If I’m wearing eye protection during my sunbed session and open my eyes, am I risking eye damage?
If you wear FDA-compliant eyewear that fits you properly, go ahead and text and tan! Play Candy Crush! Your eyes are protected from any damaging UV light and it makes no difference whether they’re open or closed.
I close my eyes during my tanning sessions, so I don’t need to wear eye protection, right?
Wrong. Your eyelids block less than 25 percent of UV light, so closing them won’t protect your eyes from powerful sunbed lamps that are designed to tan you in a short amount of time.
Remember when you were a kid and put a flashlight against the palm of your hand? You could see some veins and the outlines of your bones. I’m sure you remember partially “seeing though” your hand with the light created by only two “D” batteries, and your hand is much thicker than your eyelids! And I’m sure you would agree that sunbed lamps are much more intense than a flashlight bulb.
Should I wear eye protection during a spray-tan session?
The Food and Drug Administration strongly recommends that sunless tanners wear eye protection during spray-booth sessions and when being spray-tanned by a technician. It’s not a law, just a recommendation. Try the new clear goggles or the new clear disposables made just for this purpose – they allow the tanner to see their surroundings. Disposable eyewear is especially nice for this application, as they have no strings or nose-bridge to leave lines on the side of the face and disposable eyewear can just be thrown away after you’ve received your spray-tan. It’s best to include a pair of the clear eyewear with the price of the spray-tan session, along with hair covers, foot protection, barrier cream and the like. I suggest you encourage your salon guests who get spray-tans to wear the clear eyewear, and return the next day for a facial touch-up if they aren’t happy with the results. If they return, just do a single spray, left to right, with your spray-gun or can of sunless spray.
How can I avoid developing “raccoon eyes” from UV tanning?
The first step in avoiding tan lines from goggles (sometimes called “raccoon eyes”) is to tan with a clean face. EVERY product sold at women’s cosmetic counters contains an SPF to keep you from tanning! So your guests who wear moisturizer, foundation, concealer and eye shadow have effectively applied four layers of SPF on their eyelids… they will not tan!
You should offer your salon guests several brands of eye protection, so they can find the type that will offer the best protection while also minimizing tan lines. Suggest that they slightly reposition their eyewear once or twice during a UV session to minimize lines. There are great touch-up products you can offer for use on the eye area, too.
