Red Light Therapy to the Rescue!

You may have been seeing a lot of posts about Red Light Therapy coming to some of our Hollywood Tans salons, so we're here to give you all the info you need on this awesome new treatment!

Red light therapy is a form of heliotherapy that uses red tinted light to stimulate the body's natural defense systems and bring relief to various ailments.  When applied directly on the area of the body that is currently experiencing distress, the red light helps to activate ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, in muscle tissues releasing more energy for the body to use.

Ailments that can be soothed with the use of red light therapy include head aches, poor circulation, acne, sinus issues, and even mild depression.  It also has been known to stave off the effects of aging, including wrinkles and dry skin, by helping to produce more collagen.

The duration of red light therapy ranges from two to five minutes, depending on the nature of the ailment or issue, with repeated sessions after a short period of rest.

Hollywood Tans using Red Light therapy, or a similar variation, include Hollywood Tans Atlanta area salons, Hollywood Tans Riverside, CA, and soon Hollywood Tans of Riverdale, NJ.  Be sure to check it out!

Happy Tanning!

source

Season Premiere Day!

Mark your calendars because Hollywood Tans Season Premiere Day is coming up!  To celebrate yet another fantastic year, stop into any participating Hollywood Tans salon on March 12th and tan for free all day!  Not only is it the perfect time to try out some of our new tanning lotions, its also a great way to introduce your friends and family to Hollywood Tans!

New Year, New Lotions!

Hollywood Tans is rolling out the red carpet to unveil our latest (and possibly greatest) lotions!  Introducing....

Cobacabana

Days at the beach, nights in the club...with Copacabana you'll get a tan that jet-setters and club hoppers worldwide will envy.  Copacabana combines some of Hollywood Tans richest tan maximizers, bronzers, skin nourishing oils, including Argan oil, and vitamins to keep your skin looking rich and fabulously tan.  Best of all, the light tropical beach scent will leave you feeling South Beach sensational long after you tan.

Black Bamboo

Take your tan to the next level with Hollywood Tan's Black Bamboo bronzer, the perfect lotion to help you balance darkness and enlightenment.  Packed with real bamboo extract, hemp seed oil, and green tea extract, Black Bamboo delivers the most intense moisturizes and conditioners to your skin.  It has all the best tanning ingredients, rolled into one!


Chateau

Hollywood Tan's latest premium dark tanning lotion will give you the most exclusive Hollywood tan, with a surprisingly cool feel.  Chateau is loaded with five advanced bronzing technologies and our added Alpine Chill, a super invigorating coolant.  With Chateau, you get all the results you want without sacrificing any comfort.  Get a great tan with a lotion that is as cool and fresh as the Alps in springtime, while being as sexy and glamorous has Hollywood's favorite hotspot!


Rodeo Drive

Hollywood Tans wants to let you in on the glamorous secret of Hollywood's top stars and designers alike: there's no better accessory than a gorgeous, rich tan.  Packed with a blend of 5 premium bronzers, 2 body blushes, luxurious moisturizers, special FragranceFresh technology, plus anti-aging and firming properties, you'll love the experience and the results of tanning via Rodeo.  With Hollywood Tan's Rodeo Drive lotion, you're sure to look Beverly Hills ready any time, any place!


Try these four awesome new Hollywood Tans lotions in salons today!

Gisele Says Down With Chemical Sunscreen!

Internationally known super model Gisele Bundchen has made quite a stir with her latest comments concerning chemical sunscreen.

"I cannot put this poison on my skin," the 30-year-old said.  "I do not use anything synthetic."

Although some people may criticize the leggy Brazilian model's anti-chemical obsession, there is actually a lot of truth in Bundchen comments.

While the sunscreen industries are quick to tell you to layer on copious amounts of sunscreen every day, especially any time you come in contact with the sun, that may not be such a great idea.  When you liberally apply sunscreen to your skin, the chemicals in sunscreen actually absorb into your blood stream.  Some of the chemicals found in sunscreen are not ones you want to be putting on your body on a daily basis, including estrogenic toxins and chemicals that generate harmful free radicals.

"Organic chemists have been long aware of the dangers of compounds in chemical sunscreens. Such chemicals are widely used to start free radical reactions during chemical synthesis. These chemicals are the dangerous types that one carefully keeps away from your skin while working in a laboratory. To use them, you mix them into a combination of other chemicals, then flash the mixture with an ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet absorbing chemicals then generate copious amounts of free radicals that initiate the desired chemical reactions."

"Benzophenone (and similar compounds) is one of the most powerful free radical generators known. It is used in industrial processes as a free radical generator to initiate chemical reactions. Benzophenone is activated by ultraviolet light energy that breaks benzophenone's double bond to produce two free radical sites. The free radicals then react with other molecules and produce damage to the fats, proteins, and DNA of the cells - the types of damage that produce skin aging and the development of cancer."

"This may be a factor in the large increases in cancer (breast, uterine, colon, prostate) observed in regions, such as Northern Australia, where the use of sunscreen chemicals has been heavily promoted by medical groups and the local governments.  Many sunscreens also contain triethanolamine, a compound that can cause the formation of cancer causing nitrosamines in products by combining with nitrite used as preservative and often not disclosed on sunscreen labels."

