As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

How to Tan Faster in a Tanning Bed


It was a fine morning. I had just opened my salon and was waiting for my first customer. I saw Linda hurrying to my office and asking a lot of queries to my receptionist.

Her engagement was planned for the coming week and she wanted to get tanned. But, she had completely forgotten it!

I was smiling in my mind.

Every week, I get a couple of similar customers who want the secrets on how to tan faster in a tanning bed.

If you are also in dire need of getting a sun-kissed look as quickly as possible, this is the article you are looking for.

Follow all the tips I have listed here to get that perfect caramel hue that you want in no time.

How to Get Tan Faster in Tanning Bed

You should be knowing this by now: tanning fast in a tanning bed demands more from you.

Yea, normal indoor tanning bed tips can’t save you here. You need to work and plan more to get ready faster for your marriage or engagement or whatever it may be.

Here are some of the things you can do to get tan in no time using a tanning bed.

1. Exfoliate Your Skin for better Absorption

Exfoliating your skin is the foremost thing to get a faster tan in sunbeds. You might even have one of the best tanning beds listed by Tanning Girl, still, you should exfoliate your skin thoroughly.

If you want to achieve a good base tan then the UV rays must penetrate uniformly. For that, you should remove the dead cells in your skin.

If you do not exfoliate your skin, you are tanning your dead cells that will fall off soon. As these fall off, when you go for the next session, you will be tanning cells which were not previously tanned. So to get the desired look, it will take more time.

How should you exfoliate your skin? Use an abrasive soap or a scrubbing sponge.  You can even use salt scrubs too.

Here is a list of products you can use to exfoliate your body thoroughly before using tanning beds: Exfoliator reviews by Tanning Girl

2. Using Good Tanning bed lotions is the Key

Tanning lotions speed up the tanning process. A good tanning lotion will help you in retaining the tan for a longer period of time.  If you have a good base tan, you don’t have to spend more time on tanning.

But why am I strongly advising you to use these lotions?

Tanning lotion allows opening up of pores in our skin. The film of natural oils in the lotion will act as a prism which magnifies the effect of UV rays. Thus, it prevents the wastage of UV rays and helps you get the most out of your tanning session.

What else do tanning lotions do? They moisturize your skin; prevent wrinkles, rashes, and burns.

There are many kinds of tanning lotions available in the market. For getting a tan quickly, I recommend that you use any of the three below.

  1. Accelerators:

These come packed with moisturizers. Moisturized skin tans faster.

  1. Tingle Lotions:

These lotions increase the blood flow and thus the melanin production in your body. Therefore, it hastens the tanning process.

  1. Bronzers:

These lotions can give your base tan a deep brown color.  Do not buy the cheap bronzing lotions as those give you a disgusting orange-colored tan.

You can try out all these lotions and later choose any of the three according to your liking. Small packets of tanning lotions come part of an assorted pack of lotions. You can purchase such packs to save money.

But, keep in your mind that you should never use a sunblock instead of indoor tanning lotion in a tanning bed.

As the UV exposure is controlled in indoor tanning, you do not need sunblock to limit the exposure to UV rays.  Using a sunblock you will never end up getting as tanned as you desire. Thus, you will simply be wasting your time and money.

You can find out some of the best indoor tanning lotions here: https://tanninggirl.com/best-indoor-tanning-lotion-reviews/

3.  Tanning bed with more light lamps

Ultraviolet rays produce the tan. So what is the most essential part of a tanning bed?

Yes, your guess is right.

The more the lamps, the more the tan you can achieve. Which also means the faster the results.

The intensity of the light rays and the exposure of your body parts to the rays depend on the number of lamps. Tan beds with many lamps can also help you in achieving a darker tan swiftly.

If you are planning to purchase a tanning bed, go for one with many lamps or bulbs. Some of you might be owning a tanning bed at home. Replace the lamps in your tanning bed as soon as its useful life is over.

If not, before you take your first appointment for a session; ask the salon staff to show you their equipment. If the machines in a salon are ones with less Xanax online pharmacy number of lamps, be ready to choose a different salon itself.

If you are depending on tanning salons, ask the staff for the tanning beds with the newest set of lamps.

4. Quality Tanning Bulbs

The useful life of lamps is about 300-5000 hours while that of bulbs are 300-10000 hours. Useful life means the period in which a lamp or bulb produces about 70% or more of the rays it is expected to produce.

If you own a tanning bed, change its lamps as per use. Click here to find out the best tanning bulbs in the market.

Tanning salons change the lamps in the tanning beds from time to time.  You should ask the salon staff for the tanning beds with the newest set of lamps.

New lamps will be very effective that they give you a dark tan in no time.  

Some tanning beds available in stores now promise instant tan. So do simple research to know whether the tanning bed you are using is a new model with many light bulbs.

5. Stand Up Tanning beds

Stand up tanning beds are the best when it comes to exposure of UV rays. Due to their unique design compared to lay down tanning beds, they offer better emission of UV rays and thus faster tanning.

You need to stand up in these sunbeds.

Due to the overexposure, you can’t use them for more than 15 minutes.

But let me tell you that the 15 minutes you spend on these beds are far effective to that of normal ones.

6. Schedule Frequent Tanning Sessions

Isn’t tanning bed a great spot to relax? Then why should you take long breaks between your sessions?

The tanning results appear faster when your tanning sessions are regular. You can schedule tanning sessions thrice a week or so.

If your use of tanning bed is not frequent, the results of the previous tan will almost be faded by time you go for the next tan. So, for getting the desired effect it will take more time.

So if you dream of getting tanned fast, lie down on your tanning bed regularly.

7. Use Different Levels of Tanning Beds

You must go for different levels of tanning beds alternatively for faster results.

Some tanning salons have tanning beds labeled at different levels.  Each level tanning bed differs from the other in terms of intensity and type of rays emitted.  Some beds have rays that redden your skin while others have rays that bronze your skin.

Alternating between different tanning beds will help you get a gorgeous sun kissed look quickly. Try alternating the beds daily for a week straight to get an absolutely stunning tan within a week.

Yes, within a week!

Some tanning salons offer sessions for a week with different level tanning beds on alternative days.

8. Move, Move, Move

Do not lie still on the tanning bed. Changing your positions will help you in achieving tan quickly.

The fastest way to tan in a tanning bed is by making small changes in your body position while you lie in the bed.

Move your arms and legs slightly to maximize exposure of UV rays to all parts of your body. What is the fun is lying still?

If you do not expose each and every bit of your body to the rays, tanning will not be uniform. You will have to go for more and more sessions to tan those patches where it is tanned less.

Don’t be a lazybones!

9. Other Key Tips

I have listed almost every key steps you should follow to get dark faster in tanning beds. But it is not ending there.

Here are a few more things you should follow :

  • Tanning nude is by far better way to get more UV exposure.
  • Don’t wear makeups while visiting the tanning salon.
  • If you don’t have enough time and you don’t really like the UV overexposure, there are quality self-tanners to help you out.

These tips are more than enough to get your skin darker in a few days time using a tanning bed. But, I want you to think twice about using a sunbed for quick tanning.

You need to take all the precautions ranging from healthy tanning beds to eye protections. Overexposure can be a villain in your quest to get quick tanned skin.

So, tan safely!

Stella Cristin

I'm Stella. I have always been drawn to beauty and health products that make a change in our life. I have been working in various tanning salons in my neighborhood to help people like me to get a beautiful and healthy tan. My passion is to help people learn about safe tanning.

Recent Posts