Eye Pro, Inc.

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Longtime Wink-Ease President Retires!

Click here to read about Brenda Fishbaugh’s interesting career and plans for a bright future.

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July 2022 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE and Lash Room WINK-EASE announces that Brenda Fishbaugh, an IST Magazine contributor and President of Wink-Ease, is retiring after over 31 years in indoor tanning.  Jackie DeWald, Brenda’s right hand for 24 years, will be taking the helm as General Manager of Eye Pro, Inc.

“I’ve loved my time in the indoor tanning industry.  I had ten years of corporate experience when I became president of a tiny company that made Wink-Ease in January 1991.  I loved being out of the corporate structure and into the fun, “make it happen” tanning world. We began opening the international eye protection market and started working with thousands of entrepreneurial salon owners in the US and Canada. At the time, there was only one other major eye protection product, a reusable goggle.  So our goal was to get the word out about how much cleaner disposable eye protection was,” Brenda Fishbaugh reminisced.

Jackie DeWald, with over two decades of tanning industry experience, will assume Brenda’s duties. “When I came on board  at Eye Pro 24 years ago, Brenda had just patented Viewkeepers, now called Lash Room Wink-Ease. Brenda’s invention led to changes in goggles, as everyone went to deeper cones like our product to allow a more comfortable fit while tanning with eyewear,” explains DeWald.  Trade shows were just beginning and Brenda traveled the world sharing images of eye damage if you don’t wear eyewear.  She later created recorded training sessions that salons can take for free and become Eye Protection Certified.  We feel our team changed tanners’ perceptions about how important eyewear is when tanning.”

Fishbaugh credits her hundreds of columns in IST Magazine with changing salons’ view about eye protection.  “Shortly after IST Magazine began, I started writing a monthly column.  Vince Lorraine, publisher, and Sherron Barden, editor, thought I could maybe write a dozen columns about eye protection altogether.  Two decades later, I was still turning out fresh columns about the FDA and state laws about eye protection and how salons could use eye protection as a profit center.  When I started writing, all salons gave eye protection away.  Now, only the three states that require free eyewear are providing free eye protection to their clients.”

“Another amazing thing Brenda accomplished was bringing awareness to endangered animals.  Our entire staff has always been crazy about animals.  At first we donated to a local Exotic Animal Rescue. Then Brenda was meeting zookeepers from around the world, and Eye Pro became an advocate for The Clouded Leopard Project and National Geographic’s The Photo Ark.  You can see some of our endangered animal charities on our website and in our eye protection training,” explains DeWald

“I am incredibly grateful to the distributors and salons around the world that became friends and customers. Jackie has been our Office Manager since the day she started with me well over two decades ago.  She has done all the heavy lifting behind the scenes and I’ve been the front man.  I’m so glad she gets her chance to move Wink-Ease forward in the market.  It’s been a wonderful ride and I’m so happy I spent my career in tanning!”

Fishbaugh plans on enjoying her photography hobby. She also hopes to do more kayaking and bicycling throughout the US  and travel with her longtime husband, Steve. Feel free to follow her adventures on Facebook.

To take EYE PRO’s FREE online training, go to WinkEase.com, hover over the ‘Support’ navigation button and then select “Salon Training” from the drop-down menu.
For more information on Ultra Gold WINK-EASE and Lash Room WINK-EASE disposable eye protection visit WinkEase.com or contact EYE PRO at 1-800-726-8322.
Follow and “like” WINK-EASE on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram and Pinterest to learn about special salon offers and promotions.

Be sure to explain the importance of wearing eye protection to your tanners!

Click Here to download.

You can display in your salon.

By BRENDA FISHBAUGH

About the Author: Tanning industry veteran Brenda Fishbaugh is president of Eye Pro, Inc., makers of disposable eyewear. She travels extensively training salons on the effects of UV light on vision.

Mike DePuew, former owner of Beach ‘N Tans in Mocksville, NC,  owned tanning salons for over two decades and taught tanning certification classes in North Carolina.