While it may seem strange that something marketed to prevent any skin damage by doctors and skin care professionals could actually be quite harmful, it's important to consider events of the past, in which serious errors were made by doctors through public promotions by the health care pros.

In 1927, physicians endorsed smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes, saying it was a healthy activity.  And in the 40s and 50s, thousands of prominent surgeons were used in national cigarette ads, assuring the public about the safety of smoking cigarettes.  And in the 60s and 70s, physicians promoted diets high in partially hydrogenated fatty acids, like those found in margarine and safflower oil, saying that they would help reduce heart disease.  While long term studies may have supported their claims of a decrease in heart disease, the effects of this sponsorship produced accelerated aging and increased the total death rate and the cancer rate.

Unfortunately, history stands to prove that not everything doctors endorse or support is true; in fact it seems that when there is a product with money backing it, there are doctors who are willing to support it.

So while some of Miss Bundchen's fears about toxic elements may be a little over the top, it is important to consider what it is you're actually putting on your body.

source
source

Tanning for Weight Loss?

When I first heard about tanning promoting weight loss, I did not believe it!  But after doing some research, I'm starting to like what I've learned.  Check it out!

As we all know, tanning supplies your body with your daily dose of vitamin D.  Not only does raising your vitamin D level help ward of illnesses like rickets and diabetes, achieving the optimal range of 50ng/ml to 80ng/ml of D will greatly assist you in maintaining a healthy body weight.  Fat cells actually have vitamin D receptors, and when your body has enough vitamin D these receptors are activated and assist your fat cells in burning more calories.  As if thats not cool enough, it also helps in releasing something called leptin.  Leptin is an appetite suppressing hormone that is released once you've had enough food to eat.  When your vitamin D levels are too low, the release of leptin is greatly inhibited and can leave you eating more than you need to.    

Not only that, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, for every 1ng/ml increase of Vitamin D in the blood of those who previously had insufficient levels, an additional half pound of body fat was lost (when combined with portion control and exercise of course!).  So basically the study shows that for people trying to lose weight who are also low in vitamin D, raising your levels in D will assist you in losing more weight than if you were just practicing portion control and exercising alone.  Pretty cool huh?!

Food sources of vitamin D include salmon, milk, eggs, and some fortified cereals, however to get your daily dose of vitamin D would require eating up to 19 oz of salmon or 42 oz of milk a day, which may be more calories then are conducive for weight loss.  

But don't worry, solarium tanning can easily satisfy your daily dose of vitamin D, in as little as 5 minutes a day!  So stop into Hollywood Tans today to get your vitamin D and a gorgeous glow!    

Tanning Rules To Live By!

For all tanners, new and experienced alike, here are the three main rules to always follow when tanning!

1.  Say no to dry tanning!
When tanning, it is essential to always, always use a great designer tanning lotion.  Liberally applying tanning lotion before using a solarium booth ensures that your skin will stay hydrated and soft, plus it will tan more effectively.  Tanning lotions are specially designed with ingredients that maximize how much color you get with every tanning session.  Plus, Hollywood Tans tanning lotions are often fortified with fun extras, like anti-agers or firming agents.  Dry tanning on the other hand, dries out your skin, making it rough and flaky, which actually lessens the life of your tan.
Not sure what kind of tanning lotion to use?  Don't hesitate to ask your local salon professionals, who can help you break down what each lotion is formulated to do, and which ones are best for your unique skin.

2.  Love your eyes!
Never, ever tan without some sort of tanning eyewear.  Believe it or not, shutting your eyes while tanning will not protect them from the light.  Hollywood Tans offers two great options for eye protection, "Podz" and "Winkease".

Podz are awesome re-usable goggles that come in a portable key chain pod and cost about $4 each.  They're really comfortable and I definitely recommend them for frequent tanners.  Just be sure to wash them at least once a week.  

Wink Ease are one time, easy to use stickers that fit right over your eyes and protect them from the sun.  They range in price from around $.50 to $1 and are super convenient for those annoying times when you forget your Podz!

3.  The Dreaded 24hr Rule

While it sometimes seems silly or inconvenient, it's crucial that you wait a full 24 hours before tanning again.  And it's not just a Hollywood Tans rule; the 24hr rule is actually something tanning salons are legally bound to follow.  

Maintaining Your Hollywood Tan!

One of the best feelings is getting your tan looking absolutely perfect, and to help keep that gorgeous glow going strong, follow these Hollywood Tans tips!

Tan!

Sure this is an obvious one, but the main key to maintaining your tan is simply to keep tanning.  While it varies depending on your unique skin type, maintaining your tan requires a quick visit to the salon two to three times a week.  Keep up a consistent tanning regime and your golden glow will live on strong!         

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!

I know I say it all the time, but moisturizing is so essential for beautiful skin and a beautiful tan.  Using a high quality lotion will help keep your skin hydrated, which in turn helps extend the life of your tan.  And to help get the most out of every visit to the tanning salon, use a moisturizer that is also a bronzer.  Bronzers are lotions that come equipped with ingredients that will tint your color several shades darker than UV alone.   

