A short article on how to encourage customers to tan safely and how to ensure you are following the World Health Organisation's guidelines

Tanning Safety



Following recommendations from the World Health Organisation, Scottish MPs recently took the decision to outlaw unstaffed tanning premises. This decision was taken because it was felt that too many people were unaware of the dangers of excessive sunbed use. There is a need for both salon managers and staff to know be aware of the health and safety guidelines and to encourage customers to engage in responsible tanning.



 Questions managers should be able to answer:

• What are the nature and extent of UV hazards?

• Do you know which health risks are associated with the use of UV tanning equipment?

• Do you know the extent to which exposure to UV vary with the type of lamps fitted in your equipment?

• Has the equipment supplier given you information n the extent and magnitude of the hazard?

• From this information do you know how to decide what advice to give an individual customer on the:

a) duration of each tanning session?

b) periods between each session?

c) total number of sessions per year?



 Staff should be able to…



• Answer questions on the health risks associated with UV (see ‘Customer Information’)?

• Give different advice to customers with differing skin types, as they may

be in a particularly sensitive group?



You may wish to consider keeping a record of the date and length of session of each customer’s exposure: this is good practice. Studio Tracker is a salon management software package which can help you track the usage history of your customers and well as capturing their skin type and age, ensuring that they use sunbeds safely. In addition, it also allows you to track stock levels more effectively, enabling you to re-stock your bestselling products more quickly and preventing lost sales. Existing campaign templates are built into the system, which allow you to send out personalised messages, such as promotional offers, to customers at the click of a mouse. Studio Tracker prices start from just £9 a week. Check out www.studiotracker.co.uk for your free 30 day trial or contact lauren.mather@studiotracker.co.uk for more info.