Premium Tanning Beds at Planet Fitness
Enhance your post-workout glow with our state-of-the-art tanning beds and stand-up booths. As a Planet Fitness Black Card® member, you gain exclusive access to professional-grade UV therapy, allowing you to maintain a beautiful, sun-kissed complexion year-round in a clean, controlled environment that perfectly complements your fitness journey.
Our tanning facilities are meticulously sanitized after every single use, ensuring a pristine and relaxing experience. Whether you are preparing for a tropical vacation, a special event, or simply want to boost your confidence, our top-tier equipment provides consistent, high-quality results.
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What Is The Difference Between Beds And Booths?
The primary difference between tanning beds and booths is your physical position during the session; beds allow you to lie down and relax, while booths require you to stand, which often results in a more even, all-over tan without pressure points. Both options deliver high-quality UV therapy to help you achieve your desired results.
Lay-Down Tanning Beds
Our traditional lay-down tanning beds offer the ultimate relaxation experience after a grueling workout on the gym floor. You can comfortably recline, close your eyes, and enjoy a brief escape while the precision-engineered UV lamps work their magic. This option is perfect for members who want to combine their tanning session with a moment of restorative rest.
The contoured acrylic surfaces of our beds are ergonomically designed to support your body's natural curves, maximizing comfort and minimizing strain on your back and joints. Built-in, adjustable cooling fans allow you to regulate the temperature of the unit, ensuring you stay comfortable and do not overheat throughout your entire session.
Lay-down beds typically feature specialized facial tanners with customized intensity settings, allowing you to give your face a gentle, healthy glow while the rest of your body receives a deeper tan. This targeted approach ensures a natural-looking result.
Stand-Up Tanning Booths
For those seeking a flawlessly even tan, our stand-up booths are the ideal choice. Because you are standing upright, there are no pressure points where blood flow is restricted or skin is compressed against acrylic, which effectively eliminates the risk of uneven tanning, white spots, or "crease marks" on your shoulder blades and tailbone.
The 360-degree lamp configuration ensures comprehensive, uniform coverage from head to toe. Stand-up booths generally utilize higher-intensity lamps and offer a slightly shorter maximum session time, making them a highly efficient option for members on a tight schedule who want rapid results.
The spacious interior of the booth allows for freedom of movement, and overhead handles provide stability while ensuring your underarms and sides receive adequate UV exposure. Many members prefer the hygienic aspect of standing, as your body only contacts the floor plate and the handles.
How Can You Tan Safely?
You can tan safely by strictly adhering to the recommended UV exposure times based on your specific skin type, gradually building your base tan, and always wearing FDA-approved protective eyewear. Planet Fitness is committed to promoting responsible tanning practices for all our members, ensuring you achieve a healthy glow without compromising your skin's long-term health.
Understanding Your Skin Type
The Fitzpatrick Skin Type scale is the universal standard for determining how your skin responds to UV therapy. Skin Type 1 (very fair, always burns, never tans) should avoid UV exposure entirely, while Skin Types 2 through 6 have varying degrees of natural protection and tanning ability. Identifying your correct skin type is the crucial first step in developing a safe and effective tanning regimen.
Our knowledgeable front desk staff can provide you with a comprehensive skin type questionnaire to help you determine your classification accurately. Once your skin type is established, we can recommend the appropriate starting exposure time to minimize the risk of overexposure, sunburn, or premature aging.
Ignoring your skin type and attempting to tan for the maximum time immediately is the leading cause of tanning-related injuries. We strongly advise all members to follow the progressive exposure schedules posted in our facilities.
Building a Base Tan
Building a solid base tan requires patience, consistency, and a gradual approach. You should always start with short sessions—often just three to five minutes—and gradually increase your exposure time by small increments over several weeks. This slow progression allows your skin's melanocytes to produce melanin safely, creating a natural, protective barrier against UV rays.
Attempting to rush the process by staying in the tanning beds for the maximum time during your first few visits will only lead to painful burning, which severely damages the skin and actually sets back your tanning goals by causing peeling. Consistency, rather than intensity, is far more effective for long-lasting color.
A well-developed base tan is an excellent way to prepare your skin for a tropical vacation or prolonged outdoor exposure, as it provides a mild SPF equivalent that can help prevent severe sunburns when combined with proper sunscreen use.
