I only had to chat with Melissa Latimer for a few minutes to realize she is very serious about eye protection at her salon. Heck, she’s serious about everything that has to do with tanning! This 38-year-old has built a successful tanning salon – Soleil Tan – an elite spray-tan salon, her own sunless solution distribution company, and her own high-end skin care line.
Melissa’s business is based in Cartersville, GA. We met online, and she wowed me with her grasp of the importance of eye protection. Says Melissa, “We educate clients on the why of why eye protection is important. If guests forget or have misplaced their goggles, we give them a free pair of the deep-lash disposables. We like the style that allows for long lashes because so many of our clients wear lash extensions and they don’t fit in a normal pair of goggles or disposables. We simply say, ‘Hi Julie! We have you ready in Bed 2 – I just need to see your eye protection, please.’” Most salons do that, right? Read on for the difference!
“We store everyone’s lotion and eye protection at the salon for them. When we hand them their eyewear, we say, ‘Please head back to the restroom and use the antibacterial soap to wash your goggles. Remember, it’s coming in contact with your eye, and we don’t want you to pick up any colds or infections.’” Melissa and her team request that tanners clean their goggles every 7-10 days, and also inspect them to see when a guest might need to replace a broken or worn out pair.
“At the holidays, we replace everyone’s goggles for free. We don’t want them to have damaged eyewear, so that’s our gift to them. I get a lot of free eye protection when I buy tanning lamps, so it doesn’t cost me anything to take care of my client’s vision!” Melissa shares.
“Our staff must take Eye Pro’s free 20-minute, online eye protection training,” insists Latimer. “Afterwards, I role play with them. I quiz them to see if they really paid attention. It’s really ‘eye-opening,’” she giggles.
Soleil Tan offers custom airbrush tans, along with eight beds, Red Light, Skin Light Therapy, and My Lipo. What about eye protection for the Red Light sessions? “I give a free pair of the special red-light disposables. I tell guests that they wouldn’t go to the beach without sunglasses, and they shouldn’t be in that bright a light without a pair of ultra-dark disposables. It keeps them from squinting, so they get better results from the session.”
Melissa also wants her guests to wear eye protection for spray-tanning at Bombshell Bodies, her deluxe airbrush salon. She explains to guests, “Your eye is a mucous membrane; you don’t want to get anything in it. I highly suggest clear disposable eyewear and I personally wear it myself when getting sprayed. It’s clear, so you can see me spraying you. If you feel the area around your eyes is too pale tomorrow, I can fix that. Here, let me put them on you.” Melissa concludes, “Almost all of my guests wear eye protection during airbrushing and no one has asked for a touch-up. I also offer a tinted BB Cream that is part of the high-end skin care line I designed – it’s a perfect way to touch up tan lines around the eyes!”
I told you Melissa Latimer was adamant about eye protection for her clients! How do YOU measure up?
ED NOTE: Want a free sample of BB tinted cream for the face and eyes? Email your address to SunlessSkinSolutions@gmail.com with the code Eye to Eye, and Melissa will send you one.
This salon pro is adamant about eye protection for her guests … how do YOU measure up?
