Glo Tanning vs Image Sun Tanning Centers

Official published amounts and what each covers

Everything below was published by a source listed at the foot of this page. Grouping matters: 4 of these 11 lines are actual services and the rest are add-ons, plans or policy charges that should never be averaged together.

One location's price is not evidence of a national rate. Verify locally before booking.

National price context for these services

None of these figures belongs to a brand on this page. They describe the wider market, which is what you need in order to judge a quote rather than just accept it.

Compiled national figures for context only. No brand on this page has published these numbers, and none of them is a bookable rate.

Where you live changes the price more than anything else

Rent and wages flow straight into the menu. Applying published metro cost bands to the $11 national median for uv bed - level 1 gives the following planning ranges.

Derived by applying regional cost-of-doing-business multipliers to the $11 national median. Treat as a sanity check on a quote you have been given.

The variables that move the number

Ranking these matters. Most of us compare the headline price of two salons and overlook the next few lines below it that actually decide the bill.

• Enrolment or annual fee+$15–$60

  Charged in addition to the monthly rate at many chains.

• Membership tier+$15–$70

  Each tier unlocks a different set of beds and spray inclusions.

• Lotion purchase+$25–$90

  The largest and least-expected line on a first visit.

• Contract term and freeze ruleschanges the contract, not the price

  Minimum terms and freeze policies change the true cost.

• Bed level+$8–$40

  Level 1 through level 5 is the primary price ladder.

Related cost breakdowns: Annual Tanning Cost, Stand Up Tanning Cost and Tanning Lotion Cost.

Menu price versus final bill

This is the gap that surprises people. Starting from a $47 base, here is where the money goes by the time the card is out.

Worked at a $47 base with one add-on. Swap in your own quote and the proportions hold.

Plan for the total, not the base. The $22 gap between the two is the part people forget when comparing two salons.

Prefer not to do the arithmetic? You can do this with your own quote.

What uv bed - level 1 costs you over per year

Most budgets break at the cadence, not the price. UV bed - level 1 maintained twice weekly in season works out to roughly $528 annually once gratuity is included.

Assumes 40 visits a year. Every number here scales with that visit count.

The lever most of us reach for - switching salons - is usually the weakest one. Moving from the $11 median to the $6 budget end saves $240 annually, but so does just stretching the interval by a quarter.

When a membership actually beats paying per visit

A membership is worthwhile above one number: monthly fee ÷ per-visit price. Below that visit count you are subsidising the salon. At a $11 per-visit rate, here is where each plan level breaks even.

Uses a $11 market per-visit rate. Substitute the rate you were actually quoted.

You can work out your own break-even against your actual visit count.

Gratuity, converted from percentages into money

Percentages are hard to judge in the moment. Here they are converted to dollars at the low, middle and high end of the national range.

• Do not tip on membership dues, booth rent, deposits, annual fees, gift-card loads or cancellation charges — no service was performed.
• Assistants who shampoo or rinse are frequently tipped separately, normally a few dollars.
• Tip the same on a redo as on the original if the redo was not the provider's fault - and speak to management rather than the provider if it was.
• Cash reaches the provider fastest and is still preferred in most independent salons.

Mistakes that cost real money

These are the errors that show up repeatedly in pricing complaints. Each is prevented by one question in advance rather than at checkout.

1. 1Not asking about the enrolment or annual feecosts $15–$60

   Charged in addition to the monthly rate at most chains.

2. 2Joining before checking the freeze policycosts $60–$300

   A plan you cannot pause bills through the off-season.

3. 3Assuming the membership covers every bedcosts $10–$40

   Higher-level beds are generally an upgrade in addition to the plan.

4. 4Buying lotion at the counter without checking the pricecosts $25–$90

   The single largest surprise on a first visit.

If you want the policy detail behind these: How To Compare Salon Prices and Prepare For UV Tanning.

Exactly what to ask when you book

Ask these at booking rather than on arrival. Once you are gowned and in the chair, declining an add-on becomes socially much harder — which is the reason they come up at that moment.

1. "What is the exact price for uv bed - level 1 at my hair length and density?"
2. "Which provider tier is that quote for, and what does the next tier up cost?"
3. "Is a shampoo, blow-dry or finish included in that price, or billed separately?"
4. "What add-ons do you normally recommend for this service, and what does each cost?"
5. "Can you email or text me the quote before my appointment?"
6. "Is removal of my existing product included, or is it a separate charge?"
7. "What is your cancellation window, and what is the charge if I miss it?"

And when you pay: read the itemised receipt line by line. Unexpected charges are almost always fixable at the desk and almost never fixable later.

Your other options, and when each wins

The useful comparison is like-for-like: same service scope, same provider tier, same market. These pages set the comparisons up that way.

Straight answers to the usual questions

Sources and how we checked them

Every published figure above traces to one of these. Where a source describes a single location or a time-limited offer, that scope stays attached to the number rather than being generalised.

1. Official pricing
2. Brick NJ official VIP Sunclub
3. Brick NJ official services

Found an error? Report it here - corrections are logged and dated.