Long before red light therapy became mainstream in salons, industry product manufacturers were already ahead of the curve, formulating products that prioritized skin care just as much as tanning results.

While UV tanning remains the foundation of the industry, the biggest growth opportunities today lie in expanding services, particularly with the ever-growing demand for red light therapy. As salons adapt to this skin-first approach, product suppliers continue to innovate, delivering advanced formulas that enhance both tanning and wellness experiences while offering powerful daily skincare benefits.

Today, the real question isn’t whether red light belongs in your business but whether you’re maximizing its full potential. And a large part of that is prioritizing red light product sales just as much as traditional tanning products.

With the arrival of high-end, medical-grade red light therapy as well as the increasing prevalence of “hybrid” tanning equipment that combines red light and UV, in many salons, the majority of service usage now incorporates some form of red light.

Hybrid tanning is undoubtedly the future of tanning. It’s the best of both worlds, adding skin care to the mix while enhancing tanning results. By making medical-grade red light therapy available in the same memberships as high-end tanning, businesses like Mid-Ohio Mind, body & Soul and The Midas Touch in Kansas both report that the SmartSun Therapy SST28 has become their most used piece of equipment.

For The Midas Touch, which was founded in 2002, red light has not just been an addition but has fundamentally changed the nature of the business and their approach to product sales.

“We still have tanning to draw people in, but red light and spa is what keeps the clients coming in the full year. It’s really expanded the way our business operates from seasonal to year-round. As far as skin care, I’m now looking at what products can be used in multiple services and products they can use at home. The rebuys are a lot greater than what we’ve seen with just tanning lotions. That’s changed the way we present our product and lotion sales,” says Midas Touch manager Amy Ringler, daughter of company founder Darrel Ringler.

As red light therapy continues to become more of a primary facet of most tanning businesses, the opportunities for additional profits extend beyond package and membership sales for the service. We’ve been drilling into our clients’ heads for decades the importance of using professional tanning products with UV exposure. Now, it’s time to do the same with red light.

“Some of the questions I get more than anything right now are, ‘Do you think that I should invest into red light. Should I invest into wellness? If so, is the future red light and wellness and multiple spectrums and spa?’ My response is it’s not the future; it’s the now,” says New Sunshine Sales Account Executive Jess Snider.

“The more you’re able to invest and give your customers more of these services, it allows you to be more successful, adapt to the times and give your customers the ability to come in and utilize multiple spectrums or multiple wellness services. The reason they come in is to look good and feel great, so why not have these other services that keep your customers in the store longer, build better relationships and rapport, build more value in your business, give your customers more meaning in higher priced memberships and skin care, and continue to help fuel that look good and feel great mantra we all live by. It’s providing reasons for people to come in, and that creates the opportunity to sell multiple services and raise awareness of the positives of UV tanning.”

You know that if a customer is tanning without products, they are doing themselves a disservice, and you’re doing them a disservice by not convincing them to use products that are going to be better for their skin. It’s time to look at products formulated for red light the same way.

“I personally use the products because it does help with cellulite reduction, gives me that firmer, more toned look and more elastin in the skin. I can see the difference. If I’m seeing the difference and more comfortable with my body, I’m a happier person. It’s also really helping when it comes to stretch marks. I’m far more confident to wear dresses that are sleeveless, or tank tops, and that’s 100 percent because of the Beauty With Light products,” says Sun Evolutions Director of Sales & Business Development Gina Jaeger-Morris.

When you look at the vast opportunity for revenue growth from sales of products related to red light and skin care, there are numerous reasons why it should certainly be a top priority moving forward.

• Red light has the potential to be less seasonal than tanning. Having more customers year-round presents more opportunities for all types of retail sales.
• Red light appeals to a broader demographic than tanning, allowing you to sell services and products to customers with no interest in tanning.
• Red light customers are inherently focused on skin care. That’s what many of them are there for. Why wouldn’t they want to maximize results?
• Products formulated for use with red light also offer skin care benefits when used apart from the service, thus encouraging clients to use more and purchase more often.
• Much like products for tanning, there’s a well-defined system for optimal red light product routines, with options for pre-session, post-session, maintenance, facial products, and any number of specialty options, making the sale of multiple products highly practical.
• Products formulated for red light are essentially skin care products with high-end ingredients that can replace many of the products most women already use at home with multi-use capabilities, often for a more affordable price.
• Skin care is “trending” in society today, largely due to social media, and more people than ever are knowledgeable about and looking for the types of formulas and ingredients found in red light and skin care products from tanning brands.

