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In March 1998 the OCU (the Spanish Consumer and User�s Organization) published in its magazine OCU-Salud a study which produced some worrying information about artifical tanning centres. A large percentage of these did not meet the minimum requisites which guaranteed saftey conditions to users.

Still today, in spite of the passing of a Royal Decree which regulates the situation, there are centres which still fait to meet the saftey minimums.

What minimums?

• Centres are obliged to provide you with an information document before you submit yourself to the session.
• They should ask you if are taking any medicines which might produce photosensitivity (antibiotics for example) and even provide you with a list of medicines which may cause it.
• They should inform you that you cannot expose yourself to UVA rays without having removed your make-up correctly, washed off perfumes and deodorant, and any other type of cosmetics.
• They should always provide you with protective goggles.
• The centre should make you up a file in which the number of times�you have exposed yourself to UVA rays appears: frequency, time of exposure in each session and distance from the screen.
• The machines should have a timing device which limits the session to 30 minutes at the very most.
• You should abstain from�using sunbeds if you are very young, if you have symptoms of sunstroke or burns, skin cancer or the tendency to allergic reactions. Pregnant women should also abstain from using them.

Tanning session
If the centre is serious, the person in charge of your session will analyse the phototype of your skin and will assess your time of exposure. After which, you will be able to enjoy the UV rays which you were expecting. Follow these tips:

• Taking a shower beforehand is recommended.
• Use suntan lotions which are specially for use in solariums.
• Always use special protective goggles and take out contact lenses if you use them.
• Cover bleached and dyed hair.
• Interrupt the session if you experience excessive heat or any unpleasant sensations.
• Once the session has ended, use hydrating milk or cream.
• If symptoms of hypersensitivity appear, consult your doctor and stop taking the sessions.
• Do not repeat the session until at least 24 hours have passed by, nor should you expose yourself to the sun.
• Don�t trust centres which advertise beneficial effects to the health with UVA tanning. This type of advertising is banned.
• And check that the centre keeps the solar lamps clean and in perfect condition.

Types of �UVA�
It will interest you to know that, depending on the length of the wave and irradiation, there are different types of UVA rays. There is the UV1 type which are those which are used exclusively in beauty and tanning centres, then there is the UV2 and UV4�type which are of therapeutic use and can only be managed by doctors and, last of all, the UV3 type which are on sale to the public and you can have one in your home.

Horizontal or vertical? The difference between a vertical sunbed and a horizontal one lies in that the first type the UVA rays are distributed with greater ease and the body recieves them in a more-uniformed fashion. However, it is worth pointing out that modern horizontal beds come incorporated with very fine tubes without spaces in between which equally guarantee a uniform distribution of radiation.