“I spend a lot of time helping salons get ready for inspections.  They are always surprised what inspectors find important.  The Number #1 hot button is lamp compatibility. The salon must show they are within 10% of the lamp recommended for each bed.  You need to have this with your Bed Manuals.  It is Federal law and you can’t mess around with this.  Make sure your employees know where this manual is.

Our Number #2 hot button is eye protection.  You need to have a written sheet for how to clean eyewear.  You need to have quat strips to test your eyewear solution, if you are providing shared eye protection.  Your staff MUST ask for eyewear every time someone comes in.  We ask, ‘May I see your eye protection, please?”  If they don’t have them, we give them disposables and say, ‘Eye protection is your sunglasses for INSIDE.  You must wear them.’”

Mike explained that the 3rd hot button is certified and trained staff. “If you don’t have a certificate for each person working in your salon, the inspector can stop operations on the spot. Why would you not have one or two or three certifications in different fields for each staff member? They will do a better job for you if they know more.”

I was surprised that the 4th hot button was Client History.  Inspectors look at your system to make sure no one has tanned more than once in 24 hours and you are starting them out at a low amount and you have release forms on file.

The 5th critical piece is Signage.  You must post the federal sign in each room and your beds must be labeled appropriately.  You need to have eyewear information posted.

Another surprise was that inspectors often look for false claims.  “If you have signs or posters up that tanning gives you a base tan or prevents cancer or improves mood, your inspector may ask to have them removed.”

Would your salon pass if you were inspected today?

Want to see an inspector’s checklist and what the inspector uses to grade your salon?  Email me at Brenda@WinkEase.com and I’ll send them to you.

Always protect your vision when tanning!

WINK-EASE eyewear can be worn when tanning indoors or out!

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Article By BRENDA FISHBAUGH:

I thought you might enjoy reading about a common tanning mistake that can easily be corrected in your salon.

Dear Brenda:
I went into a tanning bed for the first time yesterday and used the gold eye stickers.  I did not put them on correctly and just stuck them like a sticker on my eye lid.  I was in the tanning bed for eight minutes.  My eyes were also shut the whole time.   Do you think I did any damage to my eyes?

Thanks for your help.
Rob

Hi Rob,
Thanks for your question, it’s a good one.  And I also appreciate you caring about your eye sight enough to write. Shame on the tanning salon you visited for not properly explaining how to use disposable eye protection!  I would seriously consider finding a different salon if your new salon is so indifferent to a new tanner that they did not take the time to properly ensure you were familiar with your eye protection.

The display box for every brand of disposable eye protection features a diagram that shows assembly, as well as a photo on the front of the box with a wearer properly wearing the product as an example.  You’ll also find directions on the back of every pair of disposable eye protection, regardless of manufacturer.  We also recommend that the salon fold the eyewear into a cone and place it on top of the display box, so that the user will see how to use the product properly.

Unfortunately, you tanned at a salon that did not take the time to explain how to use the product.  Luckily, disposable eye protection is a complete UV block, so wearing the product flat on your eye would have protected you reasonably well.   Disposables worn flat don’t block all of the ambient light that may come in the sides of your eyes.    The biggest concern is probably that you received a big, white “raccoon eye” effect, since the product covered more of your eye area than is necessary for vision protection while tanning.  Folding the product into a cone blocks ambient light from entering your eye and also allows you to see through it during your tanning session allowing you to adjust your stereo, fans and facial tanners, check the time remaining, all without removing your eye protection.

Of course, only an examination by an ophthalmologist can determine if you have damaged your eyes.  If you ever experience eye pain after a tanning session, even if you wore protection, please see your eye doctor.

Once again, thanks for valuing your vision enough to protect it while enjoying the comforts of indoor tanning!
Brenda

About the Author: Tanning industry veteran Brenda Fishbaugh is president of Eye Pro, Inc., makers of disposable eyewear. She travels extensively training salons on the effects of UV light on vision.