Chasing sunshine without the weather app: Afterglow, a self-serve tanning and red-light therapy studio, is set to open Sept. 15 on Shakes Street, across from Trident Seafoods, promising a dose of light when locals want it most.

Owner Caity Rooney said the spark for the business idea came in July during a beach day with friends.

“We were at the beach and talking about needing to get tans,” she said. “Then they started encouraging me to open a tanning salon of my own.”

At first, she wasn’t sure she could take on another venture — she also owns and operates hair and beauty salon Stone Cold Fox on Front Street — but a self-serve model made the idea click. “A self-serve model felt like a great fit here,” she said.

Afterglow will let customers book their own sessions online and choose between single visits or packages. A single session is $25, 10 sessions cost $200, and an unlimited plan runs $129 per month. Unlimited members receive 40% off tanning lotions. A lobby kiosk will stock lotions and other tanning accessories.

The studio’s machine pairs UV tanning with red-light therapy, which Rooney said can complement the experience.

“The red-light therapy is great for collagen production, firming skin and promoting cell growth,” she said. “It also helps fade fine-line wrinkles and scars.”

She added that red light may boost serotonin and lift moods — a selling point during the darker months.

“That can be especially important in Wrangell during the winter months,” Rooney said. “Especially when it stays dark for such long periods of time and it’s so cold.”

Rooney said she is finalizing details ahead of opening day and sees early interest building.

“People seem to be really interested,” she said. “I have a few people that are ready to get started.”

She believes the self-serve setup will make it easy for customers to fit sessions into their schedules and keep the sun, or something like it, within reach.