“In just the last few years, it’s changed a lot in that end consumers of both tanning and red light are doing the research on skin care and a lot of it is based on influence. Customers for red light care about the appearance of their skin, but they might not know about red light products that will extend the benefits, and that when you’re not using red light, you can use these products at home and getting these benefits even though you’re not using the service every day,” says Devoted Creations Key Accounts Manager Megan Edwards

“A lot of times people are doing red light to reduce wrinkles and cellulite, minimize pores or scare, or for athletic reasons like injuries. As a consultant, you need to understand these different reasons and what red light does and try to pinpoint what that person is looking for. Then, you’re adding on to the whole process with the products, and working it is a system.”

The Opportunity

The magnitude of the opportunity for profitability with red light therapy and the products associated with it has shifted signficantly in recent years. When Andrea Grimes, owner of Sun Lounge in Texas, first introduced a red light unit, she ended up returning it because it never took off. But, just a few years later, after introducing hybrid tanning equipment, she was inundated with requests for standalone red light therapy. Since then, she’s also had greater than expected success with Beauty With Light products, which she’d already introduced to her tanning clients for use with the hybrid equipment.

“We had the Beauty Angel when it first came out. That’s when red light wasn’t really a thing. We had it for a while, and people weren’t really getting it. Everybody that does tanning wanted instant results, and red light isn’t that. Now everybody is all about health and wellness and red light. Most of the people who commit to doing it are getting the products. Using the products will make it work faster,” Grimes says.

“Last January, we got some hybrid equipment, and now then there’s been a big surge since we got a new red light bed. We’ve been selling more products than I expected, so I keep ordering multiple times. We’ve sold a lot of the face serum. I have a lot of people that are 40s and 50s, and they’ll tan but cover their face, but then when they do the red light, they do their face, so they want the face serum.”

By including medical-grade red light therapy in their all-access membership level, The Midas Touch has made it their most used piece of equipment. Unsurprisingly, their most used sunbeds today are hybrid units that also incorporate red light. With red light becoming such a focal point of the business, Ringler recognizes that the opportunity for sales of their Collagenetics line from Devoted Creations, in some ways, exceeds the possibilities for tanning lotion sales.

“John Farr said the average UV client visits 26 times per year. Most tanning lotion bottles have 13 oz. at .5 oz. per tan, you have one bottle of lotion for 26 tans. So, if I had 1000 clients who are going to come in 26 times a year, I could sell 1000 bottles of lotion. I have to be smarter than that,” she says.

“If I have clients who do red light, and every single client washes their face, I can sell them a facial lotion, and it’s dual use, so they use it for red light and tanning, and they use it three times a day total. Just looking at that, the potential to sell more red light products makes sense. All of a sudden I have a whole skin care bundle I’m selling instead of just one bottle of tanning lotion per year.”

With multiple red light-based services in her wellness spa, Emily Sigmon has had success selling the Restored and Body by CT lines from California Tan as well as a variety of hybrid tanning options from New Sunshine brands. She’s found that introducing tanners to hybrid tanning products can even help encourage a customer to incorporate the other service as well.

“When they invest in a product that is both for tanning and red light, they’re way more likely to use the red light because we’ve educated them. A lot of people have no idea we have the wellness services, so we tell them it’s great to do ‘red before bed,’ and this is a great product that’s created to help the skin absorb red light. When we’re educating tanners on red light, they’re more likely to try it when they have that product. We’re converting these tanners to the beauty of wellness,” Sigmon says.

The Sales Process

The good news is, in many ways, selling products for red light is very much similar to selling products for tanning. The more knowledgeable your staff is, the better they can educate your clients, and the more successful you’ll be at selling products and helping clients achieve their goals.

“It’s very similar to selling tanning because you’re still asking questions and getting to know what their concerns are – who they are as a person, what they’re looking for, what end-result they want. They came to the business for a reason. It’s similar in that aspect but different because you’re not getting them tan,” Edwards says.

“The main focus is really understanding the purpose of the products. One of the biggest things we like to do is get across the full understanding of what the product is and how it works with equipment. A lot of red light products are for more than red light, so it encompasses a couple different things.”

Tanners will already have an inherent understanding of the process. Red light is a spectrum in sunshine just like UV that interacts with the skin to provide results they want. For decades, we’ve been teaching tanners that using products is a crucial part of the process. Red light is no different, but these products also carry the benefit of having multi-use properties and additional selling points.

“There’s a similarity in that we’ve already been doing so great over the years is teaching people the benefits of tanning products. It’s a two-step process. You have to have the equipment, and you have to use these products to achieve the best results in the least amount of time. With red light, you’re going to have to do the same to get the best results,” Snider says.

