by Arielle R. Nelson

Xtreme Tanning, a new tanning salon and women’s fitness center, held its grand opening June 15 in Davis Square, with much fanfare and a squad of local cheerleaders.

“We chose Davis Square because it’s an up-and-coming area with a lot of excitement. There’s a lot going on,” said David M. Vanecia, who owns Xtreme Tanning with his sister, Lisa A. St. Fort. “We felt
that clients around here would most appreciate the unique features and benefits of what we have to offer.”
Owning tanning salons has long been a family business for the Vanecias, who operate six tanning salons in New York City that have been frequented by celebrities such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, he said.

The salon offers three levels of tanning, which range from eight to fifteen minute sessions, Vanecia said. There are both tanning beds and stand-up tanning units. Xtreme Tanning also offers tanning beds with unique features such as shoulder and side tanners.

The tanning beds are contoured to get rid of the white spots from pressure points—the areas on the back that are hard to tan in a regular tanning bed. All of these features help to create a more uniform tan, Vanecia said.

Vanecia’s choice of equipment for the salon provides for a safer and healthier tanning experience, he said. “The bulbs used in our tanning equipment emit UVA and UVB rays and filter out the non-productive, incidental rays. They also put out light in an optimal proportion of UVA to UVB rays, depending on the level [of tanning] you’re on,” he said.

For people who don’t feel comfortable being doused with UV rays, the salon provides UV Free Spray tanning, a 360-degree spray machine customers stand under for six seconds. The tan lasts five to seven days, Vanecia said.

The salon also provides complimentary features, such as a skin care station. “It is important to moisturize before and after tanning. Moisturizing produces an ideal environment, allowing the skin to tan more deeply so the tan lasts longer,” he said. Another complimentary feature is aromatherapy spritzers that keep the client cool and relaxed while tanning.

A multi-station exercise area is also in the salon. “If you exercise one hour before or after tanning you increase your blood pressure and circulation, which increases the oxygenation of melanocites so they turn brown,” he said. Melanocites, he said, are specialized skin cells that give skin its pigmentation.
Vanecia, an MIT graduate, said the salon has been doing very well.

“There has been a tremendous response since opening. It has been our best opening—better than our other locations,” he said.