Tanning beds are a luxury to own. This means you can attain that sun-kissed caramel glow all through the seasons through the year without having to wait to get one during the summer. You can easily adjust the exposure to your desired skin tone by moderating the light intensity. Tanning beds are now very popular and are mainly carried out at indoor tanning salons and if you can have your own at home.
Types of Tanning Beds
The main and most common types of tanning beds are residential tanning beds and commercial tanning beds.
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Residential Tanning Beds
These are mostly for home use. They require fewer materials and lamps to set up than the commercial ones. They can use low-light weight and low-heat electronic ballast. They are easier to move around because they are light in weight. They do not heat up as much while in use and they use more technologically advanced lamps to get a deep tone without adding more lamps to it.
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Commercial Tanning Beds
They are mostly designed for frequent and longer usage like in a salon environment and can accommodate any size of the person. They use magnetic ballast which is heavy and generates a lot of heat. They are constructed from heavy-duty steel. They add more lamps to the system to get more power and faster results for a tan. Commercial tanning beds have more than 24 lamps. Wolff lamps are the most used lamps in the commercial sector.
What is the average cost of a tanning bed?
A commercial tanning bed’s price ranges from $2500 to $6500 depending on the electricity usage, tanning time, and how efficient it is. The average price is $3500. Residential tanning beds range from $1500 to $3700 putting in mind the quality and longevity. The average price is approximately $2000.
What determines the price of a tanning bed?
Tanning beds’ prices are affected by the following factors:
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Purpose
Commercial tanning beds need to be more durable and highly efficient thus they cost more than residential tanning beds in this sense which has a cheaper cost as residential beds aren’t designed to handle tens of tanning sessions per day.
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Type of technology used
Considering this, there are base beds, stand up beds, and high-pressure beds. Price Increases respectively. High-pressure beds use specialized equipment which makes them much more expensive. They are mostly used in high-end salons and spas. Regular beds do a good job a home. Stand up tanning booth is best for claustrophobic people.
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Type of bulb
There are 2 types of bulbs. UVA bulbs tan fast but the risk of getting sunburn is higher while UVB has less chance of getting sunburn or tanning bed itch but tans slower which means more sessions are necessary to build up your tan which means higher cost.
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Red light
Some tanning beds have red light which is preferred by health-conscious people who do not like exposure to UV light. This light aims to achieve smooth skin rather than a deeper skin tone. This affects the price as if simply serves a different purpose.
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The number of bulbs
The more the number of bulbs in the bed, the higher the price. However, your height also counts in this as the taller you are, you will need a larger bed to get a perfect tan hence more bulbs are unavoidable.
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Quality
Anything good is not cheap so the pricier the better the tanning quality. Cheap tanning beds may cause extreme damage to your skin and in worst cases may even cause cancer. Better safe than sorry!
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State of delivery
If the bed comes pre-assembled, the more it is charged. The choice is ultimately yours to assemble it yourself or have it done for you in advance.
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Company and warranty
When the brand name is popular, it definitely will have a higher price than another brand due to its reputation in sales and demand. This also serves as an advantage to you as trustworthy companies and brands always provide longer warranty periods and coverage for the tanning beds as a form of marketing strategy. Ultimately, it should always be in your best interest to invest your money in a guaranteed option regardless of price.
How much does your electric bill go up with a tanning bed?
Most people assume tanning beds consume so much electricity when you have it at home. In reality, it uses just a little more electricity than an average kitchen appliance which is around 120 to 220 volts.
When it is used by one or two individuals on a daily basis, the cost of operating the tanning bed is quite minimal, ranging from 50 cents to 1 dollar per use which is far less than the charges you will incur in a salon which ranges from $6 to $12 per use.
Those who can afford buying the bed up front for home use are on the benefiting end.
Conclusion
Tanning is a common practice as too much time in the sun to get a preferred tan is not an option for many. Excessive sun exposure is associated with certain health risks like acceleration of skin aging and certain cancers. UV exposure has benefits of vitamin D production hence an advantage even though it poses cancer risks. Tanning is a health and beauty practice and is common in young adults and people with lighter skin none the less.