First off, a few things about Vitamin D. Your body creates Vitamin D by using sunlight or UV rays. Therefore, it is essential that over a lifetime, every single person is exposed to some form of sunlight, with the current recommendation being 5 minutes 2-3 times per week on average for a person to sustain the amount that they require to produce enough Vitamin D all year long. In some countries however, and especially in the UK & Ireland, we are prone to much longer Winter months, meaning that this 15 minutes per week average can prove to be difficult, as the sun is not strong enough to produce the UV rays needed for our skin to absorb enough to make Vitamin D. This was therefore the start of sunbeds and also the vitamin capsules that you will find in many supermarket or pharmacy stores.
Believe it or not, some medical experts have been known to advise a little bit of short-term sunbed use to clear up certain skin conditions. For example, eczema or psoriasis. Vitamin D is associated with healing up conditions such as these, in which if a sunbed is used in moderation and protective UV sun lotion is applied beforehand, this is similar to someone spending 6-9 minutes outside in the summer sun.
The Vitamin has also been linked to improving other medical conditions such as auto-immune diseases including Diabetes and Arthritis. It is also proven to improve the general mood of people’s mentality, especially those who suffer with SAD syndrome.
However we are very aware that a lot of people abuse sunbeds and spent far too much time on them, essentially burning their skin due to the over-exposure to sunlight. This however can also just as easily happen if you spend a day in the sun on holiday, or even out side in the Summer for too long without relevant UV protection.
Therefore, to manage and stop the over use of sunbeds, this is where the government stepped in and made it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to use a sunbed at all. In which now, any salon who isn’t compliant with this rule may find themselves subject to a fine as big as £20,000.
We understand as a company that it can be hard to ensure that all of your clients are telling the truth when it comes to their age, and that’s why when we developed our tanning salon software we created especial tanning rules, to ensure that we keep your clients and business as safe and compliant as possible with the current law. In 2010, we also followed the recommendations of the sunbed association, to ensure that any client that is using a tanning salon that has our software will be tanning as safely as possible.
So, what are our tanning rules and how have we implemented these to keep tanning clients safe?
Forbid a client to book a sunbed if their date of birth field shows that they are under 18.
We are aware it is easy for a client to lie and make a date of birth up, but not so easy if you have the relevant checks in place. With our software, we have fields on their digital client card that prompts a client to have a photograph added to it so that this can be matched up with a form of their ID before they are allowed to book on to a sunbed. We have also introduced fingerprint recognition, which again means that a client's perhaps younger sibling can’t try and pass as their elder brother/sister as the fingerprint will have to match. And we have also implemented a signature pad so that a client has to sign a disclaimer stating that they are over 18 and that they will comply with your salon T’s & C’s before using a sunbed. Protecting your business from any lawful damage.
Warn a customer if they have not set a Skin Type.
To advise clients on how long they should be using a sunbed for, we have implemented a field that asks the customer to state which skin type they are. This is because if the customer describes their skin type to be sensitive to the sun, or fair, it is recommended that they do not tan for longer that 6 minutes every 48 hours. Therefore, if your salon staff are aware of this, it gives them the option to advise the client appropriately when they come to book a sunbed.
Warn a client if they have had a sunbed in the last 24 hours (or last 48 hours if they have skin type 1 or 2/sensitive or fair.)
The sunbed association recommends that no one tans more than once every 24 hours, and whilst this is not illegal yet, it is still a recommendation that we like to follow and would advise all tanning salons to operate with. If a client has specified that they do actually have a sensitive or fair skin type, the sunbed association recommends that these individuals don’t tan more than once in 48 hours and so our system will keep a track and record all sunbed use so that your staff can advise clients appropriately.
Maximum Minute Usage.
Another recommendation from the sunbed association is that unless a client is using a low-powered sunbed (such as the Sun Angel where we are aware courses are 21 minutes each time), no one should go on a sunbed for any longer than 15 minutes at a time. We have therefore set all of our sunbed configurations to a maximum usage of 15 minutes by default, in the hope that all tanning salons that are users of our software will stick to this recommendation to eliminate over-use from clients.
Therefore, if you currently have a tanning salon and want to ensure that you maintain the highest level of safety possible, get in touch with us today on 0113 350 8230 or send us your details at http://www.salontracker.co.uk/FreeTrial.aspx so that we can arrange you a FREE 2 week trial. Let's keep your tanning salon safe together this Spring!
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