Eye Pro, Inc.

1. How did you get into the tanning industry?

I was at dinner with friends and they were trying to get me to leave the corporate world and work at one of their dozen companies. When they told me about Wink-Ease, I thought it was perfect. They made me president, gave me stock in the company, and that was 27 years ago.

2. What do you like most about your job?

First, I love the tanning industry. Secondly, I love the variety. I work on patents, international business, trade shows, social media, creating memes and contests, writing a column for IST Magazine, and I work with great tanning product distributors and individual salons worldwide. Jackie DeWald, my right-hand woman for over two decades, does all the heavy lifting and I get to do the fun stuff.

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October 2019 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is helping make social media efforts easier for all salons with a simple “click” and a download — and it’s all for FREE!

“Social media is a constantly moving target,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “With so many options for social media, it can be hard to determine which is best for your salon. Finding social media ads, or ‘memes’, and promoting positive and responsible tanning can be a  time-consuming challenge,” Fishbaugh continued. “Memes offer a subtle and fun way to educate your clients on the importance of eyewear, lotions, and tanning tips, while helping you stay in front of clients on an on-going basis.”

To assist tanning salons with this challenge, EYE PRO has put over a thousand tanning memes on Pinterest for salons to use — for FREE — on any social media.  Just head out to “Wink-Ease” on Pinterest and download or share as many tanning memes you’d like. Continue Reading »

Many salon operators weighed in recently in the Tanning SalonOwners Forum, a tanning salon (closed) Facebook group. What did they weigh in on? Over 60 salon owners hotly discussed how their guests steal shared goggles! Paul H. complained that he loses hundreds of pairs a year. DG said that she just realized this was also happening at her studio. And Zuma Tan says, “My goggles have feet!”

What can you do if your communal goggles are walking out of your salon? Other salon owners made suggestions. Joe Eng has an easy solution – he takes the guest’s car keys as a “deposit.” Many other owners no longer offer shared goggles. Cindy L.H. writes, “We don’t supply them anymore. We sell them all day long for $5 a pair.” Another salon owner, Barbara S.H., shares her smart idea: “We charge $5 per pair, but we discount to $3 if they purchase a tanning package.”

So, why wouldn’t you sell goggles? Three states require salons to provide free eye protection – Pennsylvania, New York and Texas require salons to provide guests with disposable eye protection or communal goggles at every visit. Ohio and New Jersey October 2019 istmagazine.com have rescinded their laws and allow the salon to decide whether they provide eye protection for free or charge for it. For health reasons, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Iowa regulations do NOT allow salons to have community goggles. Community goggles that are not disinfected properly between uses can easily spread pink-eye, colds and flu, and even serious diseases.

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September 2019 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is offering salon owners a FREE step-by-step guide on how to no longer provide shared eyewear and sell it instead.  

“Salons are always looking for ways to make a profit on accessories,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “Sometimes the salons don’t realize the expenses involved in providing eyewear for free instead of selling it,” Fishbaugh continued. “We’ve created the ‘Making the Switch: to only SELLING Eye Protection’ handout with easy step-by-step instructions to help salons implement a new policy of not providing eye protection and losing money.”

Goggles need to be disinfected properly and most salons don’t follow the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) instructions and manufacturer’s instructions. “Did you know solution is required to be mixed daily and goggles must soak 10 minutes?” asked Fishbaugh. “Or that clean goggles need to be in a covered container to avoid contamination?” 

Shared eyewear is expensive and poorly cleaned eyewear can spread colds, flu and eye infections to tanners. “Thousands of salons have made the switch to just selling goggles and WINK-EASE disposable eyewear,” said Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO Office Manager. “Selling each pair of WINK-EASE for 50 cents or a dollar makes a big difference on the bottom line.”  Continue Reading »

Get ready for a heartwarming story!

Gina and Chris Martinichio of California SunDaze Tanning Studio & Coffee & Smoothie Bar wanted to thank the Binghamton, NY community for 30 years of supporting the business. Having personally found and adopted an abandoned kitten, they chose a charity close to their hearts – Every Dog’s Dream Animal Rescue. Gina then created “Furtastic Friday,” giving gifts to customers who donated to the charity. Salon guests who donated had their photos taken next to the huge “Fur-mometer” that showed SunDaze’s progress toward their $4,500 goal.

We’ve all done these fundraisers, right? But have you raised over $7,500 for your charity? A single 11-bed salon with one spray-tan room donated $7,500 to cover medical bills for abandoned pups and kittens!

“I remember once watching an interview with Warren Buffet,” explained the longtime salon owner. “The interviewer discussed the fact and principles of giving and how it seemed that every time Warren gave his money away, he became richer. We wanted to thank our tanners for 30 years of sun, and wanted to give back to our community. No one was more surprised than me that our lotion and upgrade sales have now increased 20%.”

