Fast, furious - and fried?

Sunbeds now offer a full tan in three hours. But is this a flash in the pan? Decca Aitkenhead looks at the effects of high-speed bronzing

A deathly pallor is not normally a problem in this country. You may look bluish-white but, hey, so is everyone else. But as the heatwave transforms a Pale And Interesting population into Baywatch babes, those who haven't caught the sun - or are frightened of its proven ability rapidly to age - find they have some catching up to do. One possible solution is solarium technology - the flashtan.

Acquiring an artificial glow used to be a laborious process - at least 10 to 15 half-hour sessions on a sunbed. High-pressure salons now promise instant gratification - dramatic results in just one visit, and a rich all-over tan within three.

"One session is the equivalent to a full day's tanning in the Med. By tomorrow morning you'll see what we mean," I am assured at the Electric Beach in London's Kensington. Known by serious sunners simply as "the beach", this national chain of salons offers a 45-minute session for pounds 20.

The experience is extraordinary.

If you were to lie down in a wind tunnel in a nuclear reactor, the sensation might be similar. You lie on a mattress, stripped, prone and begoggled. A vast steel and glass canopy bathes you in purple light. The heat is phenomenal. Industrial strength fans whir over the piped-in pop music, pummelling your body with hot wind.

The after-effects are startling. I emerged, slightly tanned, distinctly giddy, and spent the next eight hours performing double takes. Like peeking at a cake in the oven, every time I checked, I found I'd turned a darker shade. It may sound alarming, but to the suntan junkie in a hurry, there is no greater thrill.

Yet how can anything so potent possibly be safe?

"Our beds are the safest we know in the business. They are manufactured to the highest of standards. Our staff are excellently trained, our safety warnings and procedures are thorough-going," says Electric Beach director Tim Hales. Flash tanning, he argues, is not merely "not dangerous". It can be positively beneficial. He believes the move toward upmarket tanning will squeeze out the "corner shop, nudge-nudge, wink-wink" solariums, which hire out cheap beds without observing proper safety precautions.

"High-pressure sunbeds are safer than lying in the sun. When you go outside in the sun you have no idea what UVA or UVB dose you are getting. You maybe don't know how long you are out, and you don't wear goggles. Here, you have control."

The Tanning Shop, another national chain, delivers a high-speed tan in a stand-up booth. A 6-minute session, cost pounds 5, is equivalent to 20 minutes on a normal sunbed.

Here, the procedure is different: you enter a metallic, circular booth, reminiscent of Woody Allen's famed Orgasmatron, wearing nothing but shiny stickers over your eyes. You then stand upright, in bright light, hanging on to suspicious-looking overhead straps. "I know it looks a bit rude," giggles the assistant, "but it'll stop you getting white patches."

Six minutes later you emerge, sweat-free (thanks to an effective cooling system), significantly browner. Flash tanning does deliver. It also provokes weary scepticism from dermatologists. They have little time for the claim that because sunbeds emit only UVA rays, and exclude the UVB rays conventionally linked to cancer, they are safe.

"That is simply misleading," says Dr Chris Sharp at the National Radiology Protection Board. "UVA in particular tends to cause skin ageing and skin fragility syndrome, where the skin bruises and blisters easily." The Imperial Cancer Research Fund will not rule out a link between UVA and skin cancer. However, they point out that if flash tanning causes skin damage, as with all other forms of sun-related conditions, we will not know for several years.

But, Dr Sharp admits, until such warnings are backed up with incontrovertible evidence we will continue to be seduced by the speedy tan promise. He also has a word of warning that wannabe golden girls and boys should note before parting with their hard-earned dosh: "Actually, UVA and tanning is a bit of a con. Yes, UVA produces an immediate darkening, but it will disappear in a few days. Without UVB, I'm afraid that tan just won't last."