Twister Bulbs

Twister or twisted bulbs refer to tanning bulbs that use a particular technology, melt twisting a tanning bulb once it has been made. It is a fairly labor intensive technique, as each lamp must be handled individually for the process. This makes the lamps much more expensive compared to the higher output you get. In short, I am not a fan of twisted lamps, which I will explain below.

Example of a typical twisted lamp. The twist is actually one long indention.

There are a number of companies that make twisted lamps, and the tanning power of each is as different as it would be with any other type of lamp. The majority of these makers create twisted lamps using 9% UVB lamps, which are not the best for tanning. They are excellent for burning you or simply getting you red, but not so good for getting you brown. If you are going to choose a twisted lamp, do yourself a favor and get one with a UVB rating LESS than 7%, if you expect to get a quality tan.

Close up of actual twister lamp, unlit.

To make a twisted lamp, you start by making a complete tanning lamp in the traditional way. The lamp is then put into a special jig that will slowly rotate the lamp. While the lamp is being rotated, a torch is applied to the lamp and a stainless steel rod pushes in on the glass. This creates a long "dent" in the glass, and since it is rotating slowly, it ends up twisting around the lamp. The glass is only heated enough to be bent this way, and rapidly cools after being bent. The entire rig with the torch and stainless steel rod is on a ":screw" mount, and slides down the lamp as it rotates, which takes a few minutes. The end result is a lamp with slightly more surface area. UV is produced inside the lamp at the phosphor coating, so the larger the surface area, the more UV is produced.

Each lamp must be hand loaded and unloaded from this rig, making it labor entensive. Also, it takes a few minutes for each lamp to get its twist, so someone must stand there and wait, load and unload, then stack each lamp. It is the labor that makes it so expensive. Often, this is compensated for by using a less expensive lamp to twist, to lower the end price.

This is why I don't particularly care for twisted lamp: You spend another 20%-30% for the twist, which will add about 5% more output. It isn't cost effective. There are some nice applications for the lamp, however, and I am not saying they have no use.

Salon owners may use them because they are visually appealing and customers like to use tanning beds that have tanning bulbs that look different. Different is perceived as better, and in this case, it is better, but only slightly.

If you are looking to buy them for a home tanning bed, and simply do not might spending a lot of extra money for a little bit of better lamp, then it is fine. However, for the same amount of money, you can usually get a higher quality tanning bulb that isn't twisted and will likely have a higher output.