How to Price Your Spray Tan Services Without Apologizing for It

Apr 18

The Mindset Shift from "What Will Clients Pay" to "What Is This Worth"You're probably undercharging. And you know it.

You set your prices based on what other artists in your area are charging. Or what you think clients can afford. Or what you're scared they'll say no to. You're pricing your services like you're asking for permission instead of running a business.

And every time someone books, you feel a little knot in your stomach wondering if you should've charged more. But you don't raise your rates because what if people stop booking? What if they think you're too expensive? What if they go somewhere cheaper?

The Problem: You're Pricing Based on Fear

Most spray tan artists set their prices by looking around at what everyone else charges and landing somewhere in the middle. Safe. Competitive. Unremarkable.

The pricing isn't strategic. It's reactive. It's based on fear.

Fear that if you charge too much, no one will book. Fear that clients will think you're greedy or out of touch. Fear that you'll lose business to someone cheaper.

But here's what fear-based pricing actually gets you:

A packed schedule that doesn't pay your bills
Clients who only care about the lowest price, not the best service
Burnout from working twice as hard for half the money
Resentment toward your own business

You didn't start a spray tan business to work yourself into the ground for little to no return. But that's exactly where fear-based pricing leads.

The Shift: From "What Will Clients Pay" to "What Is This Worth"

The mindset shift that changes everything is this: stop asking what clients will pay and start asking what your service is actually worth.

Not what your competitor down the street charges. Not what you think sounds "fair" or "reasonable." What is the value you're providing actually worth to the person receiving it?

Let's break it down.

What are they actually paying for?

They're not just paying for 15 minutes of you spraying them with solution. They're paying for:

Your expertise and training
The time you spent perfecting your technique
The products you invested in
The confidence they feel walking out of your space
The compliments they get for the next week
The fact that they didn't have to damage their skin in the sun to look this good
The experience of being seen, cared for, and made to feel like the best version of themselves

When you frame it that way, does $50 feel like enough? Does $75?

Or does it start to feel like you've been massively undervaluing what you do?

What Your Service Is Actually Worth

Here's a framework to help you figure out what you should actually be charging.

Step 1: Calculate your costs.

Before you can price profitably, you need to know what it actually costs you to provide the service.

Add up:

Product cost per tan (solution, barrier cream, etc.)
Booth or studio rent (per appointment, if applicable)
Utilities, insurance, business expenses
Your time (prep, application, cleanup, admin)

Let's say your hard costs per tan are $10, and the appointment takes 30 minutes of hands-on time plus 15 minutes of setup and admin. That's 45 minutes total.

If you're charging $50, and your costs are $10, you're netting $40 for 45 minutes of work. Sounds decent until you remember you also have to pay taxes, reinvest in your business, and actually, you know, live.

Now factor in the appointments that cancel last minute. The no-shows. The time you spend marketing, booking, answering DMs, ordering supplies.

Suddenly, $50 a tan isn't covering nearly as much as you thought.

Step 2: Decide what your time is worth.

What do you want to make per hour? Not what you think is "realistic." What do you actually want to earn for your expertise, skill, and effort?

$50/hour? $75? $100? $150?

If you want to make $100/hour and each appointment takes 45 minutes total, you need to charge at least $75 just for your time—before costs.

Add your $10 in costs, and you're at $85 minimum. But that's still break-even thinking. You need margin for slow weeks, business expenses, growth, and profit.

So realistically? You should be charging $100-$150+ depending on your market, your experience, and the level of service you provide.

Step 3: Factor in the value to the client.

Pricing isn't just about covering your costs and paying yourself. It's also about the value the client receives.

If someone books a spray tan for their wedding and that tan makes them feel confident, glowing, and beautiful in their photos for the rest of their life—what's that worth?

If a client comes to you every two weeks because your tans make them feel like themselves again—what's that worth?

If you're the only artist in your area who knows how to tan deeper skin tones flawlessly—what's that worth?

The answer is: more than you're charging.

Why Charging More Attracts Better Clients

Here's the part that surprises people: when you raise your prices, you don't lose all your clients. You lose the wrong ones.

The clients who only care about price? They were never going to be loyal. They were always going to leave the second someone cheaper came along. And good riddance.

The clients who value quality, expertise, and experience? They're willing to pay for it. And they're the ones who stick around, refer their friends, and treat you like a professional instead of a commodity.

Charging premium prices signals that you're worth it. It attracts people who respect your time, your skill, and your business. It filters out the tire-kickers and the price-shoppers.

And it gives you the financial breathing room to actually invest in your business, take care of yourself, and build something sustainable.

What Happens When You Finally Charge What You're Worth

When you stop apologizing for your prices and start charging what your service is actually worth, a few things happen:

You make more money with fewer clients.

Instead of grinding through 40 tans a week at $50 each, you're doing 20 at $120. Same revenue. Half the work. Way less burnout.

You attract higher-quality clients.

People who value expertise over discounts. People who show up on time, respect your policies, and refer their friends.

You have margin to grow.

You can reinvest in better products, training, marketing, and systems. You can take a day off without panicking about money. You can actually build a business instead of just surviving.

You feel like a professional.

Because you're finally being paid like one.

You're Not Too Expensive. You're Just Talking to the Wrong People.

If someone says you're too expensive, that's not a problem with your pricing. It's a mismatch between what they value and what you provide.

And that's okay. Not everyone is your client.

Your job isn't to be affordable for everyone. Your job is to provide exceptional service to the people who value it enough to pay for it.

So stop setting your prices based on what you think people will tolerate. Stop racing to the bottom to compete with artists who are undercharging and burning out.

Start asking: what is this worth? And then charge that.

Without apology. Without guilt. Without fear.

Because you're not running a charity. You're running a business. And businesses that don't charge their worth don't last.

Know your worth. Charge it. Don't apologize.