Eye Pro, Inc.

In 2005, I met Luella Gustafson, owner of salons in Iowa. She explained that she created a most unusual event to promote eye protection. I’ve shared Luella’s unorthodox idea with many salon operators, and they always applaud her creativity.

First, what is Crappy Eyewear Week? During that week, Luella offers her salon guests the option to turn in their worn-out goggles and get 40% off their next eyewear purchase. She explained, “My tanners didn’t realize they need to clean and periodically replace their goggles. When we offer them a big discount to get a new pair, they examine their goggles and see how filthy they really are. We have them toss it into a big fishbowl, which contains some really disgusting goggles, and they get clean, new eyewear!”

“I have held ‘Crappy Eyewear Week’ at my own salons and at facilities I have managed,” she continues. “We put fishbowls on the counter at each salon and promote Crappy Eyewear Week every two months.”

Of course, I had to ask, “Why do you call it Crappy Eyewear Week and not Eyewear Awareness Week or something more tasteful?” Luella said, “Crappy Eyewear Week is FUN and we get a giggle out of everyone! We show them the really crappy eyewear in the fishbowl and we generate a lot of engagement.

A woman recently brought in some goggles that her dog had chewed. Why would you put those near your eyes, with jagged edges and dog slobber on them?” Luella’s collection also includes many goggles ringed in thick mascara, white goggles that are no longer anywhere near white, and some with missing lenses and broken nose bridges.

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November 2018 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, wants to make sure salons and tanners understand the dangers of not wearing proper eye protection when tanning.  

“Many salons don’t realize that an average tanning salon has less than 50% of their tanners wearing eye protection,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “A salon that aggressively sells eyewear and pushes eye protection safety could easily approach 70%! This leaves a lot of room for a salon to increase eyewear sales.”  

“Eyewear sales can be quick and easy earnings and a great way to increase revenue – during season or even in slow months,” Fishbaugh continued. “Explaining the importance of wearing eye protection while tanning doesn’t require the same loads of explanation on why this lotion is better than that lotion, or why an EFT is a great idea.”  

Fishbaugh has found that some salon staff don’t even wear eye protection. “A salon team won’t push eyewear if they don’t believe in it, or understand it’s the federal law for EVERY state,”  says Fishbaugh. She agrees it’s a battle for salon owners to educate tanners on the importance of eye protection. “Consider having your employees complete the Eye Protection Module in the online ‘Sun Is Life’ program,” she suggests.  “The fun, inexpensive and youth-oriented training involves role-playing situations of what to do when a customer says they don’t want eye protection or won’t spend money on goggles.”   (more…)

Having spent 27 years in the tan biz, I can say that most salons don’t know the regulations for tanning in their state. I’m going to cover state eyewear regulations; but if you don’t have a copy of your state tanning laws and are following them, email Brenda@WinkEase.com and I’ll send you the latest version.

Did you know that in Kentucky, salon operators can NOT offer tan- ners shared goggles – those used by multiple people and sanitized by staff after each use. Kentucky tanners are required to have their own eyewear, or the salon must provide disposable eye protection (it is not required to be provided for free.)

Salons in New Hampshire are also prohibited from offering shared goggles. Goggles cannot be altered in any manner that changes it from the manufacturer’s intended use, such as removing elastic straps that are included in the product packaging. The salon must sell tanners eyewear or provide disposable eye protection.

Iowa is my favorite: eyewear can- not be reused, it can’t be altered, and your staff must ask to see a tanner’s eyewear before they enter a tanning room. In addition, the salon must provide disposable eyewear in the tanning rooms at all times with a sign posted stating that it’s available and must be worn (whew!) I consider Iowa’s law to be excellent! It ensures that the tanner shows that they have eyewear, but still has access to clean eyewear in the tanning room.

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October 2018 – Eye Pro, Inc., world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is offering fun ads for salons to use to promote their pro-tanning presence on social media.

“With today’s world driven so much by social media, we want to help support the salons and our industry in any way we can,” stated Eye Pro President, Brenda Fishbaugh. “We have created a ton of fun and positive tanning memes – some that are seasonal, and ALL offered at no cost to the salons – which may be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help promote tanning during the holiday season.”

“Social media has changed the way businesses communicate and relate with their clients and memes are a way to make a fun, positive, immediate connection,” suggests Jackie DeWald, Eye Pro Office Manager. “Whether the theme is Halloween, a warm weather getaway from the cold, a celebration or party or the Christmas holidays, staying in front of and current with salon tanners is always important.” (more…)

Beach Bum Tanning & Airbrush Spa is the leading tanning salon chain on the East Coast, with over 40 stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia and West Virginia. Beach Bum is one of the first salons estab- lished, having been in business for over 30 years. And, most of their management team has been with Beach Bum for over a decade.

I spoke to the beautiful and hardworking Vanessa Pace, Director of Operations, con- cerning Beach Bum’s eyewear policies. She’s been very involved in Beach Bum’s growth into airbrush tanning, infrared services and lash extensions, in addition to UV tanning.

“At Beach Bum Tanning, cleanliness and sanitation are critical. Since we expect our guests to ‘get naked’, we focus on keeping our salons spotless!” Pace enthuses.

