Eye Pro, Inc.

It’s been a rough year for all of us … we’d like it behind us. And let’s put raccoon eyes behind us and move into 2021 with everyone wearing eye protection when they tan! Research shows that about HALF of indoor tanners don’t wear protective eyewear during a UV session. These tanners understand that they may be damaging their vision, but they still don’t wear eye protection. When asked why they don’t, they answer, “I don’t want to get raccoon eyes!” Tanners are concerned about developing unsightly tan lines around their eyes – as a responsible salon operator, what can you tell them?

“Wash your face!” Yes, the No. 1 cause of dreaded “raccoon eye” tan lines is SPF, NOT goggles! Most facial moisturizers contain SPF; by the time you’ve applied moisturizer, eye cream, dark circle cover-up, foundation and eye shadow, you’re (potentially) wearing six layers of SPF! This also applies to the guys, as most men’s facial care products also contain SPF. To develop a much more even tan, wash your face before your UV session.

“Carefully apply your bronzing lotions.” A lot of tanning lotions contain bronzers; if you don’t apply that product around your eyes carefully, you’re painting giant raccoon eyes on yourself!

“Adjust your eye protection.” Adjusting the position of your eyewear just a bit during your tanning session will minimize tan lines.

“Switch eye protection types.” Many tanners like to alternate between a couple of different eyewear types. This is just like changing your swimsuit to minimize tan lines.

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November 2020 – 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 be sure salons are equipped to help their tanners understand the dangers of not wearing proper eye protection when tanning. And they’re helping save the planet while doing so.

EYE PRO will be introducing its all new FREE online eye protection training for the 2021 season called “Don’t be Slow to Save Your Sight!” The new 30-minute training includes a quick 20-question quiz for salon staff to take to help determine who’s smart about eye protection, with questions ranging from what percentage of tanners seek medical attention after a single session to potential eye damage and vision loss to updates on FDA recommendations and eye protection laws for individual states and countries.

An added plus? For every person who takes the new training, EYE PRO will be donating $1 to the National Geographic Photo Ark, a 25-year effort to photograph the world’s largest collection of animal studio portraits from around the globe, founded by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore.

“We have made a very serious topic really fun!” explains Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO Office Manager. “The goal of the Photo Ark is to get people to learn more and help save species from extinction. The WINK-EASE team has worked to help support endangered animals for over two decades, and Brenda has traveled the world photographing animals in their natural habitat. Her striking animal images in this training make fun, and more importantly, a memorable way to learn more about the importance of wearing eye protection.”   (more…)

Tanner traffic has been slow and selling those bottles of expensive lotion has gotten a lot more difficult since the holiday rush hasn’t yet begun. There are fewer guests to whom you can pitch your upgrade beds … so what do you do? 

This month, think about focusing on sales of smaller-ticket items with the goal of selling more items to more tanners for a lower PCA. Let’s try pushing the lowly eye protection! Start with a plastic baggie. Yep, go to the grocery store and spend $3 for 100 snack-sized zipper-seal plastic bags. When a guest walks in, offer her a complimentary baggie for carrying her goggles. Your guests will need to show their eyewear to you before they are allowed to tan (do they even have eyewear?) You’ll be able to explain how goggles get dirty in a woman’s purse or guy’s gym bag and how a baggie keeps them clean. I like to suggest you also offer a rubber band to attach the baggie to their lotion bottle. As they put their goggles in the baggie, you can mention your special eye protection sale, and how it’s important to replace your goggles at least once a year.

Have you seen the new goggle styles in vivid colors and animal prints? Order a few from your distributor. I’d display the fun, neon-colored styles in a bright, shallow plastic bowl from a dollar store, maybe placed near some new jewelry or sunglasses you also have on sale. This type of eyewear sale is going to be an impulse buy – and it’s quick, easy, and fun.

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October 2020 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in clean, disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK- EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is making it easy for salons to find the most up-to-date regulations for indoor tanning in their state.

“When referencing some eyewear laws for this month’s IST Magazine Eye to Eye column, I found that most of the online links for state regs no longer worked,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, Eye Pro President. “States have updated their websites and a lot of information was removed or is buried. So, I contacted several states health offices, but often was shuttled to cosmetology, radiology, or consumer affairs. One directed me to a very small section of a tanning regulation, but it was just the application for getting a state tanning license (of course, they have that front and center). My former files of tanning regs are completely out of date!

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With 30 years of tan biz experience, I can say that most salons don’t know their state’s tanning regulations. I’m going to review them this month; but if you don’t have a copy of your state tanning laws, email Brenda@WinkEase. com and I’ll send you the latest version. 

Did you know that Kentucky salon operators can NOT offer shared goggles? KY tanners are required to have their own eyewear or the salon has to provide disposables (not required to be free). Iowa is my favorite: eyewear cannot be reused, it can’t be altered, and your staff must ask each guest to show their 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 disposables are available and must be worn. In addition, the staff must instruct on the proper way to wear eye protection. I consider Iowa’s law to be excellent! It ensures that the tanner shows their own eyewear, but still has access to clean eyewear in the tanning room. And there is no chance the tanner will use improperly cleaned goggles, or not know how to fold a pair of disposables. 