How did Gina do it? “I worked closely with our distributor, Four Seasons,” she explained. “Ashley and Carmen contacted several manufacturers, who sent us samples and goodies to give away. Together, we created some really great giveaways for our customers.” For a $5 donation, SunDaze tanners received either a free session or upgrade and a free lotion packette. For an additional $10, they received a free gift with a value of up to $30. “For example,…

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August 2019 – Do you really know how to clean goggles properly?  Does your staff know goggles need to soak for 10 minutes to be disinfected enough to not pass on the flu and eye infections?  If your salon approach is to just “dip and wipe”, you are NOT killing anything! And, you are also leaving a strong disinfectant residue on the goggles that can harm your clients’ eyes! 

Does your staff know that you need to make completely fresh bed cleaner and goggle cleaner EVERY 24 HOURS to follow every bed cleaner’s directions and avoid your bed cleaner losing its effectiveness? “It’s so important to train new staff and remind current staff to always follow ALL of the necessary steps for cleaning; especially goggles,” reminded Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO office manager. “Our one-page, step-by-step instructional guide outlines each step — like testing with a Quatenary litmus strip to ensure the proper mixture and how and why you should keep cleaned goggles in a sealed container (NOT in a basket at your counter or lying on a tanning bed).”   Continue Reading »

So, you’re in the tan-biz slow season … what to do?

Late summer is a great time to host an event that features eye protection. You’ll use your eyewear event to remind your salon guests that protecting their eyes is critical to their future and to show them all the latest options in the diverse and fun eye protection world. It’s a great way to get your college tanners back into your salon and draw attention to your upgrades, lotions and other services, while increasing your bottom line.

One great aspect of eye protection is affordability – you can contact your favorite distributor and order a boatload of different goggles and disposables for a ridiculously small investment. I recommend you offer many types: the fun, designer types in every color, the super-cheap kinds and dispos-ables. For your eyewear event, arrange your selection boutique-style. A velvet-covered board for display and a make-up mirror work well to let guests try them on to see if they get a tight fit. Offer a free basic pair of goggles with purchase of a basic upgrade tanning package or a tattoo stick – some- thing around $10. They get a free “fancy” pair or several pairs of disposables with a high-pressure session, spray-tan or bou-tique retail item around $25. Keeping with the theme, you could bring in sunglasses to sell for this event. I recommend creating a sign showing 3-4 things they get for each category. Make it simple and offer some novelty products that you’d like to sell to increase your retail revenues.

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July 2019 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in eyewear and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, is offering salons a FREE WINK-EASE window cling.

“Eye protection is required by the FDA for every tanner to wear. Educating your tanners on the importance of protecting their eyes while tanning can be challenging, but having an informed staff makes it easier,” said Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO Office Manager. “Having our window cling on the door is a great reminder for tanners to see as they walk in to know eye protection will be addressed as part of checking in,” she continued. “The increased sales opportunity for the salon to sell eye protection to every client definitely helps the bottom line. Salons need to be creative with eyewear selections, offering both disposable eyewear and various goggles.”

The window cling can be placed on the inside of the salon door or in the front window for maximum exposure. Continue Reading »

A new trend has surfaced in indoor tanning eye protection … more specifically, a trend in NOT wearing it!

Women who have always worn eyewear when they tanned are no longer wearing it. Why? They’re getting eyelash extensions – it’s expensive, time-consuming and tanners are afraid of damaging their glued-on lashes, so they forgo wearing their goggles during a tanning session. I think these salon guests are hoping that their very long lashes will protect their eyes; but, unfortunately, eyelashes offer no UV protection and closing your eyes only provides a 25% ultraviolet block.

As you may know, UV rays from tanning beds tan your skin, but the rays also burn your eyes. It’s important to wear FDA-compliant eyewear to protect your night vision, color vision and prevent eye burns such as “snow blindness” or “welders flash,” as well as possible development of growths on your eyes.

I also spoke to Jason Brooks, National Sales Manager for New Sunshine LLC, makers of eye protection for the Australian Gold, Designer Skin and California Tan brands. “As long lashes gained popularity, we invented Designer Skin Glamour Eyes,” Brooks stated. “We designed Glamour Eyes goggles with a tall cup, so that long, voluminous lashes have room, but the goggle won’t create ‘raccoon eye’ tanlines. This goggle style also has a clear nose-piece that prevents tan lines, and Glamour Eyes include a trendy, compact carrying case.”

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June 2019 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in eyewear and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE, and WINK-EASE Dark, supports salons all year long and offers online training and certification options 24/7, 365 days a year!

 “Summertime is a challenging time for salons when business drops off,” explains Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO office manager.  “We offer our FREE online eye protection training 24/7 on our website. If you have staff not yet trained on the importance of eye protection, we encourage the training during the slower off-season. Having a trained staff demonstrates you are a professional studio. Your educated staff will be able to encourage your clients to wear their eyewear and that free training could result in add-on sales to keep cash flow coming in,” DeWald continued. 

“The off-season can be a perfect opportunity for salons to re-group staff and get them up-to-date in all areas of your business,” said Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “We encourage each salon to utilize ALL of our industry’s trainings available. Many manufacturers also offer free trainings and your slow season is a perfect time to catch new staff up, plus encourage your seasoned staff to take refresher courses.”   Continue Reading »