Eye Pro, Inc.

SEPTEMBER 2018 – Eye Pro, Inc., the world leader in disposable eye protection for indoor tanning and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE and WINK-EASE Dark, isn’t just interested in protecting the eyes of indoor tanners from UV rays, but is serious about eye protection in the spray-tan environment, as well. 

“The FDA highly recommends that both spray-tanners and spray-tan techs protect their mucous membranes from DHA spray,” says Brenda Fishbaugh, Eye Pro President. “Protecting your eyes, nose, mouth and genitals is so important and while there is no law yet to require eye protection while spraying or being spray-tanned, the FDA is moving in that direction.” 

Techs who continuously use a handheld spray-gun can get DHA solution overspray in their eyes. “We see mobile tanning techs doing spray sessions in poorly ventilated rooms,” Fishbaugh continued. “The FDA recommends protective eyewear for the tech and a mask to protect their lungs from the solution mist.” 

“When wearing our SunlessSPECS protective glasses, spray-tan techs are shocked by the amount of overspray collected after just a few sprays,” says Jackie DeWald, Eye Pro Office Manager. “Without protection, all of that overspray would have ended up in the tech’s eyes.” According to Eye Pro, spray-tan techs love the comfortable fit of the plastic, re-useable glasses and the solution overspray washes off easily.  Continue Reading »

I recently chatted with Lance Don- nelly, President/Owner of the Tan Republic Franchise Company – the largest salon chain in the western U.S., with 65 stores and growing. They are now located in Oregon, Washington, Nevada and California.

“My wife and I started the very first Tan Republic in 2005. From Day One, we knew that we wanted to have conversations with customers, not just ask, ‘How many minutes do you want? Room 23’,” explains Donnelly. “We knew we wanted to have a fun place for employees to work and to entice customers, and we really wanted to create a truly enjoyable experience.”

Of course, I asked Donnelly about his eye protection policy. “From the begin-ning, we conversed with our tanners and explained that we don’t loan eye protection but only sell it, and how important it is,” he shares. “Almost every tanner, in every store, walks in with their eyewear and lo- tion in hand. We instill it into our culture. Our competitors make eyewear an uncomfortable struggle, and we make it as fun as it can be.” He says that every customer gets educated and the tanning consultants create a conversation with tanners to build trust. “We don’t get serious with them right away; however, we ask them to ‘please have your eyewear and lotion ready when you walk in.’” He explains, “It would be annoy- ing if I have to ask you for it, if I was asked for it – so let’s find a way to skip that part.”

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AUGUST 2018 – 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 all about providing fun and easy eyewear information to you AND your tanners! 

“Salon owners tell us all the time they have tanners who don’t believe in eye protection or feel they already ‘know it all’. That is why we offer salons our ‘Tanners Quiz’,” explained Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “Our ‘Tanner’s Quiz’ is a fun tool to use to ask your tanners a few questions or have them take the quick quiz to see what they really know,” Fishbaugh continued. 

“We are constantly looking for fun and unique ways to support the salons and educate the tanners and staff alike on the importance of eye protection,” said Jackie DeWald, Office Manager. “A salon owner told us she covered up the answers to our quick Yes/No 10 question quiz and made copies for all of her staff.  She offered first pick of shifts to the employee that got the best score.  This really made her staff interested in learning the answers and helped show her staff why they needed to wear their own eye protection,” concluded DeWald.  Continue Reading »

I was standing in a tanning salon lobby recently, when the salon professional asked a tanner, “May I see your eye protection?” The tanner said she didn’t wear goggles. The salon pro replied, “You can get cataracts from unprotected tanning sessions.” The tanner kind of shrugged and headed back to her tanning room with no eyewear – clearly, she felt cataracts happen to one’s grandma, not to someone like her.

I was surprised to learn that a ton of middle-aged folks get cataracts, not just the el- derly. Over 22 million people in the U.S. over 40 years old have cataracts. Tens of thousands will lose their sight and millions more will have poor vision because of cataracts, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center.

“Ultraviolet light can accelerate the aging process and we see cataracts in much younger people,” says Dr. Mark Kimpel, a retired ophthalmologist, formerly with Mayo Clinic and Indiana University Medical Center. “I constantly tell young people that you might not see the damage now, but it is like sunburn; you are accumulating the damage for later.” Dr. Kimpel, a sunbed user, strongly recommends wearing FDA-com- pliant eye protection during indoor tanning sessions and UV-block sunglasses outdoors.