Session Frequency
For optimal results and safety, we mandate waiting a minimum of 24 hours between UV therapy sessions. This vital rest period gives your skin adequate time to process the UV exposure, produce melanin, and recover from any mild inflammation. Daily tanning is generally discouraged, as it significantly increases the risk of overexposure and skin damage.
Once you have achieved your desired base tan, you can usually maintain it with just one to two sessions per week. Our computer systems automatically track your visits and will lock you out of the tanning equipment if you attempt to tan more than once within a 24-hour period, ensuring compliance with safety regulations.
If you miss a week or two of tanning, you should slightly reduce your exposure time during your next visit to allow your skin to re-acclimate to the UV rays safely.
Medication Sensitivity
Certain prescription and over-the-counter medications can make your skin highly photosensitive, meaning you become much more susceptible to burning from UV therapy. Common culprits include specific antibiotics (like tetracycline), acne treatments (like Accutane or Retin-A), antihistamines, birth control pills, and anti-inflammatory drugs.
We strongly advise all members to consult with their physician or pharmacist before using our tanning beds if they are taking any medications, even temporarily. If you experience unexpected redness, itching, or severe irritation after a session, discontinue tanning immediately and seek medical advice.
A comprehensive list of known photosensitizing medications is available at the front desk. Please review this list carefully if you have recently started a new prescription.
Post-Tanning Care
Proper skincare does not end when your session is over; in fact, post-tanning care is crucial for maintaining your color. UV exposure can temporarily dehydrate the skin, so it is vital to apply a high-quality, hydrating moisturizer immediately after tanning and after every shower. Well-moisturized skin not only looks healthier but also holds a tan significantly longer than dry, flaky skin.
Additionally, be sure to drink plenty of water to hydrate your body from the inside out. Avoiding harsh, abrasive exfoliants or extremely hot showers immediately after tanning will also help preserve your newly acquired color and prevent irritation.
We recommend using specialized tan-extending lotions, which are formulated with specific vitamins and nutrients designed to prolong the life of your tan and keep your skin feeling incredibly soft and supple.
Why Is Protective Eyewear Mandatory?
Protective eyewear is mandatory because the skin on your eyelids is too thin to block intense UV rays, and prolonged exposure without FDA-approved goggles can cause severe, irreversible damage to your retinas and corneas. Towels, sunglasses, or simply closing your eyes do not provide adequate protection during UV therapy.
FDA-Approved Protection
We strictly enforce the use of FDA-approved tanning goggles in all our tanning beds and booths. These specialized goggles are explicitly designed to block 99.9% of harmful UVB and UVA rays, ensuring your vision remains completely protected throughout your session while allowing you to tan safely.
Attempting to tan without proper eye protection is a direct violation of our safety policies and state regulations. We take your ocular health very seriously and will not permit access to the tanning facilities without verified eyewear. Our staff is trained to check for goggles before activating any equipment.
Failure to wear goggles can lead to painful conditions such as photokeratitis (sunburn of the cornea), cataracts, and long-term vision impairment. The minor inconvenience of wearing goggles is far outweighed by the protection they provide.
Available for Purchase
If you forget to bring your own protective eyewear, or if you are trying our tanning facilities for the first time, you do not need to worry. High-quality, sanitized tanning goggles are always available for purchase at the front desk of your local club at an affordable price.
We offer several different styles, including traditional goggles with adjustable elastic bands for a secure fit, and disposable, single-use eye stickers (often called "winkies"), allowing you to choose the option that is most comfortable and convenient for you.
Investing in your own pair of goggles ensures you always have them readily available in your gym bag, eliminating any delays when you want to enjoy a quick post-workout tanning session.
Preventing 'Raccoon Eyes'
Many members worry about developing un-tanned, pale circles around their eyes, commonly referred to as 'raccoon eyes.' Modern tanning goggles are specifically designed with a sleek, low-profile shape to minimize this effect while still providing maximum, FDA-compliant protection for your eyes.
You can also slightly adjust the position of the goggles during your session to ensure a more even tan on your face, provided the lenses remain securely over your eyes at all times. Gently shifting them slightly up or down halfway through your session can help blend the tan lines.
Never trim, alter, or modify your goggles in an attempt to reduce tan lines, as this compromises their structural integrity and their ability to block dangerous UV radiation.