“Using Restored or Body by CT with wellness services is going to allow you to absorb the red light wavelength and give you a better interaction and result. The skin care is also going to help increase those benefits of red light and wellness in general and still deliver anti-aging skin care technologies, hydration, and help to repair skin. These products are also multi-use. Yes, they’re designed for red light and wellness but also to be used in other facets. You can use Restored or Body by CT at home as a skin care routine or a nightly serum. Or you can layer these products with some of these other hybrid technologies and get more of the skin care benefits.”

For many customers, red light therapy is about more than just a beauty treatment – it’s an investment in overall well-being. These clients are seeking the best possible results, making it crucial for salons to highlight the role of skincare products in optimizing their red light experience.

“They’re coming in knowing it’s helping their skin, and that’s why they want to utilize red light. Why would you want to utilize red light without using something to maximize the benefits? When you color your hair, you’re not just going to use any shampoo or conditioner. You’re going to use professional color-preserved shampoo. Would you brush your teeth without toothpaste? They know that if they’re coming in for those specific reasons, they need a product,” Jaeger-Morris says.

The scope of availability of products relating to red light and other light spectrums and services is a clear sign of the times and the direction of the industry. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of the early days of tanning and the progression over the years. In the 1980s, you could count all of the tanning product options on one hand. Today, of course, there are hundreds of options with a variety of ingredients and more specific purposes. Likewise, when red light started to emerge in tanning salons, our industry manufacturers started developing a few products specifically for the service. Now, there are dozens of options to appeal to different customers with different routines and goals.

“There’s some slight overlap to where you don’t need to carry everything, but if you carry all of the Collagenetics Illuminate products and some of the regular Collagenetics line, it’s very important to understand the differences in the formulas. I highly recommend everything in the Illuminate line. 2-in-1 Pro is a little more peptide-focused with some antioxidants. I highly recommend carrying the rejuvenating cream and the focus serum because those are very unique. I personally use them both every day. My whole entire skin care regimen is Collagenetics,” Edwards says.

One of the most effective ways to increase red light and skin care product sales is through bundling. Each of these product lines is reasonably priced and easy to sell as a complete package. Bundling products together not only creates a larger sale but also ensures that customers receive the full red light experience. By purchasing a system rather than a single product, clients see enhanced benefits, making them more likely to continue using both the service and product long-term.

“The reason we do kits is to emphasize the importance of the routine. This isn’t something that’s new to any customer who already tans. You have multi-step skin care routines, and we’re watching it all over social media. Makeup and beauty routines are multi-step. It requires a multi-step routine to get the best results – something before, during, and after to benefit their skin. The kit emphasizes that importance. It’s not one product that’s going to get you there. That routine is what’s really going to do it,” Snider says.

Of course, not every client is going to purchase the entire bundle at once, and that’s just fine. Once you’ve introduced a client to red light and at least one product, the opportunities to expose them to more will come naturally.

“Bundling is great, but then also the idea of continually selling. Just because they have one thing doesn’t mean they’re done. If you’re able to sell them Restored Target Serum, if you weren’t able to bundle it, maybe in a week or so you can sell them the prep spray, Then, they’ve been using the sauna as well, so you sell then Body by CT. If you’re always educating them, you will always have opportunities to sell more. There are so many more options because you’re selling them multiple different services,” Sigmon says.

One of the greatest advantages of these products is that they are not just for in-salon use. Many of these products are formulated to be part of an ongoing skincare routine, allowing clients to extend the benefits of red light therapy even when they are not in the salon. This makes it easier for customers to maintain their results and see continuous improvement in their skin.

“Asking questions like, ‘What is your current at-home skin care routine?’ will open the door to make multi-use suggestions for these products. Teach them how to use them at home. I always want to say we need to reframe how our customers view our products. They thought this is what we use at the tanning salon, but we don’t just manufacture tanning products. Skin care is our No. 1 priority, and of course that can work together with UV or red light,” Snider says.

The Products

While making red light therapy and other spa and wellness focal points of your tanning business is certainly both the “now” and the future, there’s also no doubt that hybrid tanning is the future of tanning itself. As such, our industry product manufacturers are increasingly incorporating functionalities for red light and other light spectrums in their tanning options. Using a full regimen of products will give clients the best red light experience, but giving a client the value of a product that meets multiple needs is a win itself.

“A product like Infatuated can be used for red light and tanning. It adds an extra benefit to the customer. Yes, we want them to buy a product for each service, but that’s not going to happen every single time. If you’re recommending a product they can use for two services, it piques their interest and you build rapport and further that relationship,” Edwards says.

