Why Sunkissed?

We are often asked what makes Sunkissed so much different than the salon down the street and why our customers get such great color.  

The answer is simple: training, equipment, lamps and facilities.

Training

Prior to helping their first customer, each of our employees must complete a very thorough 6 part training program that covers the following core areas:

1. Sanitation  We train our employees to ensure our salons, beds, etc. are always clean.  We cover what products should be used where and when things should be cleaned. This is the first thing that we train our employees because we feel it is the most important.
2. U.V. Light & the Skin  A basic knowledge of the different types of sunlight and the skin itself is crucial for our employees to have.    
3. The Tanning Process  This entails how the skin tans, what factors enhance this process, skin types, and the biology behind it all.  We also train them on which type of equipment will maximize the tanning results for you.
4. The Bio-positive effects of sunlight. Everyone knows that their are certain risks associated with the sun, but very few people know the positive effects.  Our employees do!  And they will share this information with you.  You will be shocked how good tanning and the sun actually is for you.
5. Product Knowledge  After a base knowledge of the biology of tanning is mastered our employees are extensively trained on all of the products we carry.  They will be able to recommend the best products for your specific needs.
6. Customer Service We teach this module last to make sure it is fresh in their minds.  We know our customers are the backbone of our business and we want them to be treated with the utmost respect.

Equipment

At Sunkissed we utilize only the best equipment.  These beds cost more to buy, more to operate, and more to maintain.  The results you will receive though, make up for that extra expense.  Whether it is one of our D class beds or one of our A Class you can be rest assured that it is the very finest equipment in it's class.  Here are a few of the differences. 

1.  Acrylics  We use the most transparent acrylics available.  Cheaper versions are available but they reduce the transmission of UV light and the overall output of the bed.  Our customers deserve the best!

2. Reflectors - These shiny pieces of steel reflect light back onto the skin.  Our reflectors are made of a mirror like super reflective steel.  This means that you will receive more light than in any other beds.

3. Electricity - We make sure that the voltage the beds use is exactly what it needs to be.  If it is on the low side the bed is not as strong and we utilize a "buck booster" to increase the voltage.  If the voltage is too high and the lamps will deteriorate too quickly.

4. Timers - We use digital timers that will administer an exact dose of UV light gauged to your specific skin type.  We do not use "twist" or mechanical timers that may not give enough time or worse yet give too much time.  These timers also help us keep track of the cumulative hours on the lamps and beds.

Lamps

We take a great deal of time selecting the very best possible lamps for our equipment.  While we use the strongest lamps allowed by law, we still may have 50 to choose from.  We evaluate the spectral characteristics of each lamp and determine which one will give the best possible results.  With lamp technology changing almost every year this is an ongoing process where our years of industry experience really pays off.

Unfortunately buying the best is only part of the story. Lamp replacement is equally important. Bulbs are rated in hours of life. For example: most bulbs are rated 1000 hours of useful life. That means a salon should replace the bulbs at this point. Many don't, however, and run them until the customers complain. In fact, most salons have no idea how many hours they have on the bulbs since last changed, ask them, see what they say, bet they can't or won't give you a straight answer.

At Sunkissed, we don't adhere to SUGGESTED re-lamping schedules. Since we utilize a digital timer system we know down to the minute, how many hours are on each lamp in every bed. Ask one of our employees to show you how many hours are on your bed before your next session.  We also know, through years of experience, that lamps rarely last as long as they are rated to.  So we use a second method to assure you of a constant output, lamp metering.

We measure the output of our lamps at various intervals through the use of four SOLARTECH meters.  Listed below you will see what we can do with these meters:

	Total UV (A+B)  280-400 nm, milliwatts/square cm.  Primary use: Gauge overall lamp intensity vs. aging.
	UVB  280-320 nm, milliwatts/square cm.  Primary use: lamp UVB intensity and acrylic transmission.
	UV index outdoor solar intensity, mW/square meter SUV/25.  Primary Use:  This is the WMO international standard for displaying erythemally weighted irradiance on a 1-15 scale and an gauging lamp intensity.
	MED/HR 280-400 nm SUV. Minimal Erythemal Dose/hr Diffey weighted irradiance. Primary Use:  Efficacy of lamps, equipment and determining initial exposure schedules.

With these 2 methods we are able to ensure that you have the most constant uniform session anywhere while simultaneously maximizing your tanning results.

Facilities

We take a considerable amount of time in planning, decorating and fixturing our salons to make sure your visit is a pleasurable one.  With one visit to Sunkissed you will quickly see what makes our facilities different and inherently unique.