If you tan regularly and plan on doing so for some time, you may be saving money in the long run by purchasing your own tanning bed.  A domestic grade tanning bed wouldn’t be the same piece of equipment as the commercial ones you see in salons, but they will still have the same effect as their more industrial style counterparts.

Comfort and Convenience

For some people, having the privacy to undress and tan in their own home is a good enough reason on its own to get their own bed.  For others, perhaps the idea of who knows how many other people lying on that same bed is unsettling for them.  Or maybe it’s just a time saving factor and you don’t want to drive to the salon, wait for a bed to be available, or have to make appointments days in advance.  Tanning when you want, day or night, can be a big reason for deciding to buy your own bed.

Equipment Price

When you work out the costs of buying minutes or tanning packages from a salon and compare that to the price of owning your own bed over an extended period of time, you’ll see that if you’re an avid tanner, you’re actually saving money by having your own equipment.  There will be additional costs such as replacement bulbs and electricity bills that you’ll need to pay for, but in the long run you’re still saving in comparison to tanning at a salon.

Bed and Bulb Maintenance

The bulbs on your home bed will have to be replaced occasionally.  They can usually last for up to about 1000 hours of use.  Depending on your usage and the number of people using the bed, 1000 hours of use could mean changing the bulbs roughly every 4-5 years.  Special cleaning products will also be required to clean the bulbs, but this doesn’t have to be done very often and the maintenance is generally pretty simple.

Safety and Precautions

When owning your own bed it could be tempting to tan longer or more often than you should.  This could lead to skin damage and possible health issues.  Getting a bed with a timer or using a clock timer is an excellent way to limit your exposure.  It’s also a good idea to tan no more than once in a 24 hour period.

While the commercial types of beds are usually built with more lamps and may give you a quicker tan, the same types of bulbs are used in domestic beds so you’re still getting the same quality of UV exposure and an equally beautiful tan.  If you have the space to store a bed and tan enough to make the investment worth it, buying a home tanning bed could be the right decision for you.

There are basically two types of bulbs used in tanning beds; high pressure tanning bulbs and conventional low pressure lamps.  Some beds may use both type in unison with possibly different combinations of intensity.  They can come in a variety of sizes, watts, and other smaller variations from model to model.

High Pressure Bulbs

These bulbs use quartz glass and pressurized argon gas.  Because the quartz does not filter out the UVC rays, which are the more harmful UV rays we try to avoid, dichroic filter glass is used with these bulbs and will usually give them a purple hue.  This type of bulb is for tanning from above only, so in a lay down tanning bed they would be found on the hood, or perhaps used only as face tanners.  These bulbs are more intense and efficient and would be changed after 300-1000 hours of use.

Low Pressure Bulbs

Low pressure lamps are quite similar to the common fluorescent tube lights you see everywhere.  The difference between the tubes used for tanning and the ones used for common lighting is the phosphor used in them.  The low pressure lamps would be used for tanning from above and below in a tanning bed.  They last longer than the high pressure bulbs and would need to be replaced after 300-1600 hours of use.

There are other differences in tanning bulbs than just the pressure type of course.  Some bulbs, such as the type often found in stand up beds, would have reflective surfaces created inside to maximize the range of the UV light being emitted.  Different wattage levels are also commonly found in different bulbs and may be used for a variety of purposes such as the location of the bulb in the bed or what type of bed it’s being used in.

While tanning bulbs are a fairly low maintenance, the do require occasional cleaning to prevent dust or oils from accumulating on them.  Oils from your hands while handling the bulbs can decrease their expected lifespan, while dust on the bulbs can get in the way of the UV rays while you’re tanning.

The bulbs do also need to be changed every so often, but if you’re changing your own bulbs in a home tanning bed, they should last you quite some time depending on your usage.  These bulbs are fragile and contain mercury, so if you’re changing your own bulbs handle them with care.