Wouldn’t it be nice if your skin wasn’t so pale? Since you’re here looking for the best face tanning lamp, we’d like to help. Not only did we review the top home-use tanning lamps for the face, but we also share tips for getting bronzed safely. Let’s begin by talking about how to tan the face.
How to get a tan on your face
If you’re on planet Earth, you have a pretty good shot of getting a tan outdoors at least during part of the year. Unfortunately, winter for most of us means less sunshine and paler skin. Your options at that point include going to a tanning salon, using a tanning lamp at home, or self-tanning. Let’s discuss how to tan with a tanning lamp at home.
How to use a tanning lamp at home
What lights are used for tanning? You’ll need a UV lamp that emits UVA rays – check out the options below. You only need to use a UV tanning lamp for a few minutes every couple of days to bronze your face.
You won’t see the results after the first session, and maybe not after the second if you’re doing it right. It will probably take three sessions to get noticeably tan.
Follow these tips for success while tanning your face:
- Read the instructions or watch an instructional video regarding the product you’re going to use
- If you have naturally pale skin, start on the lowest setting and work your way up once you have a base tan
- Always wear protective goggles – keeping your eyes closed isn’t enough protection
- Exfoliate and moisturize your face first before tanning
- Keep your skin moisturized afterward
How do you know if you’re doing it right? If you follow the instructions, you’ll see the skin gradually getting darker without getting burned.
How do you know if you’re doing it wrong? You’ll end up with sunburn and increase your risk of wrinkles, skin cancer, and cataracts down the road.
The benefits of facial tanning
A face tanning lamp may help reduce acne, vitiligo, psoriasis, and eczema. It might also provide a mood boost during dark winter months if you suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
The downside to facial tanning
You’ve already heard that tanning can cause skin cancer. It’s not just sunburn you have to worry about. And if you don’t protect your eyes, you could end up with cataracts or macular degeneration (1).
Furthermore, tanning the skin makes it prone to wrinkling because UVA rays break down the collagen that keeps the skin firm. So it’s a trade-off where you look younger and healthier now but age prematurely.
How can you balance the positive and negative so that you can enjoy tanning? We highly recommend being patient and taking it slow so that you don’t overdose on UV rays. Your skin can only go just so dark because it’s limited by the natural amount of melanin you have. If you want to go darker, use a self-tanning product. They are so good these days that no one will be able to guess that you’re wearing one.
Lastly, eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, and keep that face hydrated with an antioxidant-rich moisturizer. The antioxidants cancel out the harmful free radicals that make your skin break down.
Use the face tanning lamp reviews below to help you find what you need.
The best face tanning products | Why we love them |
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Home Tanning Lamp Face and Body |
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Fiji Sun Tanning Lamp - Face and Body Sunlamp |
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Hapro Summer Glow HB 404 Face Tanner |
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Super Sunnies Evo Flexible Tanning Bed Goggles |
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Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Antipollution Sunshine Serum |
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Best Face Tanning Lamp in 2024
Home Tanning Lamp Face and Body

This affordable tanning lamp emits UVA rays, specifically 395nm wavelength light. It’s a tabletop model with an adjustable angle so that you can use it for both the face and body. Place it between 12 to 18 inches away from the skin. For your safety, the built-in timer turns off the lamp once your session ends.
Instead of high pressure UV lamps, this device appears to use LEDs. There are three advantages to using LEDs instead of regular tanning bulbs. First, the lamp doesn’t get hot. Second, the LEDs will last for thousands of hours of service, much longer than a conventional tanning lamp.
Third, this little lamp can do a lot more than bronze your skin. Because of the type of light it emits, it can cure LED nail polish and help you find pet urine stains on the carpet. Seriously.
However, this may not be the best choice if you’re serious about tanning. On the downside, it was nearly impossible for us to get specific information about this product although it’s all over the Internet. Worse, the photos accompanying the listing show two different models with two different brands. Sketchy to say the least. You can do better – just check out the next tanning lamp below.
Pros:
- Affordable tabletop tanning lamp for the face and body
- Adjustable angle
- Emits UVA rays for tanning
- Doesn’t get hot
Cons:
- LEDs may not be as effective for tanning as a traditional high pressure lamp
- Product information is vague and confusing
Fiji Sun Tanning Lamp – Face and Body Sunlamp

