Every salon gets ready for busy season by bringing in all the new lotions and installing fresh tanning lamps. Some give their place a new coat of paint and perform complete sunbed maintenance. But what about eyewear? Do you have your eye protection offerings ready for season?
Have you checked your stock of goggles and disposable eye protection? Whether you provide community goggles or only sell eye protection, flip open this Buyer’s Guide issue to the “Accessories” tab, where you’ll find a myriad of eye protection options under “Tanner Essentials”. Make sure you’re offering a wide variety – offer designer styles for your high-end clientele, and some reasonably priced goggles for your student tanners. And do you have disposable eyewear for your clients who forget their goggles or prefer the clean-every-time throwaway style?
I’m a big believer that if you display your eyewear, you’ll sell more – and subsequently, your clients will wear it more consistently. I love salons that use velvet jewelry display pads or trays to easily showcase lots of goggle styles. Velvet display trays are readily available online for under $20. Your local craft store or beauty supply outlet may have a large selection – just take several goggles to the store and see what works best for you. I guarantee you’ll recoup your minimal cost in under a month. Some salons use a slanted display board to show the goggle items from behind the counter, some bring out the velvet tray for a new tanner to show them what’s available for purchase. Eyewear is almost always packaged in a plastic sleeve or box, and the customer can’t properly see, touch and feel it. Open up a sample or two of each style and color and display the selection so your customers can see it. They can’t buy what they can’t see!
If you offer red-light or IPL machines, make sure you sell specific eye-wear for these services. Many goggles or traditional disposables don’t sufficiently block the light in these ranges, as they weren’t designed to do so. You can use this Buyer’s Guide to find eye protection types best for your offerings and ensure your clients are properly protected. Most salons offer free eye protection with these types of sessions, but do make sure you properly clean goggles if customers are sharing them.
Do you offer sunless tans? The FDA is now strongly recommending that eye protection be worn during spray-tan sessions, whether in a booth or being hand-sprayed. Any of your current goggles or disposable eye protection can be used for sunless. There are now clear goggles and clear disposables made only for sunless that allow better vision during a spray-tan session. If using goggles for sunless, remember you must clean them properly to remove the spray solution residue before they can be re-used.
If you offer “community goggles”, please buy a fresh supply every few months. It may be time for a couple of new cleaning canisters; load up on goggle cleaner and make sure your egg timer is working properly to set for at least 10 minutes for every soaking. A nice service you can offer is to give tanners a re-sealable, snack-size plastic bag with every goggle purchase to keep goggles clean and protected from contaminants in their purse or gym bag.
Some clients just won’t buy or replace their eyewear no matter what you do. So, what about a promotion that offers a free pair (or the equivalent in disposables) when they purchase a bottle of lotion over $25? If they buy a tanning package or lotion over $40, they get their choice of your higher-end goggles. This way, you get fresh, new eyewear in their hands at no cost to you or your client.
Yes, it’s high season in the tanning world! Check your eyewear supply and offerings so that you and your clients will both benefit from your eyewear sales.
