HIGH-TECH TANS

The Yellow Pages list 107 tanning salons now operating in Dallas. Make that 110, with the simultaneous opening of three new Sun Days, the latest concept in the tanning trade and the collective brainchild of Maurice Shawzin, his two sons Mark and Gregg, Steve Goodhue, and John Anderson. Retired Los Angeles millionaire Shawzin is best known for the Lion Country Safari concept. Says Anderson, who works out of the Oak Lawn salon, “I’m getting a better entrepreneurial education doing this than going to law school.” Their other two area salons are in Piano and on Greenville Avenue.

Sun Days hopes to distinguish itself from the competitors by way of its $20,000-plus Jetsun 5 tanning machines that only emit UVA tanning rays. UVB (ultraviolet beta) rays are the ones to watch out for in tanning booths-and on the beach. Sun Days operators say that the Jet-sun 5 machines screen out all harmful rays, so the risk of bum-ing is minimal. Tan-worshipers can take a twenty-five-minute bask for a light once-over or go for a heavy-duty fifty-minute bake. Operators suggest a once-a-week touch-up. (A word of warning: if you normally burn in the sun, be careful of this and any indoor tanning. Even though the operators say that the risk of burning is minimal, it exists, and we found it, And if you’re a fast tanner, ask for “eye winkies” instead of goggles if you don’t want that “just gone skiing” look.)

The tanning beds in spacious rooms come equipped with a soft mattress, fresh towels, and a private phone and stereo headset. Face tans are also available in private rooms with rotating tanning machines. Or get a twenty-minute massage and a face tan. While the stereo lulls your mind, the wave-like rolling of the Acu-Massage tackles tension. (This goes beyond Magic Fingers.)

A one-time tanning visit is $25, with each subsequent visit discounted. The computerized Acu-Massage table is $4 alone, $15 combined with a tan.