Tan Your Hide Prices

Official published amounts and what each covers

These 2 lines come from published sources and are grouped by what they actually are. Folding fees into a service list is how misleading "average" figures come about, so they are kept apart here.

One location's price is not evidence of a national rate. Check with the location you intend to book.

Market ranges: what everyone else charges

Use this as a sanity check. Where a quote falls outside these bands, ask what is included before you assume it is a bad deal — scope differences explain most outliers.

National planning ranges. A quote outside these bands is not automatically wrong - check what is included before judging it.

The same service, four different markets

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 ignore the next few lines below it that really determine the bill.

• Membership tier+$15–$70

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

• Enrolment or annual fee+$15–$60

  Charged in addition to the monthly rate at many chains.

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

  Minimum terms and freeze policies change the true cost.

• Lotion purchase+$25–$90

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

• Bed level+$8–$40

  Level 1 through level 5 is the primary price ladder.

Related cost breakdowns: Airbrush Tan Cost, Spray Tan Cost and Automated Spray Tan Cost.

When a membership actually beats paying each visit

Ignore the marketing and do one division. If the plan costs more than your sensible monthly visit count × $11, it loses money. The table shows the crossover for common plan prices.

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

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

How much to tip on this service

Tip on the pre-tax service amount. If a reduction or promotion applied, the norm is to tip on the original value of the work, not the discounted price.

• If the salon owner performed the service, tipping is optional by convention - though seldom refused.
• Assistants who shampoo or rinse are frequently tipped on a separate line, typically a few dollars.
• Do not tip on membership dues, booth rent, deposits, annual fees, gift-card loads or cancellation charges — no service was performed.
• 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.

Mistakes that cost real money

All five are common, avoidable and quantified. None of this involves haggling — just one question asked at the right time.

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

   Charged in addition to the monthly rate at most chains.

2. 2Buying lotion at the counter without checking the pricecosts $25–$90

   The single largest surprise on a first visit.

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

   Higher-level beds are normally an upgrade on top of the plan.

4. 4Joining before checking the freeze policycosts $60–$300

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

If you want the policy detail behind these: Prepare For UV Tanning and UV Tanning Aftercare.

Exactly what to ask when you book

You do not need to negotiate. You need the price to be stated before the service starts. These questions do that without any awkwardness.

1. "Which provider tier is that quote for, and what does the next tier up cost?"
2. "What is your cancellation window, and what is the charge if I miss it?"
3. "What add-ons do you normally recommend for this service, and what does each cost?"
4. "Is there a first-visit offer or a package rate I should know about?"
5. "Is removal of my existing product included, or is it a separate charge?"
6. "Are taxes added at checkout, and do you have a card-payment surcharge?"
7. "What is the exact price for uv bed - level 1 at my hair length and density?"

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.

From menu price to what you actually hand over

This is the gap that surprises people. Starting from a $52 base, here is where the money goes by the time the card is out.

Illustrative. The 6.8% tax figure varies by state - several states do not tax personal services at all.

The rule of thumb: add approximately 46% to any menu price for uv bed - level 1 to get your realistic out-the-door number.

Swap in your own base price and try it with your own figures.

Annual cost of ownership

A single $11 appointment is easy to justify. Maintained twice weekly in season, uv bed - level 1 becomes a $528 annual commitment at the national median — and that is the number worth deciding on.

Gratuity is included at 20% because it is not optional in practice. Strip it out if you budget gratuity on a separate line.

The cheapest lever is almost always stretching the cadence, not finding a lower-priced provider. Moving from 40 visits a year to 30 saves about $132 annually — typically more than switching salons would.

How this compares with the alternatives

Before deciding, it is worth seeing where this lands against the nearest alternatives on both price and what you get for it.

Regularly asked - with the maths

Sources and how we checked them

Brand-specific amounts on this page come from the pages below. A source covering one location is not used as evidence of a national price, and market ranges are labelled on a separate line.

1. Official FAQMembership/package availability and discount scope · updated 2026
2. Official U.S. brand or regional first-party websiteEntity identity, service scope, location model and first-party source gate · updated 2026
3. Official offers pageStarting membership and spray-tan prices · updated 2026
4. Risks of tanningUV risk facts · updated 2026
5. Tanning overviewUV risks · updated 2026

Pricing shifts. Quoted a different figure, send it over and we will re-verify.