Responsible tanning
Why goggles are not optional
It is the rule people most often try to negotiate, and the one we will not move on. Here is the reasoning, so it is a decision you understand rather than a rule you resent.
Closing your eyes is not protection
This is the whole point and it surprises almost everyone. The eyelid is thin — among the thinnest skin on the body — and it does not block UV. Lying with your eyes shut under a bank of lamps means the UV still reaches the eye; you simply cannot see it happening, which is exactly why people believe they are covered.
A forearm across the face does not do it either. Nor does a towel, which shifts the moment you relax, and nor do ordinary sunglasses, which are made for a light source in front of you rather than directly above.
What UV does to an eye
Two timescales, and the short one is the one people notice.
- In the short term, overexposure can inflame the cornea — the clear layer at the front of the eye. It is often described as feeling like grit that will not come out, and it typically arrives some hours later, which makes people connect it to anything but the session.
- Over years, cumulative UV exposure is associated with damage to the lens and to the surface of the eye. This is not a sunbed-specific point; it is why sunglasses exist. It is a reason to protect your eyes every session rather than the sessions you remember.
If your eyes are sore, watering or gritty after a session, that is a conversation with a pharmacist or an optician rather than something to sit out.
What we provide, and what you can bring
- Free goggles, every session. Not a rental, not an upsell, not something we hope you forget.
- Sanitised between clients, like everything else in the room.
- Bring your own if you prefer. Plenty of people do, particularly regulars. They need to be made for UV tanning rather than for swimming or DIY.
The white rings, and how to avoid them
The usual objection is the pale marks goggles leave. Two things help. Move them a few millimetres partway through the session so the edge is not in exactly the same place throughout — not off, moved. And use a smaller profile pair if the standard ones sit heavily on your face; ask at reception and we will find a pair that fits.
What does not help is going without. A tan you have to explain is better than an eye you have to have looked at.
Contact lenses
Goggles go over them and lenses are not a substitute for goggles, tinted or otherwise. Some people find the warmth of a session dries their eyes with lenses in; if that is you, it is worth taking them out and wearing the goggles alone, since there is nothing to look at anyway.
General information, not medical advice. If you have any concern about your eyes, speak to an optician, a pharmacist or your GP.
Forgot to ask something?
The desk would far rather answer than have you guess.