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In the very early days of indoor sun tanning, there was only one choice of
tanning lamp strength; the BL series (or blacklight type) of tanning lamp was
all that was available. As years went by, many new phosphor coatings were
developed for tanning lamps. These made it possible to offer lamp types and
strengths to satisfy practically any customer.
As a direct result of these many new tanning lamp strengths, it became necessary to
have a simple way to define the strength of each lamp type; the UVB/UVA ratio came
into popular use. This was simply a method of dividing the total ultraviolet light emitted
in the UVB region by the total ultraviolet light in the UVA region, and expressing the
fraction as a percentage.
While this gave the industry an index of lamp performance, the index was somewhat
inaccurate. For example, if we took a “2.6” lamp, doubled the amount of UVB it emitted
and doubled the amount of UVA it emitted, what would we get? We would have a much
faster tanning lamp than, say the “5.0” lamp—but since the ratio would be
unchanged, it could be perceived as a weaker lamp.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the manufacture of
indoor tanning equipment and some tanning components, defines tanning lamps
through a complex calculation of Te and Tm ratings for these lamps. Te refers
to the time required to produce erythema; Tm refers to the time necessary to produce melanogenesis, or the formation of melanin in the skin.
The rating 1 MED (minimal erythemal dose) is the dose
necessary to produce a faint reddening in the skin. Te,
which is equal to 4 MED, is the maximum dose allowed per
session. The rating 1 MMD (minimum melanogenetic dose) is the UV
dose necessary to cause a faint tan in previously unexposed skin. Tm, which is equal to 4 MMD is the maximum weekly UV dose allowed.
At first the Te and Tm concepts may be hard to grasp. Once the reader
understands them, a logical question might be, “Why aren’t they in common
use?” If every lamp type has its own Te and Tm ratings, it should be simple to use
these ratings to select the best tanning lamps for your equipment. Further, they
should make it simple for the salon operator to accurately calculate the proper
exposure times for his customers, but this is not necessarily correct.
About Equivalency
Lamps fall basically into two classifications: OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or
replacement. Equipment manufacturers are responsible for defining the recommended
exposure schedules when used with the lamp originally installed. The name and
model of the lamp is indicated on the equipment label. Replacement lamps can be
either the original lamp or a lamp that is listed as equivalent. In either case there are
strict guidelines established by the FDA that the equipment and lamp manufacturer
must follow.
All Light Sources tanning lamps are manufactured in strict accordance with FDA
21CFR1040.20 requirements. Additionally, as an ISO 9001 registered company,
and in accordance with our policies and procedures for manufacturing
process controls, our lamps are produced with the highest levels of
consistency from batch to batch and run to run. This ensures
compliance not only with FDA requirements, but Light Sources high
standards to provide consistent tanning results.
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