If you love going to your favorite Butler, PA tanning salon for year-round color, you’re not alone! Nothing prepares you for that special beach vacation or gets rid of winter “pies” like a few sessions in a tanning bed or just a few minutes in a sunless booth! But tanning sessions don’t come cheap; So to get the most bang for your tan bucks, here are some tips to help you tan faster and keep that color longer.

–Prepare your skin: If possible, spend some time in a sauna before heading to the salon. Steam treatments open up your pores and make them more receptive to the tanning process, whether you’re using beds or sunless sterilizations. Plus, your skin will benefit from all that extra hydration!

–Always use lotions: “Dry” skin in a tanning bed is not only a guarantee of sunburn, but it will also not help the color to set faster. Specially formulated tanning bed lotions have all the right ingredients, including UVA, UVB and oxygen rays that will help your skin absorb UV rays more effectively. In fact, when you do NOT use a lotion, evidence shows that it only absorbs about half of UV rays and any color you get will only last half as much.

–Don’t use soap: Strong bath soaps used in the shower will fade your color extremely quickly. Use milder body washes and, if possible, shower in the mildest water possible. Hard water is hard on tans and all those mineral deposits will keep your skin from glowing.

It just makes sense to optimize your tanning experience by following the tips above – you’ll enjoy healthier looking skin and much longer lasting colour.