Sun Safety: How to clamp down on excessive tanners!

You may remember back at the beginning of May we wrote a couple of posts on the dangers of sun bed use when salons are not complying with laws, and how Salon Tracker software can increase the safety of your salon business.   To close our tanning month, we would like to just re-visit tanning safety and the legal procedures, after doing some research into individuals that are known as ‘Tan’orexics.’

Over the past decade, the awareness of skin cancer and its link to the over-exposure of UV rays from tanning beds has increased significantly.   Many salons are now subject to being on the receiving end of unannounced trading standards visits.  Research from the Daily Mail, Huffington post and Mirror have all suggested that there are certain individuals within the UK whom are obsessed with tanning.  The self-diagnosed tan obsessors are subsequently finding and visiting salons that are essentially ‘dodging the system’ in order to receive ample sunbed treatments in one day.  Granted, those salons will receive greater profits than others if they allow procedures like this, however you could face up to £20,000 in fines if you fail any tanning regulation laws.  This can happen in a split second and profits will be slashed.

According to a research article by the Mirror, one sunbed user told the newspaper that she was “Never asked to fill out a pre-tanning health questionnaire in her 8 years of tanning.” (2013)   In order to ensure that you are being as careful as possible when tanning your clients, you should always fill out a pre-health check and skin observation before allowing clients to book treatments.

A feature that Salon Tracker software does have implemented is a ‘tick box’ on the database for each client card, which prompts for a legal document to be signed before a client’s details are submitted on to the system.

This particular lady would visit tanning salons 6 times per day, in various different locations to achieve a daily 60 minute tan, when the UK recommended amount is for no longer than 15 minutes per day.

Another tan-a-holic, researched through a study by the daily mail, would go to up to SIX different tanning salons in any one day followed by 2 or 3 daily liquid tan applications.   She was naturally very fair, with auburn hair and a pale skin tone.   It is clients such as these that salons need to be very aware of, as later in life the individual suffered severe pain from skin dehydration, due to excessive exposure to UVA rays. (2014)   Salon owners should prohibit anybody with signs such as these from using the sun bed at all.

Therefore it is in your salon technicians’ interest to keep an eye out for these individuals. If you suspect that a fair-skinned client is overusing the sunbed, offer them some advice on how to use a sunbed regarding their skin type. Sometimes if they hear this from a professional it can subsequently alter their perception of tanning.

Medical research from the skin cancer organisation shows that “over-using sunbeds can increase a person’s risk of skin cancer by up to 75 per cent, it is also advised by the Health and Safety Executive that people with fair skin and moles should not use sunbeds.” (2014)

Salon technicians are in a position now to be able to assess clients’ skin types and to give them recommendations on the lengths of the courses that they should be undergoing dependent on the tone of their skin and their family history.

Salon Tracker software also has an online client card that prompts technicians to set some notes regarding the clients skin tone prior to tanning, eliminating the chance of excessive tanners being allowed to tan as regular and also to ensure that clients are using sunbeds safely. 

Technicians are also equally able to spot early signs of melanoma, should their clients be unfortunate enough to have an experience of this.  Many tanning salons have already trained their employees on the early warning signs, however a good checklist to observe the way to tell the difference between a normal mole and a melanoma is to use the ABCDE checklist:


A stands for asymmetrical: Melanomas have two very different halves and are an irregular shape.

B stands for border: Unlike a normal mole, melanomas have a notched or ragged border.

C stands for colours: Melanomas will be a mix of two or more colours.

D stands for diameter: Unlike most moles, melanomas are larger than 6mm (1/4 inch) in diameter.

E stands for enlargement or evolution: A mole that changes characteristics and size over time is more likely to be a melanoma. (NHS 2015)


If you do require any further information regarding ‘safe-tanning’ or would like to know how our Salon Software can improve the safety of your business, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we are always happy to help!


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