’05 Sunless Market Report

by Matt Morgan

Professional sunless services joined the ranks of the spa and beauty industries just a few years ago and quickly have become a major profit-maker for facilities offering quick and flawless tans. Adding sunless services to a spa can capture additional profits by offering a cosmetic tan to enhance practically every body treatment. The following ’05 Sunless Report provides insight into some of the newest innovations in products and delivery systems.

Like any service in any industry, sunless is enjoying the fruits of improved technology and healthy competition. The benefits are clear to spa operators as well as consumers.

In the past, spas needed a hefty chunk of change—at least $30,000—to purchase a sunless stand-up spray booth. It was quite an investment, especially for a previously unproven ancillary service. Now, times have changed.

Manufacturers have had years to refine their products, and they know facilities are shopping around for the best units at competitive prices.

Today’s sunless stand-up equipment can still be bought for $30,000 or more, but those machines contain state-of-the-art components to deliver more bang for the buck. Plus, sunless is a bona-fide winner for countless facilities, making the investment worthwhile.

However, the biggest window of opportunity has come at the lower end of the price range. High-quality booths selling for as low as $12,000 allows more spas to be able to enter the sunless market.

Finally, handheld sunless units are priced as low as just a few hundred dollars. Other costs associated with sunless, such as solution, are dropping as well. Any business that wants to can afford to offer sunless.

Besides the lowering entry cost for sunless, the ease of setup always is a major appeal. Many of today’s stand-up units are self-contained or require very little extra plumbing or electrical.

The allure of sunless also is increasing from the customer’s perspective. There is a greater variety of retail sunless products with new-age ingredients that yield natural-looking, long-lasting tans. Also, session prices for booth and handheld applications are dropping, and the steadily improving technology of the solution is leading to more realistic results.

Stand-up spray booths continue to be popular because of their diversity. Consumers like them because they can get tan in a matter of minutes; spa employees like them because short session times—ranging from minutes to just a few seconds—means they can tan more clients per unit per day.

Technology in sunless spray booths is vastly improved. Some are fully automated including voice commands and touch-free technology. Some have the option of carrying more than one type of solution at once, enabling facilities to serve a wide variety of clients more easily.

And as a finishing touch, today’s sunless booths have evolved on the outside too. Their sleek designs provide an attractive fixture in any facility.

Handheld sunless systems don’t have the same privacy factor as stand-up units, but customers don’t seem to mind. In fact, many enjoy the personal attention from technicians.

These systems can be had at a fraction of the cost of stand-up units, making them affordable for a large number of businesses thinking about offering sunless services. Spas also can get up and running quickly and easily, leading to a rapid return on investment. Plus, the spa can charge a premium for the service because it requires the constant attention of a technician who applies the sunless solution to the client.

Sunless airbrush machines are driven by an air compressor and deliver a concentrated focus of spray solution. Airbrushing can take up to 20 minutes or more because the technician covers the client’s whole body, including delicate and hard-to-tan areas, with great detail.

The new handheld method on the block is run via turbine motors. By contrast, turbine applications are much quicker—some manufacturers claim sessions as short as four minutes—and the high volume of low-pressure “soft” airflow allows solution to cover a greater area of the body more quickly. However, since these HVLP systems cover so much so fast, sometimes they aren’t suited for detailing. Some turbine spray guns can be adjusted to spray to small diameters or can be switched entirely to a gun made for body detailing.

Also, manufacturers are beginning to create hybrid handheld units to blend the best of airbrush and HVLP/turbine.

Rather than the bulky machines of the early days, today’s handheld equipment is shrinking in size, making units more portable while maintaining their effectiveness. This allows spas more flexibility in terms of where to locate the airbrush or turbine.

Manufacturers are addressing noise concerns as well. Compression and turbine systems, by nature, produce loud sounds similar to a vacuum, which spa directors find contradictory to the relaxing environment of a spa. Improved technology in the machines as well as the advent of noise-reduction cabinets have done well to quiet the airbrush or turbine sunless-tanning experience.

