Social enterprise Tone has become the first local authority leisure trust in the UK to install a VersaSpa® spray tanning system, offering customers a brand new service at its Wellsprings Leisure Centre in Somerset.

The VersaSpa® unit, which delivers a flawless natural tan in as little as 40 seconds, has been installed in an area previously used for massage therapy. Once in the completely private, automated booth, customers can control whether they want a full body treatment, just face or just legs. There are also options to have a pre-tanning skin preparation treatment and a moisturising post-tanning treatment if required, all controlled by the customer via an LCD panel. After every session there is an air blow dry to ensure that customers leave the booth fully dried and ready to dress.

Tone has made an initial investment to purchase the unit and will continue to use the VersaSpa® branded tanning and moisturising solutions to enable the unit to operate. Customers will be able to book and pay for their sessions at the centre's reception but there are already plans to add the spray tanning facility to Tone's existing online booking system.

"We're always looking for new services to offer our customers and by working with VersaSpa® we can extend our customer offering with minimal disruption to the centre," said Joel Chapman, Tone's Commercial Director. "VersaSpa® has successfully tanned millions of people worldwide but we're pleased to be the first local authority leisure trust in the UK to install the system.

“As a not-for-profit trust we feel there's a very strong business case for the unit, which we hope will ultimately mean more revenue generated for Tone to invest in other services. Tanning is popular with men and women of all ages, and using a sunless tanning solution is a fantastic alternative to sunbeds with their potential health risks. With sessions starting at just £10 we feel it also offers excellent value for money, which is an important consideration for our customers in these times. If the booth at Wellspring proves successful we hope to roll them out to more of our leisure centres."

The booths use a DHA-based solution, which contains a type of sugar derived from vegetable sources. They are also self-cleaning, requiring minimal maintenance, although full staff training is provided.