Shave and Exfoliate Before! 

As if getting your legs to tan as quickly as the rest of your body isn't hard enough, shaving and exfoliating on a daily basis may be working against keeping your gorgeous gams tan!  Shaving and exfoliating removes the top layer of dead skin, which can diminish your tan-life in the process.  To help combat the diminishing effect minimize how often you shave and exfoliate, and definitely do so before you visit the tanning salon, not after.  Also, try out a lotion specifically designed for legs, like Hollywood Tans specially formulated "Darker Legs" tanning lotion, which will help to keep your legs darker, longer!       

Follow these simple steps to help maintain your gorgeous Hollywood Tan!  Happy Tanning!  

Faux Glow Fabulous Tips

Even in the midst of winter, you can achieve a gorgeous summer glow with any of the Hollywood Tans solarium tanning booths or with our fantastic spray tan options.  Here are some awesome Hollywood Tans Spray Tanning tips to keep your faux glow Hollywood Tans perfect!

1.  If you can, spray tan in salon.
While there are many awesome at home tanning products out there, the best way to ensure a flawless and natural looking spray tan is by tanning in salon.  When using a system like Mystic Tan or Infinity Sun, salon professionals can help find the perfect shade for your unique coloring.  Not only that, the tanning process itself is easier and ensures the most even tan.  And you don't have to shell out the big bucks on a salon spray tan; spray tans at HT start at only $20!
If you can't make it into salons for your spray tan, there are many at home self-tanners that work just as well, like Hollywood Tans Millionaire Mist.  While there are also many lotions on the market, I prefer to use a spray, as they yield a more even coverage and are cleaner and easier to apply.


2.  Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate
Dry skin absorbs higher concentrations of color, which will leave you with an uneven and splotchy tan.  To avoid this, before you spray tan, exfoliate with a body scrub which will help remove dead skin.

3.  About Face!
One of the hardest areas to evenly self-tan is the face.  To prepare your skin for a spray tan gently cleanse and exfoliate.  Before spray tanning or self-tanning at home, make sure to pull back all of your hair off of your face.  It sounds a bit obvious, but because just one rouge lock of hair can lead to a botched faux glow!
***Here's a tip straight from Hollywood makeup artist Scott Barnes:  Apply under-eye cream.  According to Barnes in Instyle magazine's May 2007 issue, you want the color of your skin to be lighter under the eyes because it makes you look younger!

4.  Post Tan Pause
When spray tanning in a booth, like with Mystic Tans, after the process is over, stand still for about 30 seconds, giving the product ample time to dry evenly.  After 30 seconds the product won't be completely dry, however the first minute after tanning is when you are most at risk of rubbing off the self-tanner before it has had a chance to effectively work.  Pausing for 30 seconds ensures that the product has evenly set; afterwards, feel free to blot off as directed.

5.  Streaks and Spots Be Gone!
If you end up with an uneven tan, fear not as little mistakes are easily fixable with common household items!  Grab a lemon, cut it in half, and squeeze the juice onto a cotton ball.  Wipe the streaky orange areas to dilute the streaks and help lift some of the extra color.
Don't have any lemons?  Try mixing baking soda with a few drops of water until it becomes a paste.  Massage the paste into the streaky areas, just like with the lemons.  You can do this same process with an astringent toner or even toothpaste.
Orange palms?  Try wetting a washcloth with warm water and rubbing your palms over it, making sure to get in between your fingers.  Doing it this way allows you to get the color off of your palms, without removing the product from the top of your hands.  You can also use a hydrogen peroxide soaked cotton ball to wipe off any unwanted color.
To help prevent staining on your fingertips and nails, try putting some vaseline on your cuticles and palms before hand.

6.  Post Tan Care

In order to get the most out of your spray tan, give the product at least 4-6 hours to fully set before you shower.  Also try and refrain from showering or bathing in extremely hot water or for long periods of time, as it will speed up the fading process of your tan.  And try to avoid exfoliating as it will dramatically lessen the life of your faux glow as well.

Happy Tanning!

SAG Award Stunning!

This past Sunday, Hollywood elite hit the red carpet for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and they definitely brought the glam!  Check out Hollywood Tans fav looks of the evening:

From her stunning Alexander McQueen gown to her fresh and glowing skin, Mila totally stole the show.

Eva Longoria proved that sexy can be tasteful with this gorgeous Georges Hobeika Couture draped gown, not to mention the nude color is insanely flattering on her flawless skin.  

Glee's Dianna Agron is quickly becoming one of my new fashion favs; she manages to always look chic and classy, while keeping it young and playful.  Check out Agron looking amazing in a vintage navy Chanel gown, I cannot wait to see more of her in the future!

What were your favorite knockout looks from the evening?  Let us know!  And to get a golden glow like the gorgeous ladies of the SAG awards, check out Hollywood Tans.  From spray tanning, to the most efficient solarium tanning, Hollywood Tans will have you Hollywood glamorous and red carpet ready in no time!  Happy Tanning!