High Pressure Tanning Beds (UVA Beds)
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staff on Thu, 08/20/2009 at 3:42pm.
High pressure tanning beds use quartz lamps that vary in length, usually tanning the body from above while the tanner rests comfortably on a contoured mattress. The term "high pressure" comes from the way that the bed is manufactured. These high pressure tanning beds maintain the gasses inside the quartz lamp at slightly above atmospheric pressure, while the gasses in the tanning tubes of conventional tanning beds are held below atmospheric pressure.
Most high pressure tanning beds have an elaborate ultra-violet filtering system that blocks the UVB rays almost entirely. Some of the more advanced systems even remove the higher frequencies of the UVA rays, leaving only what they call the safest, most effective part of the spectrum to provide a deep, dark & long lasting tan without a high risk of burning. Additionally, a second filtering system removes a large percentage of the infrared spectrum for a 'cooler' tan, and the bright white light is toned down for a more relaxing and comforting environment. The difference, in a nutshell, is a higher quality, faster tan.
Compared to the lamps in conventional beds, the lamps in high pressure beds are able to produce a longer lasting, deeper, darker tan because the UVA light penetrates deeper into the skin. This affects the melanin that is further away from the skin’s surface—so the tan from a high pressure bed will last longer because the affected melanin granules take longer to reach the skin’s surface.
The upside to UVA beds is that they accomplish this without subjecting you to the extreme amounts of UVB rays you receive in a conventional bed or natural sunlight.
Unfortunately, UVA light is the source of the majority of the deeper photo-damage (elastin damage) caused by sun exposure. So you may get a deep, dark tan that lasts, but because UVA penetrates deeper, you still risk photo-damage. Photo-damage is responsible for increased collagen and elastin breakdown. UVA can also cause many forms of skin cancer.
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