How Often Should You Use Tanning Lotion for Indoor Tanning?

February 24, 2026

How often should I use a tanning lotion? If you’re using a tanning bed, it's a question you must have asked yourself.

Indoor tanning is controlled and consistent, so your results depend heavily on how you prep your skin and how you maintain it afterward.

Here’s the simple breakdown.

1) Use an Accelerator Before Every Tanning Bed Session

If you tan indoors 3 times a week, you should use an accelerator 3 times a week. Always apply it right before your session.

Why? Dry skin doesn’t tan evenly. Hydrated skin tans better, faster, and more smoothly.

Indoor favorites on onyxtan.com:

Skipping lotion usually means weaker results from the same session. If you’re paying for tanning time, make it count.

Bronzers are great for boosting color indoors, but don’t use them every single session.

Best rule: use a bronzer every second session.

Example routine:

Onyx options that work well indoors:

Quick tips:

Wait at least 6 hours before showering after a bronzer session.
Don’t layer bronzer day after day — too much can make color look heavy or uneven.

Tingle is popular in tanning salons. It creates a warming feeling and can add intensity, but more is not better.

Use tingle:

Popular options on onyxtan.com:

Indoor beds already warm your skin, so treat tingle like an occasional boost — not your daily base.

Your tan doesn’t last because of what you use in the bed. It lasts because of what you use after.

If you don’t moisturize daily, your tan fades faster.

For indoor maintenance, use:

Apply it morning and night — even on days you don’t tan.

Hydrated skin holds color longer. Dry skin sheds faster. It’s that simple.

This keeps your color even, natural-looking, and longer-lasting — without guessing or overdoing it.

Indoor tanning works best when your lotion routine matches your tanning schedule:

Consistency beats overuse. Treat tanning like part of your skincare routine, and your results will look better and last longer.