Not Hard to See the Value of a Tan


Jim Bivens, Operator of The Islands tanning facility in Pine- hurst, NC reminds his guests to wear eye protection with these words: “If you are blind, you can’t see your tan!” One day, a blind person walked into his salon seeking a tan. Bivens now provides his severely vision-impaired tanner with sessions in a voice-activated Sun Angel tanning system, so the guest’s tanning experience is as simple as possible.

Bivens doesn’t run the only salon that serves a sight-impaired tanner. Renee Flask, Manager at Paradise Tanning in Capitola, CA has a tanner who requires a cane and holds items up to her face to read the labels. Flask enjoys reading la- bels and instructions for her. Her guest can’t drive and uses the bus system to come to the salon. “She says she really likes warming up, taking a nap and get- ting a bit of a break,” Flask shares.

Michelle Norvell, Owner of Bare Necessities Tanning Salon and Day Spa in Graham, WA places her sight-impaired client’s hands on the tanning system controls to remind her where everything is when it’s been a while since her last session.

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