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Q & A with Eye Pro’s Brenda Fishbaugh:

Summer has arrived and many in the tan biz take a little time off during the slower months to vacation and decom- press. As I checked in with folks around the industry, I’ve heard of some pretty neat travel plans. Many of you know Brenda Fishbaugh, President of Eye Pro. She is probably among the industry’s most well-traveled product providers and a favorite speaker at our expos. I recently caught up with her and she revealed some interesting summer plans.

Joe Schuster: Brenda; it’s been a few months since I’ve seen you. I know you’ve been logging the miles around the country on business and probably need some well-earned vacation time. What’cha got planned?

Brenda Fisbaugh: I just returned home from ten days in England, which was cool! I visited Eye Pro customers outside of London and got to visit the graves of my relatives who died in Essex in 1591 AD. I saw two top theatre shows (“Book of Mormon” and “42nd Street”), the Monet exhibit at the National Gallery and heard the London Symphony Jazz Orchestra play at a jazz club! I also went to Chicago in early June to see Paul Simon in concert and do some photography (one of my biggest hobbies). Continue Reading »

July 2018 – 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 disposable eye protection for the Sunless segment of the tanning industry – for both spray tan customers and spray techs.

“Although eye protection is not required by the FDA for sunless tanning, the FDA STRONGLY encourages customers cover their mucous membranes when being spray tanned by a held-held tech or in an auto-booth,” explained EYE PRO President Brenda Fishbaugh. “We teamed up with Sunwest, a Arizona supplier of many sunless products for the salons, and developed an eye protection called Sunless Clear disposable eye protection. The Sunless Clear disposable eye protection is available in 50-pair packs and 250-pair rolls,”  Fishbaugh continued.
Continue Reading »

I recently spoke to the amazing general manager of Branson Perfect Tan in Branson, MO about his promotional brainchild, “Eyewear Awareness Month.” Jeremy James explains, “every month, we plan to focus on some aspect of the business and create sales specials around sunless or lotions, high-pressure tans, or eye protection.”

June 2018 – 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 even more support to salons to beef up their professional presence on social media.

“Salon operators love our personalized ‘Eye Protection Expert’ certificates to display in their salons and show their guests that each staff member has been trained in all aspects of eye protection,” stated Brenda Fishbaugh, President of Eye Pro, Inc,. “Now, salons can receive a FREE ‘Eye Expert Salon’ badge to post on their website and Facebook pages, letting potential and current tanners know that it’s a professional salon before they step foot in the door!”

“We offer an award-winning, FREE ‘Eye Protection Expert’ training online – available to all salons 24/7,” reminded Jackie DeWald, Eye Pro Office Manager. “Upon completion of this training, salons will receive the ‘Eye Expert Salon’ badge to proudly display on their social media and website,”DeWald continued. “When you run a professional salon with a highly educated staff, it’s so important to promote that to customers, and we feel our certificates and badge help send that message to salon clientele.” Continue Reading »

Have you ever performed a sunlamp change in your salon without wearing eye protection? Former salon owner, Jason Corveleyn, did. In his own words: “I was trouble- shooting a high-pressure bed that had several lamps out. For about 40 seconds, my naked eyes were exposed to the light from the high-pressure bulb without the lens over it. It was the equivalent of getting flashed by a welding torch. I didn’t notice anything at the time but woke up at 2am with tears running down my face and incredible pain. I couldn’t see anything! My wife rushed me to the hospital, and luckily, it was a mild burn. I was given drops which reduced the pain. My corneas were burned – lesson learned. Bed maintenance techs need to know that just because you don’t feel damage happening, you can be burning your corneas!”

Bruce Hickman of Sun Tan Hut, in Rome, GA also shared his similar experience.

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May 2018 – EYE PRO, Inc., world leader in eyewear and makers of Ultra Gold WINK-EASE, Lash Room WINK-EASE, and WINK-EASE Dark, is always working hard to keep salon owners/staff and clients educated and informed about the importance of eye health, preventing eye disease and reducing vision loss.

“We love helping salon owners educate their tanners through our educational counter mat, ” said Jackie DeWald, EYE PRO office manager. “With the month of May being UV Awareness Month, it’s a perfect time to remind everyone about the importance of using the proper UV blocking eyewear to protect eyes — whether tanning indoors or out.”

To get EYE PRO’s new 2018 updated FREE Counter Mat for your salon, go to WinkEase.com/promos and use the code word: IST Counter Mat.

“Tanning salons need to be aware of and remember all of the ways they need to protect staff and clients’ vision. One of the most overlooked ways vision damage can happen is to change lamps without using proper eye protection,” reminded Brenda Fishbaugh, EYE PRO president. “Our UV Blockers maintenance glasses are under $10, lightweight and fit any tech’s face, and offer the necessary protection.” Continue Reading »