The Fiji sun lamp is made by Sperti, a company established in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1933. The founder, Dr. George Sperti, invented a lamp that irradiated milk to add vitamin D to it. The first products off the assembly line were full spectrum bulbs intended as reading lights, but the brand soon switched to developing tanning lamps in 1937 and studied how ultraviolet rays stimulated vitamin D production in the skin.
Now, this popular tabletop sunlamp is recommended for at-home tanning as well as a mental boost during the dark winter months.
It’s ready to use right out of the box with no need to install lamps. Just plug it in and set the timer. The maximum session length is 15 minutes, then the lamp turns off automatically.
Adjust the angle depending on if you’re sitting or standing. The lamp weighs 15 pounds and measures 22 x 9 x 14-inches, so it’s not hard to move. It features four UV-A bulbs rated for 1000 hours of service.
The FDA-cleared lamp meets safety standards. Moreover, it comes with a warning that it should never be used by persons who have had skin cancer or a family history of it. Also, Fitzpatrick type I individuals who burn and never tan should avoid using it.
The company offers a 7-year warranty to the original owner and includes a pair of UVA-blocking goggles in every box.
Pros:
- Made by an American brand established nearly a century ago
- Tabletop model with an adjustable angle for tanning other parts of the body beyond the face
- 4 UV-A bulbs bronze the skin, stimulating it to produce vitamin D
- Timer has one-minute increments up to a total of 15 minutes
- Automatic shutdown at the end of the timed session
- Comes with 2 pairs of UVA-blocking goggles and a 7-year warranty
- Bulbs are rated for 1000 hours of service
Cons:
- Not ideal for full-body tanning unless you’re fine with doing it by sections
- Should not be used by persons with skin cancer or type I skin that never tans
Hapro Summer Glow HB 404 Face Tanner
This compact tabletop lamp is about as convenient as it gets. Instead of guessing if your face is far enough away for safety and close enough to tan, the device has a built-in measuring tape. Grab the little knob on the front and stretch it out to make sure you’re in the right place.
It also has a very long timer. The dial goes all the way up to 60 minutes. It’s a good thing the lamp comes with two pairs of UV protective goggles.
Furthermore, although it only has one UV lamp, it’s a 400 W bulb set in a parabolic reflector to bounce all the light straight at your face.
Pros:
- 400 W UV lamp set in a parabolic reflector for maximum exposure
- Compact tabletop design has a built-in measuring tape to ensure the appropriate distance
- 60-minute timer
- Comes with protective goggles
Cons:
- More expensive than the previous two options
Super Sunnies Evo Flexible Tanning Bed Goggles

If you’re considering a DIY face tanning lamp, or if you’ve decided to make an appointment at a tanning salon, here are essential accessories. These comfortable little goggles are small enough to keep you from looking like a raccoon, but powerful enough to block nearly 100% of harmful UV rays. The lenses are dark green but transparent enough to see through so you can still find your towel.
Pros:
- Meet FDA rules for eye protection
- Perfect for protecting the eyes during indoor tanning, outdoor tanning, and red light therapy
- Filter out nearly 100% of harmful UV rays
- Made in the USA
Cons:
- Not as sexy as sunglasses but offer better protection
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Antipollution Sunshine Serum

It’s all well and good go tanning until you regret it when you’re older and wrinkled like a prune. Skip the harmful side effects of UV exposure and get a natural-looking bronze from a bottle.
Drunk Elephant designed this serum to adjust to your natural skin tone and provide a light to medium tan. It will give you a perfect glow within hours so you don’t have to wait days to develop a tan.
As always, this American brand avoids harsh chemicals and sticks to using clean ingredients. The serum includes peptides, vitamins, and cocoa extract to go the extra mile. It doesn’t just make you look better, but it also makes the skin healthier.
Pros:
- Bronzing serum provides a beautiful glow within hours
- Vitamin-packed formula with nutrients for healthier skin
- No artificial fragrance, silicone, or harsh ingredients
Cons:
- There are less expensive options for self tanning, but few offer a clean formula like this one
A final note about face tanning and SAD
There’s some confusion about sunlamps, UV lamps, tanning lamps, and light therapy.
A light therapy lamp is sometimes called a sunlamp because it treats Seasonal Affective Disorder caused by a lack of sunlight. Since it treats SAD, it does not emit UV rays and cannot give you a tan.
To get the most from a SAD lamp, you’d wake up and sit in front of it, looking at the light for a certain amount of time each morning. It mimics the light coming from the sun minus the harmful rays.
Since tanning lamps stimulate vitamin D production, they might boost your mood or make you feel better. However, it’s not safe to stare at a tanning lamp, which is why they (should) come with protective goggles.
Conclusion
We hope these reviews helped you find the best tanning solution for your needs today. If you’re pleased with your new tanning lamp, we love to hear about your experience with it. Feel free to leave us a comment below.
Source:
1. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-tan-faster How to Safely Get a Tan in the Sun Faster, medically reviewed by Cynthia Cobb, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, FAANP — written by Grace Gallagher — Updated on January 2, 2020