Salon Owners are Hot on UV Free
by Karen Austin

   In 1993, Tanning Trends ran a cover story that asked the question, "Is the Future of Indoor Tanning Sunless?" At the time, new and improved bottled sunless tanning products were gaining popularity and market share at makeup counters and grocery stores all over the country. We asked, "Will sunless tanning products upstage indoor tanning in the future?"

   The answer to that question is apparently, "no." A decade later, the indoor tanning industry has gained a great deal of that market share. Minus the bottles and mess of the last decade's self-bronzing products, sunless spray units offer salon owners and their clients an indoor UV-free option that's a fast-growing and profitable ancillary service. It is, perhaps, the second generation of tanning.

   Stephanie and Dave Henshaw own three Tan World salons in the Kansas City area. The Henshaws introduced one UV-free, spray-on unit in each of their salons in 2001 and added three more not long ago.

   "We thought it would be an awesome opportunity for us to have something that would be appealing to individuals who can't or won't tan in a conventional bed to bring in a new type of clientele," Stephanie Henshaw said. "During the busy season it will be mandatory that I have these extra booths at each salon. I guarantee both will be full."
 
    Despite fears that sunless products and indoor spray booths might someday eclipse traditional indoor tanning, salon owners like Henshaw see spray-on tanning units as a complement to their traditional UV services and a way to bring an all-new market to the world of indoor tanning. It makes sense. After all, roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population uses indoor tanning services on a regular basis, so the potential market for UV-free tanning services is enormous.
 
    UV-free tanning continues to move into the industry's mainstream. It's actually so commonplace that when Keith and Holly Rodenberger opened The Palms Tanning Resort in Denver in February, they included a UV-free unit along with several levels of the latest tanning technology. "We've already built out a second room for another one," Keith Rodenberger said of his UV-free unit.

   Salons owners say offering UV-free services has not affected their numbers of traditional UV tanners. Henshaw's Tan World salons offer seven levels of tanning, including UV-free.

   "I think it was very scary to some people to see a sunless tanning booth come in because they were afraid that it was going to take away from conventional beds, which hasn't been the case at all," Henshaw said. "I haven't lost any tanners to it at all, but what it's allowed me to do is bring in a totally new clientele. People who would never step foot in a tanning salon are coming in and I've heard that over and over again. They say, 'I would never come in to tanning salon to tan, but I'll do this.'"

    Sharon Reyes, co-owner of Ingrid's Suntanning in Palo Alto, Calif., said she had questions at first, too. Reyes and her husband, Richard, added UV-free tanning to their salon in December. "When I first heard about it I was thinking, 'That doesn't sound right. Why would I have a self-tanning unit in a tanning salon when I'm trying to promote tanning and the benefits of tanning in moderation? Why would I put a self-tanning unit in here?' But I just kept getting phones calls from people asking for it. Almost every day I would get a phone call."

    As it turns out, traditional tanning and UV-free tanning are not competitors. Instead, they're great partners.

Complementary Technologies

Innovative technology is the difference between today's UV-free service and yesterday's products. When sunless products started to gain popularity again in the 1990's - after the QT and Coppertone wave of the 70's - using them properly was a challenge. They were messy. They streaked. They took forever to dry. Sunless spray booths remove those challenges. Gone are the days of oompa-loompa orange and zebra stripes and sitting naked on the side of the tub for an hour until the stuff sets in to the skin.

    Today's UV-free tanners step into a unit resembling a high-tech shower stall. With the push of a button, the unit sprays a fine mist that blends bronzers, moisturizers and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) onto the body, providing an even, all-over application. The process takes just seconds - the prep time for the process actually takes longer. The skin begins to darken immediately and continues to darken for several hours. Four to five days later, the color has faded; it's time for another application.

    The process is a little more complicated than that. Like traditional tanning, UV-free service requires client education and skin prepping processes, but compared to the benefits offered by UV-free, say salon owners, those are easy challenges.

   Joe and Alyssa Springman own Eurobronze in Manassas, Virginia. After seven years in the industry, they added a UV-free unit early this year. "I don't think it's a trend," Joe Springman said. "People have been using self-tanning lotions for years and now we finally have something that gets people looking as close to a natural tan as can be. This is the easiest, quickest way to do it. A lot of it is the time factor. You step in and you're out in a minute."

    That speedy service is just one of the perks offered by UV-free tanning.

UV-Free Advantages

   There are big rewards inherent in UV-free tanning. The greatest advantage for a traditional tanning salon to add the service is, of course, an expanded market base.

    "We got it as a viable alternative for people who can't tan because of their skin type or who have had problems before, basically to capture a whole new market and expand our market base," Springman said. Steve Swarts, who owns three salons in the Fresno, Calif., area, and added the UV-free option last year, agrees. "It's definitely increased our bottom line and added a new customer base to our salon," he said. "People that normally wouldn't come in are coming in to use it."

    In fact, new clients are practically rounded up and herded in by a couple of unlikely sources. The media and dermatologists have jumped at the chance to promote this alternative to ultraviolet rays routinely - and incorrectly - categorized as harmful. National news shows featured various types of UV-free equipment last year and local news outlets have made it part of their usual springtime tanning stories.

    Such media awareness, some say, gives with one hand while taking away with the other. However, the media attention focused on UV-free tanning gives salon owners opportunities to educate other audiences about the benefits of both types of services.

   Last year, Henshaw gave three media interviews generated by UV-free story requests; only one denigrated indoor tanning. "It's so popular and the media went crazy about it," she said. "But it was all very positive. The TV interview kind of got me because they showed a lady in her 50's who tanned with baby oil and iodine for the last 20 years and had cancer on her face. But the radio interviews were excellent."

