difficult to care for and rather stressful to keep fit. Complex tanning equipment includes UV-free devices, particularly since the awareness of the health risks determined by traditional indoor tanning has made people change their mind from going to tanning salons. The spray tanning booth was thus invented, complemented by services that include skin hydration and anti-wrinkle treatments as well as sun-free prep applications and UV acceleration procedures.

For people interested in opening a tanning salon, discounted tanning equipment or special packages are the profitable alternative to entering a franchise. There are companies that take care of every level of tanning equipment installation, software and management. Depending on the design of the systems, tanning equipment could be assisted by special softwares, but the costs for such utilities are sometimes huge. Hence, the needs of a tanning salon vary from lamp replacements and timing systems to acrylic maintenance items, cleansers and all sorts of eye protections.

Bed timers for instance represent a necessary part of any tanning equipment, without such devices, it is difficult to manage and control the sessions and ensure a good business flow. Such items can be adjusted for manual operations or create a high level of compatibility with the computer softwares the salon relies on. A high professional level can be thus achieved with some money investment and little personal effort. And here we should add a few things about the possibility to choose used tanning equipment, which is usually merchandised for smaller prices. Is such tanning equipment reliable?

Second-hand tanning equipment has several risks that any investor should be aware of. First of all, how technologically advanced is it? How well does the bed ensure healthy use? What are the health hazards of the models in question? The list of hot issues could go on since used tanning equipment may hide lots of schemes and scams. Technical expertise of the device you want to purchase remains a duty, unless the product already has a certification from a national authority. One other problem with used tanning equipment is that the life extent is lower if compared to brand new models.

Find more info on tanning here Tanning Bed Tips

Uses Tanning Booths Wisely

Though resembling in function and technical specificity, tanning booths are different from tanning beds by the user's standing position. With tanning booths one stands, and this peculiarity represents the main advantage of such equipments. Sanitation is the actual reason for which tanning booths are given better ratings than tanning beds, since they impose virtually zero contact between the user and the unit. The popularity of such devices also increased because of many prejudices about tanning beds: there were people who pretended to have got herpes from prior users, for example. Though this remains far from the truth, negative publicity works too, and tanning booths became safer than tanning beds.

The truth is that regardless of whether of using tanning beds or tanning booths, cleaning substances are part of the usage routine, not to mention that the high UV exposure makes the proliferation of bacteria almost impossible. Tanning booths also stand apart by the higher power output in the reflecting UVA lamps. This means that technically speaking, tanning booths rely on 160 watt lamps, which are significantly more powerful than those used by tanning beds. This is also the reason for which the sessions are five or ten minutes shorter too, which could really matter for one who cannot afford to waste any time at all.

One of the advantages of tanning booths was only discovered when the presence of the pressure points came under debate. When lying on a bed, a person's body gets areas where the blood slows down in its proper flow because of the position. The consequence of this lack of uniformity is irregular tanning, but the chances for such an accidental skin look areminimal with tanning booths. What clients find more upsetting is the higher costs for the tanning booths use, as not anyone can afford to pay double or triple several times a week. This also explains why tanning beds outnumber tanning booths, as not all salons afford to make improvements.

Generally speaking, tanning booths fall under the same category as other tanning gear: they pose similar health hazards and the national regulations work the same way. Even if the time spent in tanning booths is a bit reduced, the exposure to ultraviolets is not completely safe, and the potential hazards are increased by the prior existence of some skin problem left undetected until the tanning session. Therefore, people should pay more attention to their body, as good looks are not worth supporting at the expense of personal health.

 

Get additional information on tanning here Indoor Tanning

Monday, December 8, 2008

Use Tanning Beds Wisely

Tanning beds are cosmetic equipments that depend on ultraviolet formation to tan-like skin reactions. Typical tanning beds include a varying number of phosphor bulbs that create ultraviolets; depending on the complexity of the gear, the number of lamps is matched on smaller or larger devices. Very specialized tanning beds incorporate quartz lamps instead of phosphor lamps, but they also require a combination of filters and reflecting devices for proper functioning. As the name suggests it, tanning beds allow the individual to lie down, thus opposing tanning booths where one has to stand. One other major difference between tanning beds and booths is the higher power output specific to the latter.

Tanning beds are considered very controversial at present, as the World Health Organization advises against the use of such devices for cosmetic purposes. As a form of illustrating level of damage tanning beds can cause it is enough to say that one cannot use the device without goggles. Negligence to follow the line of this safety procedure could lead to very serious health problems. Statistics show that tanning beds are used differently in various parts of the globe, and the gap does exist even in the technical peculiarity of the devices. Americans seem to like indoor tanning more than Europeans, and the tanning beds they rely on usually emit more UVB light than those used in Europe.

Tanning beds should not be used in combination with open sun exposure given the high risk of developing sunburn. The risk comes from the fact that tanning beds do not influence the formation a deep base tan, and once you get on the beach, the deepest skin layers would be exposed to the harmful action of the sun rays. Outdoor and indoor tanning could be alternated but with some time lapse in between. Moreover, the use of protective lotions and sunscreens remains a must; the element that could vary under the circumstances is the ultraviolet protection factor.

Learn more about tanning and tanning accessories here Tanning Salons

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Beneficial Tanning Bed Tips

Many tanning bed tips focus on the necessity to go to a tanning salon constantly in order to preserve the honey look of the skin. Some centers are more popular than others, depending on the type of tanning procedures used; for instance, one of the latest trends is the use of the Solar Storm designs that are considered safe and very comfortable to use. The thing is that the skin color does not get golden after one single session at the tanning salon; at least five or six sessions will be required for the creation of a longer lasting base tan. Tanning bed tips point out that for the best of results, one should tan eight out of twelve days; yet, skin specificity and individual features tip the scales in the direction of the tanning speed.

Thus, tanning bed tips differently differently for fair-skinned and dark-skinned people: the level of responsiveness to the ultraviolet light is more intense for lighter complexions, and the exposure time often needs to be shorter. Then, skin dryness could also become disturbing factor: skin has the natural tendency to lose moisture more or less depending on the person, but if you add the action of the solar lamps to this natural predisposition, the skin could become quite a mess without proper care. Read the tanning bed tips concerning the prevention of skin exfoliation and use adequate tanning lotions that moisturize and nourish the tissues.

Dry-skinned people find it a lot more difficult to develop and preserve a golden skin. The cosmetic industry does have some solutions for such cases in the form of accelerator substances. Usually bought as lotion, tan accelerators increase the tanning receptivity of the skin and you will get the color you want in a very short period of time. There are however some precautions and tanning bed tips concerning the use of such products, as they should not be applied carelessly and disregarding the safety measures.

Many of the tanning bed tips present in magazines or posted online forget to mention the importance of a balanced nutrition and the influence other skincare products have on the beauty of the tan. Thus, diet can influence the natural sun protection or skin immunity level to the action of the ultraviolets; foods with a high content of vitamin A or beta-carotene ease tanning efforts significantly. Tomatoes, radishes, carrots, celery, broccoli and any colorful fruit or vegetable works well for the occasion. Moreover, the presence of the right nutrients in the blood lowers the burning risk at the skin level.

Get more on tanning here Used Tanning Beds