UV sessions: how often? And how long?
You may have one UV session per day, over a period of
five to ten days. Allow at least 48 hours between the first
two sessions.
After such a course, you may rest the skin for a while.
Approximately one month after a course your skin will have
lost much of the tan. You might then decide to start a new
course.
On the other hand, it is also possible to have one or two
UV sessions per week after a course has elapsed in order
to keep up the tan.
Whatever you may prefer, make sure that you do not
exceed the maximum amount of tanning hours. For this
solarium the maximum is 21 hours (= 1260 minutes) per
year.
Example:
Imagine that you take a 10 day UV course, with a 8 minute
session on the first day and 20 minutes' sessions on the
nine following days.
The entire course then includes (1 x 8 minutes) + (9 x 20
minutes) = 188 minutes.
Over a year you may have six of these courses. (As 6 x
188 minutes = 1128 minutes.)
Of course, this maximum amount of tanning hours is valid
for each treated part or side of the body separately.
(E.g. for the front side of your body and for the back side.)
From the table it will be seen that the first session of a
course should have a duration of 8 minutes. This is not
dependent upon individual skin sensitivity.
UV-C seldom reaches the earth as it is filtered out by the
atmosphere.
UV-A and UV-B cause the tanning effect of the skin.
In fact there are two processes which produce tanning, and
they are simultaneously effective:
- "Indirect tanning". Primarily UV-B stimulates the
production of a substance called "melanin", which is
necessary for tanning. The effect does not show until a
couple of days after the sunbath.
- "Direct tanning". The UV-A and also a part of the visible
light cause quicker browning without reddening or "getting
sunburnt".
The solarium
This solarium emits predominantly UV-A, and also a very small
amount of UV-B.
It possesses some important features which make tanning at
home comfortable and convenient.
The unique type of sun lamp used in this solarium emits light,
warmth and ultraviolet, just like the natural sun.
You can position this solarium so that using it really resembles
lying in the sun: your whole body is tanned evenly, from head
to toe.
For your convenience, but also to prevent unintended
prolonged exposure (e.g. after falling asleep), a timer-
controlled automatic switch-off operates after 60 minutes
tanning.
As it is with the natural sun, it's wise not to have too much of a
good thing! (See section "UV and your health".)
UV and your health
After an excessive exposure to ultraviolet (from the natural sun
or from your solarium), the skin may develop sunburn.
Beside numerous other factors, such as excessive exposure to
the natural sun, improper and excessive use of your solarium
will increase the risk of skin and eye disease.
The nature, intensity and duration of the radiation on one hand,
and the sensitivity of the individual on the other, are decisive
on the degree in which these affects can occur.
The more the skin and eyes are exposed to UV, the more risk
increases of diseases such as inflammation of the cornea
and/or conjunctiva, damaging of the retina, cataract, premature
aging of the skin and skin tumours.
Certain medicines and cosmetics increase the sensitivity to
UV.
Therefore, it is of great importance
- that you follow the instructions in sections "Important" and
"UV sessions: how often? And how long?";
- that you observe the advised operational distance of 65 cm
(approx. 26");
- that you do not exceed the maximum amount of tanning
hours per year (i.e. 21 hours or 1260 minutes);
- that you always wear the provided goggles while tanning.
5
• If you think that the sessions are too long for you
(e.g. if the skin gets taut and tender after the session),
we advise you to reduce the sessions by say 5 minutes
per side of the body.
• To get a beautiful all-over tan it is suggested that
you turn slightly during the session so that the sides
of your body are better exposed to the tanning rays.
Duration of the
UV session
(for each
separately
treated part of 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
the body) in session session session session session session session session session session
minutes
- for persons with
very sensitive skin: 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
- for persons with
normal sensitive skin: 8 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25 20-25
- for persons with
less sensitive skin: 8 30*) 30*) 30*) 30*) 30*) 30*) 30*) 30*) 30*)
*) or longer, dependent upon skin sensitivity.
rest of min. 48 hours
