Results Worth Paying For

Most of us have used, or are currently using, some sort of red light device in our stores. The most common device found in a tanning salon is a low-pressure lamp device that is probably included in an “All Access” membership package. We’ve also experienced LED facial red light devices that are used separately or in conjunction with one of our other spa services. One thing we’ve learned from both of these devices over the years is red light works and needs to become a larger part of our business. But, these devices have limitations. Though low-pressure devices have their place in our business model, they do not provide the output that the new LED technology provides and the results are reflective of that fact. Facial devices are fantastic, but do not provide full-body exposure.

SmartSun Therapy is a full-body, high-output device that incorporates advanced LED red light technology we’ve come to appreciate with targeted near-infrared lights which provide a completely different set of benefits for our customers. This device not only increases red light output providing unparalleled results, it also generates another business opportunity with the inclusion of the near-infrared spectrum that will have customers coming in to reduce inflammation and healing of damaged tissue, improve muscle performance, enhance recovery, and reduce pain, just for starters.

This type of therapeutic technology is currently found in wellness groups, health spas, and professional sports team facilities, to name a few. There’s a reason for that. It works! The SmartSun Therapy device has been in tanning salons for up to four years now, with professional salon owners profiting from the myriad benefits in a number of ways. Salons across the country are selling packages and increasing their membership EFT’s. This new technology is bringing in new customers and providing new ways to generate revenue outside of conventional tanning services.

Sunday’s Blue Box Sun Spa owner Dennis Ligon has used these devices for four years and claims they’ve brought in people who would have never considered indoor tanning. Yet, after seeing his advanced UV equipment, many have converted to “All Access” customers. “I had a 50-year old man that came in for the red light service and asked what that cool machine was in the other room. After learning it was a tanning bed he said, ‘I’ve never tanned in a tanning bed. Let’s give it a try.’ He’s one of our best customers now,” Ligon says.

Also consider that the non-tanning businesses currently providing these services aren’t sunlight specialists like we are. They haven’t spent years learning about the nuances of sunlight exposure, and they don’t have employees who have completed technical certifications and understand skin typing and exposure schedules. Yes, these are services that our industry should be providing to the masses because we are the purveyors of sunlight.

Change Sunbed Perceptions

Promoting SmartSun Therapy helps to change the negative mindset associated with artificial UV exposure. Today, most of the world understands and accepts that sunlight is good for us. However, many believe that sunbeds emit some kind of toxic wavelength that is completely unnatural and is nothing like the sun. Yet, red light is simply viewed as light waves that provide natural benefits without risk. Smart Sun Therapy creates an opportunity to show customers that all of our devices emit very specific wavelengths of sunlight providing users with the same energy we find in nature.

Carly White from Pacific Tan salons in Michigan believes this new thinking is changing the way she trains her staff and how they deliver their salon tour to their customers. “My entire team has changed the way they see our business now. By discussing SmartSun Therapy with customers first, we are making them aware that the services we provide are controlled dosages of different sunlight wavelengths. I believe this new approach opens their minds to better understand the premise that we are sunlight providers,” White says.

We are exposed to UV light, red light, near-infrared light, blue light, and the entire sunlight spectrum when we’re outdoors. This is what nature intended. Our devices have harnessed these different wavelengths to offer the benefits associated with these wavelengths while minimizing the risks by regulating the dosages in a controlled environment under the supervision of a certified operator.

Create Hybrid Tanning

The fundamentals of UV tanning equipment haven’t changed much in the past few decades. For the most part, our devices are 95% UVA and 5% UVB just like summer sunshine. That has been the reality until hybrid tanning came on the scene over the past few years. KBL engineers developed a completely new way to tan by adding red light to our UV devices. Salons who have added these units to their stores are finding that this new way of tanning, and the results it provides, is a real game-changer. They believe that this new approach is the best and most natural way to get a suntan.

These devices have been so successful and well received that many salons are wishing they could change all of their equipment to this new technology. However, the reality is that changing every tanning room to a hybrid unit will take a lot of time and money. In the meantime, is there a way you can offer customers this better tanning experience?

Scott Nichols from SunSeekers by Rosie tanning salons in Wisconsin seems to think so. Though Scott’s intentions are to upgrade all of his units to the newest technology available, he is working on a way to combine Smart Sun Therapy sessions with his standard UV tanning bed sessions for a hybrid experience. According to Nichols, “Sure, our customers will have to move from one room to another, but this enables us to offer hybrid tanning options to a lot more customers until we add more hybrid units over the next few years.”

Increase Product Sales

We’ve learned over the years that our equipment alone does not provide the absolute best results attainable. Whether it’s UV tanning products or spray tan products, the carefully formulated lotions made specifically for these services play a key role in providing our customers the best results we can offer. In fact, we’ve learned over the years that UV tanning customers and spray tan customers rarely utilize our services without purchasing at least one product to enhance their results.

Well, red light services are no different. The producers of UV and spray tanning products in our market today provide more than a dozen different products used to enhance red light services. And, with the full-body exposure provided by SmartSun Therapy, there is much more real estate that requires red light product coverage. These products are effective at enhancing red light penetration and efficacy, aiding skin cell damage mitigation, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and more. In a nutshell, by adding this new technology, you’ve added more product sales opportunities.

Click here to learn more about SmartSun Therapy.