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SEPTEMBER 2018 – Eye Pro, Inc., the world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, isn’t just interested in protecting the eyes of indoor tanners from UV rays, but is serious about eye protection in the spray-tan environment, as well. 

“The FDA highly recommends that both spray-tanners and spray-tan techs protect their mucous membranes from DHA spray,” says Brenda Fishbaugh, Eye Pro President. “Protecting your eyes, nose, mouth and genitals is so important and while there is no law yet to require eye protection while spraying or being spray-tanned, the FDA is moving in that direction.” 

Techs who continuously use a handheld spray-gun can get DHA solution overspray in their eyes. “We see mobile tanning techs doing spray sessions in poorly ventilated rooms,” Fishbaugh continued. “The FDA recommends protective eyewear for the tech and a mask to protect their lungs from the solution mist.” 

“When wearing our SunlessSPECS protective glasses, spray-tan techs are shocked by the amount of overspray collected after just a few sprays,” says Jackie DeWald, Eye Pro Office Manager. “Without protection, all of that overspray would have ended up in the tech’s eyes.” According to Eye Pro, spray-tan techs love the comfortable fit of the plastic, re-useable glasses and the solution overspray washes off easily.  (more…)

I recently chatted with Lance Don- nelly, President/Owner of the Tan Republic Franchise Company – the largest salon chain in the western U.S., with 65 stores and growing. They are now located in Oregon, Washington, Nevada and California.

“My wife and I started the very first Tan Republic in 2005. From Day One, we knew that we wanted to have conversations with customers, not just ask, ‘How many minutes do you want? Room 23’,” explains Donnelly. “We knew we wanted to have a fun place for employees to work and to entice customers, and we really wanted to create a truly enjoyable experience.”

Of course, I asked Donnelly about his eye protection policy. “From the begin-ning, we conversed with our tanners and explained that we don’t loan eye protection but only sell it, and how important it is,” he shares. “Almost every tanner, in every store, walks in with their eyewear and lo- tion in hand. We instill it into our culture. Our competitors make eyewear an uncomfortable struggle, and we make it as fun as it can be.” He says that every customer gets educated and the tanning consultants create a conversation with tanners to build trust. “We don’t get serious with them right away; however, we ask them to ‘please have your eyewear and lotion ready when you walk in.’” He explains, “It would be annoy- ing if I have to ask you for it, if I was asked for it – so let’s find a way to skip that part.”

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AUGUST 2018 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is all about providing fun and easy eyewear information to you AND your tanners! 

“Salon owners tell us all the time they have tanners who don’t believe in eye protection or feel they already ‘know it all’. That is why we offer salons our ‘Tanners Quiz’,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “Our ‘Tanner’s Quiz’ is a fun tool to use to ask your tanners a few questions or have them take the quick quiz to see what they really know,” Fishbaugh continued. 

“We are constantly looking for fun and unique ways to support the salons and educate the tanners and staff alike on the importance of eye protection,” said Jackie DeWald, Office Manager. “A salon owner told us she covered up the answers to our quick Yes/No 10 question quiz and made copies for all of her staff.  She offered first pick of shifts to the employee that got the best score.  This really made her staff interested in learning the answers and helped show her staff why they needed to wear their own eye protection,” concluded DeWald.  (more…)

I was standing in a tanning salon lobby recently, when the salon professional asked a tanner, “May I see your eye protection?” The tanner said she didn’t wear goggles. The salon pro replied, “You can get cataracts from unprotected tanning sessions.” The tanner kind of shrugged and headed back to her tanning room with no eyewear – clearly, she felt cataracts happen to one’s grandma, not to someone like her.

I was surprised to learn that a ton of middle-aged folks get cataracts, not just the el- derly. Over 22 million people in the U.S. over 40 years old have cataracts. Tens of thousands will lose their sight and millions more will have poor vision because of cataracts, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center.

“Ultraviolet light can accelerate the aging process and we see cataracts in much younger people,” says Dr. Mark Kimpel, a retired ophthalmologist, formerly with Mayo Clinic and Indiana University Medical Center. “I constantly tell young people that you might not see the damage now, but it is like sunburn; you are accumulating the damage for later.” Dr. Kimpel, a sunbed user, strongly recommends wearing FDA-com- pliant eye protection during indoor tanning sessions and UV-block sunglasses outdoors.

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Q & A with Eye Pro’s Brenda Fishbaugh:

Summer has arrived and many in the tan biz take a little time off during the slower months to vacation and decom- press. As I checked in with folks around the industry, I’ve heard of some pretty neat travel plans. Many of you know Brenda Fishbaugh, President of Eye Pro. She is probably among the industry’s most well-traveled product providers and a favorite speaker at our expos. I recently caught up with her and she revealed some interesting summer plans.

Joe Schuster: Brenda; it’s been a few months since I’ve seen you. I know you’ve been logging the miles around the country on business and probably need some well-earned vacation time. What’cha got planned?

Brenda Fisbaugh: I just returned home from ten days in England, which was cool! I visited Eye Pro customers outside of London and got to visit the graves of my relatives who died in Essex in 1591 AD. I saw two top theatre shows (“Book of Mormon” and “42nd Street”), the Monet exhibit at the National Gallery and heard the London Symphony Jazz Orchestra play at a jazz club! I also went to Chicago in early June to see Paul Simon in concert and do some photography (one of my biggest hobbies). (more…)