How Do You Reserve A Tanning Session?
You can reserve a tanning session by simply visiting the front desk and presenting your Black Card® keytag to a team member, who will verify your eligibility and assign you to an available bed or booth. The process is quick, seamless, and designed to get you relaxing as soon as possible after your workout.
- Check In at the Front Desk: Upon arriving at the club or finishing your workout, scan your digital keytag using the Planet Fitness app. Inform the team member that you would like to use the tanning facilities.
- Select Your Equipment: Choose between a lay-down bed or a stand-up booth. If you have a preference for a specific level of UV therapy equipment, let the staff know, and they will accommodate you based on current availability.
- Determine Session Time: Consult with the staff regarding your skin type and current base tan to determine a safe and effective session length. The staff will program the bed remotely to ensure you do not exceed the recommended exposure time.
- Show Your Eyewear: You must present your FDA-approved protective eyewear to the staff before they activate the room. If you need to purchase a pair, you can easily do so at this time.
- Enjoy Your Session: Proceed to your assigned, freshly sanitized room. You will have a few minutes of "delay time" to undress, apply your indoor tanning lotion, and get comfortable before the lamps automatically turn on. Once the session ends, simply dress and exit the room.
Why Use Indoor Tanning Lotions?
Indoor tanning lotions are essential because they accelerate the melanin production process, provide critical hydration to prevent skin flaking, and contain specialized ingredients that maximize the absorption of UV therapy. Using a high-quality lotion can improve your tanning results by up to 60% compared to tanning with dry, unmoisturized skin.
At Planet Fitness, we proudly offer a curated selection of premium indoor tanning lotions right at the front desk. Our diverse inventory includes accelerators for beginners looking to build a base, bronzers for those seeking immediate, dark color, and tingles for advanced tanners looking to break through a tanning plateau and stimulate microcirculation.
It is important to note that outdoor sunscreens, baby oils, and standard drugstore body lotions should never be used in our tanning beds. These products contain mineral oils and heavy silicones that can severely damage the expensive acrylic surfaces of the equipment. Furthermore, they will actually inhibit the UV rays from reaching your skin, rendering your session completely ineffective.
Our staff is highly trained on the benefits of each product line we carry and can help you select the perfect lotion based on your specific skin type, tanning goals, and budget. Investing in a good lotion is the best way to maximize the value of your Black Card® tanning privileges.
What Are The Age Restrictions For Tanning?
Age restrictions for tanning vary significantly depending on your local state and municipal laws, but generally, individuals under the age of 18 are either strictly prohibited from using UV therapy equipment or must have written consent from a parent or legal guardian present in the club. Planet Fitness strictly complies with all local regulations regarding indoor tanning to ensure the safety of our younger members.
Strict Legal Compliance
In many jurisdictions across the country, the law explicitly forbids anyone under 18 from utilizing tanning beds under any circumstances, regardless of parental consent or medical necessity. In these areas, our computer systems are programmed to deny tanning access to any member whose date of birth indicates they are a minor.
In states or counties where minors are permitted to tan, the parent or legal guardian must typically sign a comprehensive liability waiver and consent form in person at the club before the minor's first session. Phone calls or notes from home are never accepted as valid consent.
We require a valid, government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license or passport) to verify the age of any member requesting access to the tanning facilities. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain full legal compliance.
Local Club Policies
If you are unsure about the specific age requirements, consent laws, or tanning regulations in your specific area, please contact your local Planet Fitness club directly. Our management staff is fully trained on the precise legal compliance standards for your state and can provide you with the exact documentation needed, if applicable.
We prioritize the safety, health, and legal protection of all our members and staff. These age restrictions are in place to protect developing skin from unnecessary UV exposure and to align with the recommendations of leading dermatological associations.
Even if you are over 18, we encourage all members to educate themselves on the risks and benefits of UV therapy and to tan responsibly, following all posted guidelines and staff recommendations.
Unlock Unlimited Tanning Today
Tanning beds and UV therapy are exclusive amenities reserved specifically for our Planet Fitness Black Card® members. Upgrade your membership today to enjoy unlimited access to our premium spa facilities, including tanning, HydroMassage, massage chairs, and the ability to bring a guest for free every time you visit.
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