   On the other side of the fence, a local dermatologist contacted Springman's salon about UV-free tanning recently. "They were referring clients to a different salon but they are now going to refer their clients here," he said. "My plan is to go around to different dermatologists and say, 'Hey, here's a viable option for people who have had skin problems in the past.'"

   Henshaw stresses that UV and UV-free tanning are not necessarily either-or services. Many of her clients use both types of technology. In particular, she said her high-pressure clients who want to be really dark use the UV-free unit to get an extra boost of color.

   "I tell people that it's a great way to do it," Springman said. "Some people want to get as dark as they can be, and using the bed plus this can help them achieve that."

   Another big advantage to adding UV-free tanning is, of course, profit. The initial cost of the unit is high (between $30,000 and $50,000, depending on the unit) but UV-free tanning is profitable. Springman said his salon is mostly high-pressure units, so he is used to such cost, but a salon owner who purchased only conventional beds might be surprised by the expense.

   "I can see people shying away from it for that reason," he said. "I just looked at the number of tans that you needed per day. Basically, you need three or four days per month to pay for your booth."

    Pricing strategies for UV-free services are similar to those used for traditional tanning units. Clients pay per session, but get a break if they buy a package. And like indoor tanning, prices vary by region. Henshaw gives first-timers a break and charges only $9.99 for their first session, but then it's $30.95 for a single session. She offers packages in sets of two, four, eight, 12 and 20 sessions.

    "We're probably averaging about $15 per session," Henshaw says. "Usually, we recommend that you come in twice the first week and maintenance is once a week after that. Those who buy packages may use them in both the UV-free and high-pressure units."

    As a point of comparison, Reyes's salon gets $30 per session and offers packages of three visits for $75 and five for $110; those who buy a package receive a free session.

    One major concern salon owners have regarding UV-free tanning is whether it brings in repeat business. "I thought, 'OK, we've got all these people doing it, but are they going to come back?' And they are. We have a lot of people that buy 10 sessions. And we have a lot of people that tan first for added color," Reyes said.

    Swarts asks $25 per session. "It's great for weddings, proms, dances, special events," he said, noting that UV-free tanning brings in year-round business but is busier during the traditional tanning season. "Any type of tanning is going to be seasonal, whether they're tanning for vacation or tanning to get dark before summer. It just seems to be seasonal no matter what the product is."

    Springman said he thinks UV-free tanning will help boost off-season business. "I've heard people say many times that they're going to give their skin a break and you don't see them for three months," he explains. "Then all of a sudden, they're back. I think this is a viable option for people who want to maintain the look without using the UV to give their skin a break."

    Attracting year-round clients is a common challenge to traditional tanning salons, but UV-free tanning does create its own unique challenges.

UV-Free Challenges

The challenges inherent in UV-free tanning are similar to those typical in traditional tanning services: maintenance and educating clients about benefits and practice.

    Daily maintenance is comparable to that necessary for conventional tanning units. "I clean a booth, I clean a bed," Springman said. "It's probably just as easy as cleaning a bed. It's just a matter of spraying and wiping it down and sanitizing it at the end."

    Reyes laughed about cleaning her unit. "We get our exercise, that's for sure," she said. "We go in with a towel or a squeegee and wipe it down." She also said she just purchased a new dryer because it's a challenge keeping up with the dirty towels.

    Extra towels are part of what's needed for the process of using an indoor spray unit, and teaching clients the process can be a challenge because there are numerous little details to remember.

    Basically, clients are told to cover their hair with the paper cap provided to them and to use a cream or some kind of barrier that keeps the solution from concentrating on the palms, soles of the feet and around the nails. They are told to exfoliate before using the unit (the DHA grabs on to the top layer of skin) and to use a non-oily lotion to moisturize; oil-based moisturizers can adversely affect the success of the DHA application.

   Once the body is prepared for the solution, clients step into the booth, get a quick, then step out and wipe off with a clean towel. Wiping off the solution prevents drips and streaks. Once the client is dried off, they're free to dress and be on their way, keeping in mind that they should stay dry - avoiding bathing or perspiring - for several hours.

    Some units offer video training; another unit has a recorded voice that instructs clients. Regardless of training method, salon owners say it always bears repeating.

    "The key is making sure the employees have it down," Reyes said. "We educate the clients and spend an extra 10 minutes with them explaining it again after they watch the video because we want them to get it down. If they're happy, they'll come back."

    Swarts said his biggest challenge is one most salon owners are familiar with - those clients who think they know everything. "They don't want to watch the video or they don't want to listen," he said. "They think, 'More is better, so I'm going to let it sit on my body for a while before I wipe it down.' When you get out you have to towel off right away or you streak. The biggest challenge to overcome is just educating the customer that they need to follow directions. We've had people who've obviously done it wrong the first time and when they come back and follow instructions the second time and they have good results."

    Also critical is making sure clients understand that UV-free color offers them no protection from sunburn. "That's one of the major things that we make sure we make clear with out clients," Henshaw said. "We tell our clients that if they're going on vacation and they want to use (UV-free tanning), they still have to use SPF because it does not prepare their skin."

    Henshaw said clients understand the process once it's properly explained to them. "We explain that, in a tanning unit, you're conditioning your skin with small amounts of ultraviolet radiation to allow your skin to take more when you go outside. Therefore, it's totally different and you really have to be careful."

    Obviously, spray-on, UV-free technology can be a profitable and popular complement to indoor tanning - a new kid on the block that makes a great roommate. That's why Rodenberger made room for another UV-free unit in his salon. "We really believe this is going to be the new generation of tanning. It's a wonderful concept."