Dear TanningBeds.org,

I just bought a new sunquest bed, 1st time I laid in it I have red lines where the bulbs are. Is this normal and will it even out?

Rick

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Dear Rick,

This is what we call “striping” and it has a few different causes. You didn’t say how many lamps are in the bed, so I will cover the most common for 16 and 24 lamp beds:

1. Lamps are spaced too wide. This is common for 16 lamp beds that are as wide as that SunQuest (34″). You have to move a bit when you are tanning to help reduce the effect. The fix would be to reduce your tanning session time and more more.

2. Too long of a session. Any bed can (theoretically) stripe you if you stay too long, particularly the first several sessions. No matter how good the reflectors are, the UV is always stronger directly over the lamps. Reduce session time by half and work your way up.

3. Photosensitive skin. Many drugs and foods can make your skin more sensitive to UV, and it may just be a mild reaction. Reactions can be severe as well. Check with your pharmacist regarding any medications you are taking, and compare to this list of medicines and foods that cause photosensitivity. If you are taking meds that make you photosensitive, you want to avoid tanning. You can easily avoid foods that cause photosensitivity if this is an issue.

4. Heat rash. This is particularly common the first few sessions. Many people get striped at first, but it disappears pretty quick, and it is just a heat reaction to the lamps. This is most common with tanning beds that use choke ballasts (24 or more lamps). Some people are just more sensitive to heat, but this typically goes away after a few sessions as your skin gets used to it. This is more common with a bed that has a defective cooling fan in the bench (usually an older bed), which makes the heat go way up. Reduce session time by half and let your skin adjust.

5. New lamps with high UVB. This is not an issue with a new bed, as they usually come with 5% lamps, which is a good blend. This is more of an issue when people relamp their bed with 9.5% lamps, which is insanely too strong in UVB. Unless you have psoriasis (this is not medical advice!) or your doctor told you to get high UVB lamps, normal people should never relamp their tanning beds with lamps with very high UVB. They actually tan you LESS in the long run and are way more likely to burn you seriously. The lesson here is don’t use high UVB lamps unless you have a particular reason to.

Ok, that covers the most common reasons why beds can stripe. Your bed in particular is not more or less likely to stripe you, so it isn’t a model defect. My guess is that you stayed in too long and just need to reduce your session time and work your way up. That is the benefit of a home tanning bed, you don’t need to overdo it, you can always tan tomorrow.

Dennis