Red Light Therapy vs Sunbeds: What's the Difference?

People often lump red light therapy and sunbeds together, but they do two very different things. Here’s the plain-English version.

Sunbeds (UV tanning)

A sunbed uses UV light to darken your skin — that’s what gives you a tan. It’s the same kind of light you’d get from the sun, in a controlled, timed dose. Tanning is a cosmetic choice, and in the UK it’s strictly for over-18s, with supervised, sensible use.

Red light therapy (UV-free)

Red light therapy uses red-light LEDs with no UV at all. There’s no tanning involved. People love it as a warm, relaxing session that leaves skin looking fresher, smoother and more radiant. Think of it as the skincare side of your glow rather than the colour side.

The big difference

	Sunbeds	Red light therapy
Light	UV	UV-free red light
What it’s for	A golden tan	Skin that looks its best
Feels like	A warm tanning session	A calm, relaxing glow

Why not both?

Here’s the clever bit: the megaSun K11 Air Select at Beautano — the only one in Glasgow — does both. You can have a UV tan, a UV-free red-light session, or combine them, so your colour looks after your skin at the same time.

Want to try it? Book a red light session or explore our sunbeds — we’re in Nitshill, open 7 days.

Red light therapy is a cosmetic and wellbeing experience, not a medical treatment. Tanning is for over-18s only and is supervised.