timesnewroman

i was having a discussion with my parents about this the other day. they don't think i should go out and spend money on expensive indoor tanning lotions (expensive being over 20 dollars) because they say it's a waste of money.
my mom tans outdoors only, but my dad uses tanning beds. he uses lotion he got at the drugstore for 4 dollars, and sometimes apparently doesn't use lotion at all. (and he has been tanning for years)

i noticed people who don't use tanning lotions look oranger; but what i'm really asking is isn't a good tanning lotion important?

i'm still a teenager, i'd rather spend money taking care of my skin, then having it be damaged for the rest of my life, and i personally think "you get what you pay for."

so, drugstore tanning lotion? good or bad.
expensive tanning lotions? better for you in the long run?
is there a difference?

unity

Is shampoo important for cleaning your hair? Yes! And like shampoo, the more you spend the better the product (usually). Does everyone need Aveda, no, but I would stay clear of White Rain shampoo!

Get the analogy? Lotion is not all about getting darker longer lasting results, its about skin care. So yes, its important to use and using a quality product will be better for you skin and tan.

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OMG! I made a post! :)

unity

By the way, the $4 stuff you dad uses *might* be outdoor lotion! I hope not, anything with SPF will block the bed and if it contains mineral oil it will damage the bed's acrylic!

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OMG! I made a post! :)

eileen

I'll keep this short. Indoor tanning lotions have tyrosine. The tyrosine is a quick way to wake up your melanin to let it know something is happening. It should only take a few minutes....tingle lotion will make this happen even quicker....without these lotions the lamps could take 6 mins or so to wake up your melanin. Some things I look for in a good lotion is caffeine to immediately start any DNA damage repair. Coconut Oil is very good for your skin. Jojoba (spelling?) oil I believe is nice in a face lotion. If you have dry skin the lamps will reflect light off of your skin instead of absorbing it as it would with moisturized skin. I think your moisturizer when you're not tanning is just as important to take care of your skin. The biggest difference in higher priced lotions is that they generally have more of your expensive ingredients in them. For example a high end bottle might have 20% of an ingredient that a less expensive bottle would have only 2% of this same ingredient. I also like grape seed oil for consistency instead of parabens.

I hope this helps. :) You are smart you don't want wrinkles when your my age!

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"under exposure to UV rays is as dangerous as overexposure....this is D life" eileen

dcjjp2

Well said Eileen. When I educate my new clients on why they should use lotion it kinda goes like this:

When you are tanning properly moisturized skin it takes about a minute to accept and "kickstart" the tanning process when not using a proper accelerator it can take up to 6-7 minutes as dry skin reflects UV light. Not to mention that dry skin burns much quicker as there is no moisture in it.

I also use:

Tanning by definition is a form a "drying" process (obviously with out the tannin and other ingredients to make leather, which I don't say...) but, without adding moisture, vitamins and minerals back into the skin it becomes dry, cracked and unhealthy.
Adding PROPER moisture back at the time of tanning as well as after is critical to building and maintaining healthy tanned skin. You may not think too much about it now, by not using a proper products, you are doing your skin a huge disservice.

Then there's the anti aging or for those that are concerned about tanning in general:

The accelerators are engineered not only to accelerate your tan, enabling you to spend less time in the beds as well as the frequency of visits to build and maintain the same tan (for those concerned with tanning too much and also for those that do tan too much concerned with aging their skin) Also, to bathe your skin in the proper ingredients to fend off and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and to tighten and tone the skin for a firmer more youthful appearance with repeated use.
At this time I usually get into the individual ingredients like Tyrosine and the different grades of other ingredients that may be in a particular lotion.

At most if they don't buy even a packette (which is only like 2 out of 10) it gets them thinking.

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Jeff

mr belvedere

How important is tanning lotion? How important is a SPARK to a FLAME? How important is WATER to COFFEE? How important is GAS to a CAR? How important is UV to a TAN? Trust me, it's important. The absolute most important thing tanning lotions provide is MOISTURE. Many lotions have many other important ingredients, but MOISTURE is paramount on the list. And indoor tanning lotions are SPECIALLY FORMULATED for use with indoor tanning beds. Use indoor tanning lotions liberally, and often ;-). You'll get better results. Hope this helps. -Belvy

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"A dusty bible leads to a dirty life ..." -Synonymous

Angel1031

I'm glad this was brought up. I think I will print this topic out to help me prove a point to a few of my clients. They come in and after talking to them I suggest a lotion that I believe would be most beneficial to the individual. Most will take my advice and purchase the lotion, however there are a few who don't use any lotion and claim it's just salon owners' way to make the real bucks. Well this one lady in particular comes in and just keeps complaining that she's not getting color, even though I have recommended several things to her to help get the color she wants and she doesn't try anything new. She wasn't using any lotion at all and told me she didn't want to use any so what can I do other than keep suggesting it to her. I showed her everything from our lowest priced to our highest, thinking that maybe cost was the issue. She says she just doesn't want to waste money on lotion. But jeeze... I figure if you want to get tan you will heed advice and take a few tips in stride. If one thing isn't working, try try another. Anyway you guys have some really great answers and I think I learned a new way to handle these clients who don't want to "waste" cash on lotions to get the look they want.

MalibuBarbi

tangirl23

That's why I don't ask them a "yes" or "no" question. I ask something like "What lotion are you using today?". If they say "Well I'm not using any.", that's my in.... Even if they say, "Oh I'm all set with lotion", I still say something like "Oh, ok what kind are you using? How do you like it?". That way if they are using non professional crap I can catch it before they go tan in my equipement. Sometimes, if they are rude about it, I ask to see the lotion they are using and I tell them flat out that I check lotions because some stuff with ruin my acrylics.

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More Tan Than You Since 1998!

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