Your first session, start to finish

Before you come

• Bring photo ID. Under the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 nobody under 18 may use a commercial sunbed, and we check every time. If you look under 25 and cannot produce ID, we will not let you tan. It is not a judgement about you.
• Arrive with clean skin. No make-up, perfume, deodorant or aftershave — several common ingredients change how skin reacts under UV.
• Do not exfoliate that morning. The day before is ideal; the same day leaves skin freshly stripped.
• Eat something. Standing in a warm booth on an empty stomach is how people come over faint, and it has nothing to do with the UV.

At the desk

We will ask you the skin-type questions — what happens to you in strong sun, what you have used before, whether you take any medication, and what you are hoping to achieve. It takes two minutes, it is free, and you are under no obligation to book anything at the end of it. See know your skin type for what we are actually working out.

Then we suggest a starting length for the specific bed. Beds are not interchangeable: a stand-up booth is generally stronger than a lay-down, so the number is per machine rather than per person.

In the room

1. The room is yours. Lockable, private, with somewhere to put your things. Take as long as you need.
2. Put the goggles on. Free, sanitised, and not negotiable — here is why.
3. Apply lotion if you are using one. Evenly, and do not rush it: streaky lotion is streaky colour.
4. Get on or in, and start the session. The bed runs for the time set at the desk and stops itself.
5. There is a stop control. If you are uncomfortable at any point, use it. We would much rather adjust the plan than have you sit through something you are not enjoying.

It will feel warm. Some beds are noisier than people expect — that is the cooling fans, and they are doing their job.

Straight afterwards

• Do not judge the result yet. Colour continues to develop for hours after you step off, and judging it immediately is the single most common reason people overdo the next session.
• Moisturise. Generously, and then daily. It matters more than anything else you do — see making it last.
• Leave at least 24 hours before the next one. Our unlimited packages cap at 12 minutes a day, and that cap is a safety limit rather than a commercial one.

What a good first session looks like

Short, slightly underwhelming, and followed by no soreness at all. If you come off pink, the session was too long — tell us and we will shorten the next one. Colour built patiently is colour that lasts; colour chased in a fortnight usually turns into a burn, and a burn costs you weeks. How quickly anyone develops colour varies between individuals.

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General information, not medical advice. If you are unsure whether tanning is appropriate for you, speak to your GP or a pharmacist before booking.