The key to success with these products is first and foremost their tremendous skincare results, but the second is their diversity of uses and benefits. There are any number of reasons why clients should want to use any one product, and there are numerous products with different focal points to most optimally suit the the particular needs of any customer.

With a variety of services as well as a wide selection of hybrid and red light-oriented products, Sigmon can cater her offerings to any number of specific clientele, service mixes and beauty and skin care goals.

“The two main products I sell for someone focusing primarily on red light and absorbing red light are the Restored line prep spray and the target serum. My pitch is we have this awesome line called Restored that is created to help the skin absorb as much red light as possible. The prep spray can cover you quickly, fits in your purse, and you can get a little collagen boost whenever and wherever. I love letting them know it’s for more than when you’re going in red light, so they feel like they’re getting more bang for their buck.” Sigmon says.

“I love that New Sunshine offers so many different things that can be used in both the tanning and red light and even spray tanning. For tanners, there are so many options for red light and tanning we can introduce them to. Wavelength from Designer Skin is probably my favorite.”

Another key selling point is that these products can replace others in your clients’ skin care routines. As Edwards said, Collagenetics products make up her entire skin care regimen. These brands can be all that for your customers, too. With the growing popularity of skin care in pop culture and social media, and increasing knowledge of the most trendy and effective ingredients, many clients have a better understanding of what they’re getting.  “In this day and age where consumers are thinking of skin health. Consumers are coming in already having some knowledge, so salons need to get ahead of that to make sure you’re the experts,” Edwards says.

That also means, when you offer a client a red light and skin care bundle that costs $100, it could actually not be costing them $100 but rather saving them $100 by replacing a handful of products they bought from specialty skin care stores for significantly more.

“Devoted knows their stuff. It’s so awesome to have a partner that’s not just industry-leading but skincare-industry-leading. We’ve had products on our shelves for years with key ingredients that I’m just now seeing on TV and social media, and it’s just now getting into mass market brands. It’s fun to be able to say we’ve had that in our skin care lineup for almost a decade now,” Ringler says. “It’s really neat to watch my staff get excited about the skin care we have on our shelves that they see other places. It gives them a boost of confidence that we have legitimate research-backed skin care.”

Another major benefit of enhancing your business’s focus on red light and other spa services is that it diversifies the appeal of your salon. In that light, the product presentation, package design and scent profiles are also key. These red light focused lines are typically not designed to look or smell like tanning products. The bottles present more of an image of high-end skin care and the scents will tend to be more neutral and appealing to men as well as women.

“I have a client who has acne that was really bothering her. She came in a handful of times and noticed a huge significant difference. I have clients who are Middle Eastern with darker skin that come in just for the red light therapy. Several clients who have psoriasis, and one gentleman says his psoriasis is completely gone off his elbows,” says Angela Burke, co-owner of Two Beaches Tanning in Nova Scotia, Canada. “The [BWL 2 in 1 Color Correcting Intensifier] we sell the most of. It’s a decent price point. That one is really popular for anyone that uses red light. It smells nice but it’s not super overwhelming. Even the men like it.”

There are also ways to package your bundles not just as an all-in-one skin care package that covers all bases, which is certainly a great option, but also as packages geared more toward specific audiences and purposes.

“If you’ve got a red light specific customer coming in, they’re definitely going to want to be using BWL. That’s exactly why we created it. I understand the customer can’t always purchase the bag deal. But that’s where I like to go in stages. There’s a Hybrid Glow Bundle for tanners who like a little red light. Next could be Age-Defying Radiance bundle for red light enthusiasts. Then the entire set is the all-in-one solution for glowing, healthy, radiant skin. The BWL bag deal which is a permanent SKU. You’re saving money. That’s the way for salons to purchase BWL because they can always take things out, and they don’t have to sell it in that bag deal,” Jaeger-Morris says.

“The takeaway is emphasizing the synergy between UV and red light therapy. Educate on the benefits even if they’re using a hybrid bed – just how skin is going to have such better tone with hydration and elasticity.”

The Future

Red light therapy has evolved from an emerging trend to a cornerstone of salon success, transforming both service offerings and retail potential. With multi-use skin care products designed to enhance red light results and provide comprehensive skin care solutions, salons now have an opportunity to build a thriving red light therapy business that not only rivals tanning in popularity as a service but also in the retail demand for complementary products.

“It was great when spray tanning came about. It brought in a client that was afraid of tanning. With saunas and other wellness services, people come in and love the benefits. But SmartSun Therapy, clients who come in and try it are just floored by how soft their skin is, how much better their joints feel, and how amazing their tanning results are,” Ringler says.

“Nothing has been as exciting for our business growth as red light therapy.”