Eye Protection
Many salons use goggles equipped with a Kodak lens that block out 99 per cent of UVB and 99.9 per cent of UVA. Do not use outdoor sunglasses as they do not provide sufficient protection for tanning indoors.
Eye goggles should not be damaged in any way that permits the light to penetrate the eyes.

Eye goggles should always be worn snugly on the face. If any bright light can be seen through them or at the edges of them, they should be readjusted or replaced.
Eye goggles should never be removed during a tanning session, not for any reason, especially not in order to tan the eyelids.

Contact lenses should be removed prior to tanning. Although eye goggles will protect eyes and lenses from UV damage, the heat emitted from the tanning bed may dry out the contact lenses and irritate eyes.

Tanning Beds & Skin Damage
Tanning beds are as damaging as the sun and in some respects, maybe even more so. There are two major types of ultraviolet radiation, UVA and UVB rays. UVB rays are a shorter wave length and tend to cause sunburn (you can think of B = burning). They also damage the DNA in the skin surface cells and cause skin cancer.

UVA rays are a longer wavelength and penetrate more deeply, into the dermis, the layer under the skin surface. There, these UVA rays damage collagen and elastin, contributing to loss of elasticity of the skin — these rays are responsible for the dry, leathery, wrinkly skin of the chronically sun exposed (think of A = ageing). UVA rays may also contribute to melanoma, another type of skin cancer.

Tanning beds produce UVA rays. While it is less likely although but by no means not impossible to burn in a tanning bed, those UVA rays are still damaging the deeper layers. With continued exposure and passage of time, the signs of photo aging such as wrinkles, blotchy skin, dryness will appear.

More UVA than UVB rays reach the surface of the earth. Most sunscreens provide protection from UVB rays, but most sunscreens do not protect against all the types of UVA rays. Only those products containing Parsol 1789, avobenzone or zinc oxide protect against both UVB and all UVA rays. The smartest approach is to wear a broad spectrum sunscreen when outdoors and avoid tanning beds altogether. Maybe in a few years the pale skin that was so highly prized in the 1700s and 1800s will once again be in vogue.

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