As airbrush and turbine equipment become smaller and quieter, they also are more efficient. Overspray has been a growing concern in the spa environment because it is simply wasted solution that leads to greater clean-up demands from staff.

Manufacturers have invested lots of research and development into addressing the issue of overspray. Less overspray means the solution—and the investment in solution—goes further.

Because manufacturers realize sunless is going to stick around—and because the solution is what ultimately gives a customer his or her sunless tan—they are spending more time in solution development. The ingredients are better than ever, and there are more solution varieties to give salon owners more options for customers.

By now, spa staff should know that the tanning ingredient in sunless spray solution—and retail sunless products—is DHA, or dihydroxyacetone. The colorless sugar reacts with skin proteins, including amino acids, in the outermost layer of skin. The reaction develops brown skin coloring that looks very similar to a natural tan.

DHA is available in varying levels in different solutions to cater to all skin types and desired darkness.

Erythrulose also is used in some solution. Four to five times the cost of DHA, erythrulose works synergistically with DHA to give a more natural-looking tan.

Some solutions contain cosmetic bronzers that give an instant tan color until the DHA begins to develop two to four hours later; other types of solutions, often called “clear,” come without those cosmetic bronzers to ensure there is no staining or streaking. Solution vendors often provide both types to appeal to a wider range of sunless-tanning needs.

New sunless spray solution is loaded with the best nutrients, moisturizers and other skin-pampering ingredients such as aloe, vitamins, hyaluronic acid, tyrosine and CoQ10. Solution makers are paying more attention to fragrances too.

Sunless retail products have come a long way since they appeared commercially in the 1960s, and even since they became popular in salons a few years ago.

As with sunless spray solution, the quality of sunless retail products has improved dramatically. Also, the segment has expanded beyond lotions to include foams, pump sprays and aerosols—plus specialty products for legs and face, etc.

New ingredient and formulation technology has allowed manufacturers to reduce or eliminate staining and streaking, enliven the sunless tan’s color and extend the life of the tan.

The maturation of the sunless industry has paved the way for a variety of pre-tan and post-tan products, in addition to traditional exfoliators and moisturizers. And while they were introduced several years ago, single-use packages of sunless-related products have been on the rise.

Towelettes loaded with sunless ingredients provide a convenient, relatively mess-free way to apply sunless solution. Many single-use products are large enough for one full-body application.

Also, cleansing towelettes can be used to wipe impurities from skin to ensure spray solution has an even canvas on which to impart a golden, sunless glow.

In the case that a sunless product is applied where it’s not wanted, several vendors provide correctors that remove stains.

Since it is so new, sunless remains largely unregulated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently has no regulations concerning DHA or sunless products, but that is not to say there may be changes on the horizon.

In July 2003, the FDA released information on DHA. Its use in cosmetics—including sunless tanning products—is restricted to external application.

Spa staff should take extra care in informing clients to avoid breathing the sunless product during the application process. Consumers also should be told to try to avoid direct application of the product into the eye area, and use a lip balm or other barrier product on the lips and in the nostrils. There should be proper ventilation for staff and clients in the sunless application area of the spa.

The National Tanning Training Institute offers two courses—with online options—for staff who want to expand their knowledge of the sunless process while enhancing sales and service.

The Introduction To Sunless Tanning Course covers the basics about sunless tanning and is designed to help salon employees address customer needs and promote their sunless service. Also, based on research and tests conducted by some of the leading manufacturers of sunless spray systems, the Sunless Airbrush Technician Course takes the airbrush or HVLP technician from setup to application while discussing technique, safety, pricing and more.

It has become increasingly clear—by following actors and reading through glamour magazines—that mainstream society appreciates the attraction of a UV free tan.

Facilities that can market the latest sunless stand-up equipment, handheld airbrush or HVLP/turbine equipment, and sunless retail items can capture the virtually limitless potential of new clientele.

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