A red light therapy bed is the easiest new service a tanning salon can add. It fits in the same room as a lay-down UV bed, runs on a similar electrical supply, uses no lamps and emits no UV, so it sits outside the federal sunlamp rules that govern tanning beds. Your front desk, booking system and member base already work for it.
The Superhuman Light R1 costs $29,900 or about $620 a month on a lease. This page covers how to swap or add a bed, how to price it next to tanning packages, what changes for staff, and some illustrative economics.
Why tanning salons are the natural fit
Salons already run the exact model a red light bed needs: short, self-service sessions in private rooms, sold by the visit or by the month. Very few red light sellers talk to salon owners, but the fit is close.
- Same room shape. A clamshell red light bed looks and works like a lay-down tanning bed. Guests are already used to it.
- Same booking flow. Book a room, hand over eyewear, start a timer, clean the bed.
- Same members. Your regulars already visit several times a month. Red light gives them another reason to come in, including in the months when fewer people tan.
- A UV-free option. Some guests avoid UV or have been told to cut back. Red light lets you keep them in the building.
Red light does not tan. It is a different service with a different reason to book. For a side-by-side comparison, read red light bed vs tanning bed.
Replace or augment?
Most salons start by swapping one underused UV bed for red light. That keeps your tanning capacity where it matters and puts the new service in a room you already have.
| Option | Best when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Replace an old UV bed | A bed is due for new lamps or is often idle | You lose one tanning room |
| Add in a spare room | You have an empty or storage room | Needs a new circuit and HVAC check |
| Replace a stand-up booth | Booth use has dropped | Booth rooms may be smaller than 3.0 × 2.2 m |
The R1 measures 2.2 × 1.2 m and 1.1 m high closed (about 7.2 × 3.9 ft). We recommend a room of about 3.0 × 2.2 m (about 10 × 7 ft) with ventilation or air conditioning. Many tanning rooms already meet this, because UV beds also need space and cooling.
Power: often a close match
The R1 needs a dedicated 208–240 V single-phase circuit on a 40 A breaker and draws about 5.5 kW. Commercial tanning beds often run on high-amperage 208–240 V circuits too, so you may be able to reuse the existing supply. Do not assume it. Have a licensed electrician check the circuit against our electrical spec sheet, which we send before delivery. See installation.
No lamps, no UV rules
This is where the economics change.
No lamp replacement. UV tanning lamps lose output with use and must be replaced on a schedule, which is a large recurring cost for most salons. The R1 uses LEDs rated for 50,000+ hours. There are no lamps to buy, stock or swap.
No UV regulation burden. UV tanning beds are sunlamp products. The FDA regulates them as Class II devices with required warning labels and a federal performance standard, 21 CFR 1040.20. The FDA explains the rules on its sunlamp products page. Many states add their own rules for UV tanning, such as limits for minors, exposure schedules and facility inspections.
The R1 emits no UV, so it is not a sunlamp product and those UV rules do not apply to it. That said, rules differ by state and city, and some places regulate light-based services in other ways. Check with your state and local authorities, and tell your insurer about the new service.
Low running cost. A 20-minute session uses under 2 kWh. At typical commercial use, the R1 costs about $60–120 a month in electricity.
Pricing next to tanning packages
Your guests already understand single sessions, packs and unlimited plans. Use the same structure. Market rates for red light sessions run $20–100.
| Product | Illustrative price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single red light session | $35–50 | Price above a single tan. Sessions are longer. |
| Add-on to a tan | $15–25 | Offered at check-in. Easy first try. |
| 10-session pack | $300–400 | Upfront cash, builds habit. |
| Red light monthly plan | $99–149 | A set number of sessions, or unlimited with one per day. |
| Top-tier membership | Tanning plan + $30–50 | Adds red light to your best unlimited tanning plan. |
These prices are illustrative. Set yours against local tanning prices and what nearby spas and gyms charge for red light.
Member upsell. Your strongest move is to add red light to your top membership tier. Members who already pay monthly can upgrade at the desk in a few seconds. Offer every current member one free session so they can try it.
Illustrative economics
This is an illustrative example, not a forecast.
At $40 a session, about 16 sessions a month cover the lease. One R1 can serve up to about 3 guests an hour with changeover, so 8 sessions a day uses only a small share of capacity.
A more conservative case, at $60 a session and 6 sessions a day for 260 days, gives about $93,600 a year. Run your own numbers in the red light therapy bed ROI calculator.
What changes for staff
Very little. Your team already runs timed sessions in private rooms. A few things are new:
- Intake questions. Ask about pregnancy, photosensitivity conditions, photosensitizing medications, active cancer and photosensitive epilepsy, and ask for physician clearance where needed. See our red light therapy safety guide.
- Session length. Red light sessions run 10–20 minutes, often longer than a tan.
- Eyewear. Still required. Near-infrared light is invisible, so guests must wear the supplied protective eyewear.
- The pitch. Staff should not sell red light as a tan or as a medical treatment. Describe it as a warm, full-body light session for relaxation, recovery and skin-appearance routines. No claims that it treats or heals anything.
- Cleaning. Same routine as a tanning bed, using a cleaner safe for acrylic.
Every R1 includes a half-day on-site training session.
The bed
The Superhuman Light R1 is a clamshell full-body bed that treats front and back at once. It uses five wavelengths (630, 660, 810, 850 and 940 nm), about 36,000 LEDs and continuous and pulsed modes. No UV, no bulbs.
It costs $29,900, or about $620 a month on a 60-month lease (OAC). Delivery, install, commissioning, training, protective eyewear and a 2-year parts and labour warranty are included. See financing for lease terms.
Superhuman Light R1
Full-body red light, built for a full day of bookings.
- Format
- Full-body bed
- Wavelengths
- 5 · 630–940 nm
- Session
- 10–20 min
- Power
- 240 V · 40 A
Read the full specs on the Superhuman Light R1 product page, or contact us to plan a swap.
