How to Open a Tanning Salon

To open a tanning salon, check your state’s tanning facility law first, choose UV beds, stand-up booths, spray tanning or a mix, find a space with enough power and room for private tanning rooms, lay out the floor, then get your facility license and train your operators before the first session. A tanning bed business is regulated at two levels: the federal government regulates the equipment, and many states regulate the facility.

Knowing which rules apply where saves you from buying beds you can’t legally run the way you planned.

What Does the FDA Regulate in a Tanning Salon?

The FDA regulates the tanning equipment itself, which it calls sunlamp products. In 2014 it reclassified sunlamp products as class II medical devices, with special controls that include labeling saying they “should not be used by anyone younger than 18.” The FDA has also proposed rules that would bar facility operators from letting anyone under 18 use the devices.

The performance standard at 21 CFR 1040.20 applies to the manufacturers. It requires, among other things:

• A timer whose longest setting can’t exceed the manufacturer’s recommended maximum exposure time, accurate to within 10 percent.
• A control the person tanning can use to stop the UV exposure at any time.
• Protective eyewear supplied for the most people the product lets tan at once.
• A danger label warning about ultraviolet radiation that tells users to follow instructions and avoid overexposure, plus a recommended exposure schedule.

You don’t build any of that, but you should only buy equipment that has it, and you should keep the labels and instructions intact. Problems with tanning devices can be reported to the FDA through MedWatch.

What State Rules Apply to Tanning Facilities?

This is where the rules for running the salon live, and they change a lot from state to state. Florida is a detailed example. Under Florida Statutes 381.89:

• Nobody may operate a tanning facility without a license, and doing so is a third-degree felony.
• The state inspects each facility at least once a year.
• Annual license fees can’t exceed $250 per tanning device.
• A trained operator has to be on site during operating hours to instruct and help customers.
• Customers get sanitized protective eyewear before every use.
• Each session is limited to the manufacturer’s maximum exposure time, and usage records are kept for at least 4 years.
• Minors aged 14 to 18 need a signed parent or guardian statement on file, and anyone under 14 must have a parent or guardian with them.

Other states set their own age limits, licensing and operator rules. Look up your state’s tanning law and ask which agency inspects facilities before you sign a lease.

UV Beds, Stand-Up Booths or Spray Tans?

Each option shapes the floor plan differently.

Lay-down tanning beds take the most floor space. The tanning salon layout tool uses 50 by 88 inches as a typical footprint, and the room needs space beside the bed to climb in and out and to change.

Stand-up booths take less floor space. The default in the planner is 50 by 50 inches, though your model may differ. Clients stand, so there’s no lid to clear.

Spray tanning uses no UV. The FDA says the active ingredient, DHA, is for external use and should not be inhaled, swallowed or applied to areas covered by mucous membranes. Plan ventilation for the spray area so clients and staff aren’t breathing the mist. Spray tanning may or may not fall under your state’s tanning law, so ask.

You can mix two or three of these. Pull the real dimensions and electrical requirements from each manufacturer’s installation guide before you place anything.

How Do You Lay Out a Tanning Salon Floor Plan?

A tanning salon is a row of small private rooms behind a front counter. Plan:

• A front counter or reception desk where the operator checks age, consent forms and session history, with a clear view of the room hallway.
• A small waiting area and a retail wall for lotions and eyewear.
• Private tanning rooms off a hallway. Each room needs the bed or booth, space to change, a hook or bench, and a door that closes.
• A spray tan room with ventilation and an easy-to-clean floor.
• A cleaning and laundry area for disinfecting beds and washing towels.
• Restrooms and a back room for stock.
• Hallways of at least 36 inches. The 2010 ADA Standards also call for a 60 inch turning circle in some spaces.

Plan the power early. Get each unit’s installation specs to an electrician before you commit to a space.

In the tanning salon floor plan maker, add a lay-down tanning bed, a stand-up tanning booth and a spray tan booth, then wrap each one in partition walls and a door to make the rooms. Add a reception desk, retail shelving, a washer and dryer and a restroom. The maker flags walkways under 36 inches, and you can export the plan as a PNG or printout for your landlord and electrician.

What Should the Front Desk Do Before Each Session?

Most of the safety rules play out at the counter, so build a routine around them. Using Florida’s law as a model:

1. Confirm the client’s age, and for minors, that a signed parent or guardian statement is on file or that a parent is present, as the law requires.
2. Hand out sanitized protective eyewear before every session.
3. Set the session no longer than the manufacturer’s maximum exposure time for that bed, using the exposure schedule on the label.
4. Log the session. Florida requires keeping usage records for at least 4 years.
5. Clean the bed or booth before the next client.

Your state’s list may be longer or shorter. Put the counter where the operator can see the hallway to the rooms, since a trained operator has to be on site to help clients during operating hours in Florida.

What Does It Cost to Start a Tanning Salon?

There isn’t a well-sourced public range for tanning salon start-up costs, and equipment prices vary by model and whether you buy new, used or leased. Build the budget from real quotes: beds and booths, the electrical upgrade, build-out of the private rooms, ventilation for spray tanning, license fees, insurance and lotion stock.

If you’d rather start small, a single salon suite or a room inside an existing salon can hold one bed or a spray tan setup, if your state allows tanning there. How to open a salon covers SBA microloans and equipment leasing, and how to start a salon suite business explains how suites are licensed.

What Are the Steps to Start a Tanning Salon?

1. Read your state’s tanning facility law and find out which agency inspects.
2. Choose your service mix: UV beds, booths, spray or all three.
3. Get spec sheets and installation guides for the equipment you want.
4. Find a space with enough power, or one that can be upgraded.
5. Draw the floor plan with real equipment sizes and private rooms.
6. Apply for the facility license and pass any inspection.
7. Train operators on your state’s rules, eyewear, exposure limits and record keeping.
8. Set up client records so you can track age, consent and sessions.

If you plan to add skin services later, how to open a spa covers esthetics and massage licensing.