I tried to confirm that New Hampshire tanning centers also do not allow goggles to be worn by multiple tanners (shared). The latest version of their law may allow community goggles. At this writing, New Hampshire Board of Health is closed due to COVID; I wrote two letters without a response. In both versions, NH law still as- serts that goggles cannot be altered in any manner that changes it from the manufacturer’s intended use, such as removing elastic straps included in the packaging. The salon must sell eyewear to the tanner, or they may sell OR provide disposables.

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September 2020 – Eye Pro, Inc., world leader in clean, disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is helping make social media efforts easier with fresh, new seasonal memes geared toward fall – FREE!

“Social media is a constantly moving target, and now more than ever, people are using it,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, Eye Pro President. “It’s hard enough to determine which platform is best for your particular salon and then continuously engage your online followers. Social media ads, or ‘memes’ offer a quick, visual, fun way to stay in front of your customers on an on-going basis, while subtly educating them on the importance of eyewear, lotions and tanning tips.”
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In the last few months, my columns have highlighted the ways that several leading U.S. tanning centers have created a post-COVID “new normal,” focusing particularly on eye protection policies. This month, I’m checking in with the tanning salon world in Ireland and the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). The UK (partially opened salons on July 14) and Canada both reopened considerably later than the U.S., so they had some time to look at what was working and what wasn’t for salons in the States.

Before the COVID crisis, Jayne Contois, Owner of Cabana Tan in Bradford, Ontario, Canada (near hard-hit Toronto) provided sanitized goggles for tanners. “When we finally reopened, we decided to stop providing free eye protection,” she explains. “Some guests reacted when we told them we no longer offered ‘community goggles’. When we explained that individual eye protection is part of the COVID-19 rules, they all said, ‘Oh. That makes sense.’” Now, Cabana Tan tanners are purchasing their own goggles. “I’ll provide a pair of free disposables if they forget, or they can buy a pair of disposables each time,” Contois continues.

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August 2020 – Eye Pro, Inc., world leader in eyewear and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINKEASE, and WINK-EASE Dark, wants to help salon operators help customers know their tanning experience is safe, healthy, and most of all, “squeaky clean!”

Is your salon squeaky clean? Does your team use quaternary strips every day to test solution? Is bed disinfection a ten-minute soak or a two minute soak? When cleaning sunbeds after each session, do you need to use a fresh towel in every tanning room? Not sure? Test you and your staff with our one-minute quiz and find out whether your salon is squeaky clean or if you need some polish!

To receive Eye Pro’s FREE sixty-second quiz, please email WinkEase@WinkEase.com with “IST Squeaky Clean” in the subject line and we’ll send you a sixty-second quiz that will reveal any weak spots in YOUR salon team’s cleaning regimen.

For more info about Eye Pro products, visit WinkEase.com or call 800.726.8322.

To learn about special salon offers and promotions, follow and “like” WINK-EASE on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

As you may know, I run the Wink-Ease eyewear company, Eye Pro. During the COVID crisis, a ton of salons took our online training to get our personalized “Eye Protection Expert” certificates. The numbers kept growing! For a couple of months, it was stores in FL, GA, NY, PA, TN and NC. We couldn’t ship their certificates and educational eye protection samples and materials, because all their facilities were closed. But all 47 of these tanning centers had one thing in common: they were all South Beach Tanning stores. We heard from Director of Education, Julie Delosh, that the FL stores were opening, so we sent certificates and goodies to the many FL store managers. And then, we had a lot more people take the training, all South Beach staff, who wanted their personalized eye protection certificates to hang in their facilities.

“Our owners, Brian and Heather Hibbard, paid all the managers during our COVID-19 shutdown,” explains the 13-year tan biz veteran. “Our managers had weeks to deep-clean every aspect of our tanning studios, while I kept creating training videos for everyone to watch to fill up their weeks. That is how I came up with the idea that we should all become Eye Protection Experts.”

The Florida-based SBT company is comprised of 26 corporate and 21franchise facilities in six states. In addition to eye protection, the entire team took an online sanitation class, created cleaning lists and discussed how to re-open with safety being paramount. “We realized some salons were tearing pairs of disposables off the rolls and putting them in a basket, which is not a sanitary habit. So, we leave disposables in their display box to avoid exposure to airborne contaminants and grabby hands,” Delosh says.

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July 2020 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in eyewear and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, has continued to work to support salon owners and staff during these unprecedented times and helping salons communicate cleanliness is still a main focus and high priority.

“Our laminated, informational eye protection countermat has been a big hit with tanning salons worldwide for decades,” shares Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO Office Manager. “Salon operators are always asking for ways to explain to tanners why FDA-compliant eye protection needs to be worn. That’s why we’ve created an additional educational piece for salons to use to educate staff and tanners, alike.”

“During the health crisis, we all learned why cleanliness is critical to keeping the curve of viral infection flat. And, we all learned how disposable products like paper towels, disposable masks and disposable gloves all make everything cleaner and cut the risk of spreading not only COVID-19, but any viruses. (more…)