The Future Of Tanning Is Here – And It’s Surprisingly High-Tec

Every business that Ivana Aligrudic has founded has brought its own unique set of challenges. But they all had one thing in common. “Finding and retaining good staff is always the biggest issue,” says the Luna & Sol Director. Add in looking after a young family, and it’s hard to find enough hours in the day.

That all changed after a recent trip to Europe helped inspire this entrepreneur to start a new business with an entirely different model. Technology has disrupted just about every line of work in the past few decades, and the beauty industry is finally getting its turn. For Ivana, the light bulb moment came when she discovered fully automated tanning booths. Not only were they quicker, cheaper and more effective than traditional salons, they also presented the perfect business model for a young mother. “Because everything is contactless, I realised that I could operate one without staff, and without me needing to be there either.”

The shiny new automated booth isn’t the only innovative use of technology at Luna & Sol, which opened at 225c The Parade on April 3. There’s a vending machine with various items for pre- and post-care, and the entire tanning process - from booking and paying to entering the premises and operating the tanning booth - can be conducted via the Luna & Sol app. Of course, Ivana recognises that not everyone is equally comfortable with technology, so she is always just a phone call away. And she’s happy to meet first-timers in person while they get the hang of it all.

The staff-free model allows the studio to operate round the clock, and Ivana says the after-hours access has already proved popular. “I’ve noticed people going in at 12 am wearing their pyjamas and slippers, people that might be working night shift or mums that have put the kids to bed,” she says. The young business owner, who describes her tan as “something that has quickly become my most important beauty routine”, usually prefers to visit at 5 in the morning to get a tan before the kids wake up. And those cold winter mornings have made her grateful for one of the automated booth’s other perks. “Normally getting a spray tan is quite chilly but the entire place is heated and the booth has heated spray jets, so that’s a huge bonus,” she laughs.

Add to that the speed – the tanning process takes just four minutes – and the consistency, and it’s no wonder Ivana is so enthusiastic about the concept. “When I used to get a spray tan back in the day, the spray tan artist would spray every part of your body slowly in stripes so it took a long time, and I would often have a white patch underneath my arms. Even if I self-tanned at home, it would never be completely even,” she says. “But this is much quicker, gives a better colour and completely covers your skin without any streakiness. And a lot of people get nervous about being naked in front of someone else, but this way it’s just you in the booth. It’s why automated booths are the future of tanning.”

Luna & Sol provides a range of access options and until the end of August new members can take advantage of an introductory offer of two tans for $50