The salon is located at 52 Waterbury Road in Prospect. Serving about 100 customers a day, salon owner Doris Primus said she looks forward to attracting more new faces with free tanning weekends and $10/week tans during November. She said the salon is having a party with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for its Beach Club members on Saturday, Nov. 17 and then free giveaways and drawings for everyone on the actual anniversary, Sunday, Nov. 18. 

Primus started to dream about owning her own tanning salon a quarter of a century ago, when her parents moved to Daytona Beach. Being allergic to the sun, she remembered having to pre-tan very slowly before making the trip south to visit her parents. “If I did not pre-condition my skin by pre-tanning, I would usually end up in the emergency room with an ugly rash,” she said. But she never acted on her tanning salon dream until her 25-year-old daughter Jessica died unexpectedly in 2004, changing her life forever.  

Now having to endure the physical pain caused by her desk job and the emotional pain of losing her daughter, Primus finally decided to move forward with her life and make her dream come true. She opened Daytona Tanning and Nails and dedicated the salon in memory of her daughter. “I miss my daughter terribly but now I am starting to feel better about me and want to continue on with my life,” she said. “And most importantly, the salon is dedicated to my daughter and she is right there with me every second.” 

After contacting several companies about opening her salon, Primus said ETS Tan got her in touch with one of their knowledgeable, helpful regional sales managers. She said the ETS staff helped her plan, set up and continue marketing her salon. Primus has also received many positive comments about the ETS Tan beds.

“One of the first things my customers commented on was how much they love their tans from the ETS beds,” Primus said. “They love the power of the stand-up beds and the strength of the fans as they turn on and continue to cool them throughout the tanning process.” 

Daytona Tanning and Nails carries a full line of tanning beds manufactured by ETS Tan, including the SunStar 432 and SolarForce 652V. These beds are powered by Wolff® system lamps and have advanced after-tan cooling systems. The salon also offers a Mystic Tan® sunless automated spray booth and two portable hand sprayers. 

The salon carries skin products and lotions by Australian Gold and Swedish Beauty, sister companies of ETS Tan, and is operated using software designed by Helios LLC, also a sister company to ETS Tan that is a leader in providing tanning salon management and customer data software. 

All employees go through extensive training and are Smart-Tan certified, which gives each employee in-depth instruction on all aspects of the tanning industry. “The staff is very friendly and we really get to know our clients,” Primus said. “We want them to know that we care.” 

Primus said she even hands out MP3 players with preset FM radio stations so the customers can listen to what they want while tanning. Every customer is shown around the salon to become familiar with what is offered and how the equipment works. 

“I believe in 100 percent customer service,” Primus said. “The salon is spacious and beautiful but gives you the feeling of being at home – including a waiting room with leather couches and a TV and a child’s play area.” 

Daytona Tanning and Nails provides customers with convenient tanning hours, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The salon also has nail and massage therapy services and will be offering teeth whitening and skin rejuvenation in the future.

 “We want more people to come in and feel what real tanning is like,” Primus said. “It makes you feel good and look great.” 

For more information, visit Daytona Tanning and Nails at www.myspace.com/daytonatanning or call (203) 758-4333.