5
UV and your health
Just as with natural sunlight, the tanning process will take some time.
The first effect will only become visible after a few sessions (see
section ‘UV tanning sessions: How often? And how long?’).
Overexposure to ultraviolet light (natural sunlight or artificial light
from your solarium) can cause sunburn.
Besides many other factors, such as overexposure to natural
sunlight, incorrect and excessive use of a solarium may increase the
risk of skin and eye problems. The degree to which these effects
occur is determined by the nature, intensity and duration of the
radiation on the one hand and the sensitivity of the person involved
on the other hand.
The more the skin and the eyes are exposed to UV, the higher the
risk of keratisis, conjunctivitis, damage to the retina, cataracts,
premature skin ageing and the development of skin tumours will be.
Some medications and cosmetics increase the sensitivity of the skin.
It is therefore highly important
- that you follow the instructions given under the heading
‘Important’ and ‘UV tanning sessions: How often? And how long?’;
- that you stick to the maximum permissible tanning hours a year
(see section ‘UV tanning sessions: How often? And how long?’);
- that you wear the protective goggles provided during every tanning
session.
UV tanning sessions: How often? And how long?
Take one tanning session a day for five to ten days. Wait at
least 48 hours after the first session before taking the second
session. After this 5 to 10-day course, you may take a break
from tanning.
Approximately one month after a course your skin will have
lost most of its tan again. You can then start a new tanning
course.
If you want to retain your tan, do not stop tanning after the
course but continue taking one or two tanning sessions a
week.
Regardless of the tanning method you choose, always make sure
that you do not exceed the maximum number of tanning
hours, which is 19 hours (= 1140 minutes) a year for this
solarium.
Example:
Suppose you are taking a 10-day course, consisting of an
7-minute tanning session on the first day and 20-minute
tanning sessions on subsequent nine days.
The total course will last:
(1 x 7 minutes) + (9 x 20 minutes) = 187 minutes.
• You could take 6 of these courses a year
(because 6 x 187 minutes = 1122 minutes.)
As is shown in the table, the first session of a tanning course
should always last 7 minutes, irrespective of the sensitivity of
the skin.
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 e.g. 5 minutes.
Duration of the 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
UV session session session session session session session session session session session
in minutes
- for persons with
very sensitive skin: 7 101010101010101010
- for persons with
normal sensitive skin: 7 202020202020202020
- for persons with
less sensitive skin: 7 252525252525252525
rest of min. 48 hours
