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A Salon Owner's Guide To Tanning Bed Bulbs

BeautyBabe | May 11, 2010 |

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One of the hippest new markets young professionals are getting into is the tanning salon business. This makes a lot of sense if you think about it. These establishments are frequented by young people who want to be beautiful. If you're a young person who's into beauty and fashion, chances are owning a tanning salon interests you. If you've gone down this road already, or you're considering it, take heed. This business, like any other, isn't all fun and glamour. While the returns can be fairly solid, there are also a lot of costs that go into running a successful tanning salon. One such cost is found in the replacing of tanning bed bulbs. In this article, we'll look at a few things you can do to ensure you purchase the right bulbs for your sunbeds.

The first thing you need to do is check out the length of the bulb in your sunbeds. This is fairly obvious but a lot of new tanning salon manager's can botch this - especially if they're ordering bulbs online. If the type of sunbeds you have are of the low pressure variety - and most are - you'll probably be looking for an F71, F72, F73, or F74 bulb. Don't let these fancy codes fool you, The "F" stands for fluorescent and the number represents the length of the bulb in inches. These bulbs usually run between 100 and 160 watts. You'll also need to replace the ballasts periodically. In order to the most out of your lamps, I recommend using ballasts that have the same wattage as the bulbs you're using. A 120 watt bulb with a 120 watt ballast is a lot more efficient than a setup that sports different wattage. Having an efficient system will give your lamps more life - saving you and your business money in the long run. A lot of Wolff tanning beds also come with a an 80 watt F60 bulb used specifically for tanning the face.

The life span of a bulb also plays a big part in value. This is a fairly simple concept. If the bulb lasts long, you want have to replace it as often. This, obviously, lowers the cost of doing business and improves your bottom line. When you're shopping for tanning bed bulbs, check out the manufacturer's estimated life. Most products claim a life span of 300 to 1600 hours. Here's a tip for everyone though:

Most bulbs last a heck of a lot longer than the manufacture let's on. A lot of salon owner's will only replace their tanning bulbs once every 5000 hours. So what's the right thing to do here? Should you do what your competition does or listen to the manufacturer? Well, I believe the answer lies somewhere in between. The best thing a manager can do is look at the results. Are your machines still a offering a deep, long lasting tan? If so, you're probably in pretty good shape. If customers start complaining that the sunbeds aren't powerful enough, you've left it too long. Replace the bulbs as soon as possible.

That's about it! What do you think? What else does one need to consider when buying tanning bed bulbs? I'd love to hear from you!