South Jersey's HIGH PRESSURE TANNING ...
The name High Pressure Tanning derives from the fact that the lamps used in this type of equipment are manufactured to produce an internal pressure that is somewhat higher than the internal pressure of conventional tanning lamps.
The higher the frequency of the HP rays (the lower the wavelength), the easier it is for them to penetrate the skin.
UVC rays have the highest frequency, with a wavelength of less than 290 nm, and no tanning devices use these dangerous rays. UVB is the next highest frequency range at 290 to 320 nm, followed by the lowest frequency tanning rays, UVA at 320 to 400 nm.
Effective low pressure systems, because of the relatively low power of low pressure lamps (typically up to 160 Watts each), use a higher percentage of UVB rays (up to 9%) than high pressure systems. The higher values of UVB initially cause the body to produce more melanin for a good tan, but the skin’s defense mechanism causes the skin to thicken to provide protection from the UVB. The damaged skin exfoliates so the tanned look quickly disappears. For these two reasons, to maintain a tan on a low pressure VHR system requires that you tan often, perhaps as much as 3 times a week or more.
High pressure tanning uses lamps of much higher power (up to 2,500 Watts each) and a very low percentage of UVB (less than 1%). The theory is that with little or no damage to the skin caused by high UVB exposure, it is easier for the gentler UVA rays to provide a healthy looking tan in as little as three sessions. And with no protective thickening of the skin and no exfoliation, this tan can last for two weeks or more. Some manufacturers go even further with this theory in that their systems filter out not only most of the UVB rays, but also the higher frequency rays in the UVA spectrum.
So from your point of view, although the high pressure tanning sessions are more expensive, they are provided with a cool, comfortable tan, with less probability of skin damage and at a lower overall cost to maintain a year round tan. It is not unusual for low pressure clients to switch to high pressure sessions.
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