A Co Louth salon owner has launched her Radiant Tan automated self-tanning booth for salons.
Niamh McCloskey runs Radiant Beauty in Omeath in the county, having qualified as a therapist back in 1999. She worked in and managed a salon for eight years, while upskilling in many treatments there, and also doing teacher training.
When she had children, she make the switch to working from home, and ran her own business from her house for 19 years, training in something new each year during that period. With the business growing and expanding, she relocated and rebranded it to Radiant Beauty just over 18 months ago. It was while she was making this move that she came up with the idea for Radiant Tan.
“I was renovating a derelict property, creating a beautiful and peaceful place for my clients, and as I was planning the layout of my new salon, I didn’t want to have to use a dedicated space just for tan,” she explains. “I didn’t want the smell and the overspray in the salon, so I started to look for alternatives. Sally, who works with me, suggested I go and try out an automated tanning booth. I didn’t even know they existed, but I was immediately taken by the concept.”
McCloskey began doing some research and testing of different machines and manufacturers, before finding one in Italy, which, she believed, still needed some tweaks. She worked alongside the inventor and the engineering team to provide their model with improvements. “After 30 years of spraying bodies, I know what women want,” she says.
According to McCloskey, the Radiant Tan machine is the first of its kind in Ireland. “It offers a full 360-degree rotation system, moving around the client,” she explains. “The client faces forward the entire time. The booth is a cylinder roughly the size of a shower, and you only need some sockets and good internet access to set it up. It’s not hard on electricity, and there’s little or no noise. Inside, the client is guided by video and audio instruction, and the client controls when it sprays with the start button.”
Business benefits for salon owners
Radiant Tan is currently being distributed in Ireland, the UK, Scotland and Wales, and McCloskey believes it’s a game changer for salon owners. “There are no wages to pay, and with our app, it can be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can free up your therapists to do more high-end and high-earning treatments, while this machine works away in the background, generating a passive income.
“In the beauty industry to date, the only way we make money involves our own time or employing someone else. There’s nothing else that makes you money on your day off or when you’re on your holidays.”
She uses her own tanning product for the machine, an is particularly proud of the results it gives. “The tan is delivered in a choice of three shades for the user: light, medium, or dark. The machine is calibrated to apply more liquid to the areas where you want that, for example, your legs, your chest and your back, and to apply less to areas such as hands and feet. The formula is created in Italy, and wears off by fading gradually, with no dirty patchiness.
“We have also developed a tanning mist as a top-up product, which is flying out the door as clients love it. So alongside the revenue from the booth itself, there are retail benefits too – and we have more products in the pipeline.”
McCloskey initially unveiled Radiant Tan at Professional Beauty & Hair 2026, which took place at the RDS in April.
“For me personally, that was so exciting,” she says. “I had only ever been at the show as a customer or a visitor, but to be there as an exhibitor gave me a whole different perspective. It was such a buzz chatting to other people in the industry, learning from them and answering their questions. With our vibrant stand and very new concept, we attracted a lot of attention from everyone. And the Professional Beauty & Hair team were so helpful to us right from the start, as they guided us newbies!”
Going forward with her new venture, McCloskey says she is passionate about creating a strong community and brand, and working with like-minded people.
“We offer support on-site, as well as in marketing, social media, app set-up, training, finance and business development. It is all part of the package. We are there to hold our customers’ hands every step of the way. Our first customer had their machine paid off in five weeks, so I can’t emphasize how lucrative of an investment it is. You’re not just buying a machine, you’re buying into a dream and a brand.”
Professional Beauty & Hair 2027 takes place at the RDS on 11-12 April and you can register your interest now to attend.
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