Yes… it’s true. I thought I could be nicely tanned all year long, but after 3 attempts I realized that I’m allergic. How did I come to this conclusion? Well the rashes started after Attempt #2. I thought it was either the lotion, or maybe the bed itself. But then I went to a standing tanning bed where I didn’t touch a THING, and used extra sensitive soy lotion and STILL broke out. According to some articles, you can be allergic to the ultraviolet lights.

However, I still want to share my experience with Portofino Sun Center, which got 3 great reviews on Yelp!

They advertised that weekday mornings would be 50% off, meaning that it would cost any where from $10-18.  However, it’s pretty sneaky because they keep pushing for the most expensive bed — saying that it tans quickly and that it’s way better for your skin. (What are you supposed to say then? “No please, I still want the worst and cheapest bed”?)

THEN they tell you that you have to purchase the lotion. While my experience with Solar Salon led me to believe that they provide this lotion, I’m told that it’s more common that you have to purchase it on your own.

So it came down to:

$16 (quality bed) + $10 (lotion) = $26 total

The girl behind the counter said “This is an AMAZING deal. You will never find anything cheaper than this!”  I promptly told her that Solar Salon is actually $18 in their morning specials, and that they provide the lotions.

It’s incredible that $18 for quality tanning in Manhattan is as good as it gets! Sadly, I can no longer continue but I think my skin says “thank you.” =)