ARE YOU GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT?

by Brenda Fishbaugh, EyePro, Inc.

I recently visited a well-known salon chain to train their staff on the importance of eye protection.  The owner proudly told me that they INSISTED all their tanners use eye protection – that eye protection was “pounded into their clients’ heads.”  I looked around the gorgeous salon.  And I looked again. There was not one sign indicating that eyewear must be worn during tanning sessions. There was a basket of eye protection at the front counter, but it was pretty much obscured from view.  I did notice signs all over the place promoting lotion usage and for joining their membership program. And nicely displayed goodie bags showing the week’s “featured item.”

As I toured the salon, I noticed that the tanning rooms repeated the theme—beautiful lotion posters and signage promoting all the additional services the salon offered, but no signs warning of the dangers of tanning without eye protection.  As a tanner at this salon, how would I know eye protection was important?  Perhaps the staff at the front counter was asking the tanners if they had eye protection, but I’m sure you’ll agree that is only a small part of educating your clientele.  

Two salon professionals I visited ARE getting the word out—with giant posters they created for their salons.  Marie and Harry Jones own Palm Beach Mega Tan salons in the Toronto, Canada area.  “We wanted to show that eyesight can be an endangered species at a tanning salon, and that it needs to be protected at all costs,” said Marie Jones.  “We really wanted to get our tanners’ attention, and the leopard theme tied in nicely with our décor.”   

Since many prominent salon chains don’t pay much attention to potential tanning-related eye damage, I was thrilled to encounter Stacey’s Massage and Day Spa in Iowa.  The owner, Stacey Sodder, is so adamant about her clientele protecting their vision that she created a fun poster featuring her beloved dog, Domino, wearing goggles while laying on a sunbed. Stacey reports that this campaign has really worked well. “The photo of Domino tanning really gets our tanners’ attention,” Stacey explained. “If a dog will lie on a tanning bed wearing goggles and the elastic band, they can certainly do it.”   

So what are you doing at your salon to get the message out?  You don’t have to go to as much effort as Stacey and Marie did to be effective.  Numerous educational materials on eye damage are available from your eye protection manufacturers and tanning salon certification organizations, such as Smart Tan, NTTI (National Tanning Training Institute) and SAE (Suntanning Association for Education).  This magazine also has back issues featuring eye protection articles that can be shared with your staff, and many can also be shared with tanners (see “Eye to Eye” at www.islandsuntimes.com). 

Look around your salon…are your tanners made aware in a myriad of ways that protecting their eyesight is as important as not sunburning?  Do you prominently display several brands of eye protection, both permanent and disposable?  Is eye protection included in your tanning packages?  Are there signs and photos in your lobby, bathrooms and tanning rooms indicating that eyewear must be worn?  I hope you’re doing YOUR best to get the message out!

If you have a unique way of educating your customers about eye protection and would like to be featured in a future column, please email Brenda@eyepro.net