Courtesy of Fail Blog.

What if Stephanie Meyer’s fictional vampire / 108 year old teenager / nearly-transparent-image-of-a-human-being used a tanning bed to add some color and vitamin D to his skin?

As a vampire, the first question is whether or not he could even survive the UV rays. The answer seems to be yes. While any traditional vampire would shrivel and burn in any sort of UV exposure, Edward would just lay in the tanning bed sparkling like a diamond in the sun while sulking and planning the nightly stalking of his beloved Bella. If a 108 year old boy is going to sneak in through your window and watch you sleep at night he should at least not be as white as a ghost.

Secondly, Edward’s sullen attitude and shy demeanor could be improved with a little bit of vitamin D. After spending several years living in Forks, WA (one of the cloudiest places in the country) you would be a little on edge from the lack of nutrients too! About a week of sessions with the tanning bed could leave Edward seeming almost normal in both mood and skin pigment. Who knows, maybe it would even help him clear up that sparkling skin condition!

Check out these before and after shots. Which one do you like better? Let us know in the comments. We will be picking 4 random people out of the comments to win a bottle of Australian Gold Kiss Kiss Bronze Bronze Dual Bronzing Accelerator lotion.

Today’s tanning consumer demands high-quality products that are affordably priced. They’re also very savvy and tend to ask a lot of questions before they make an educated purchase. The following are important variables in your retail success as a tanning salon owner:

1. Set a standard for quality at your salon and only purchase those products that meet this standard. Discuss your quality concept with the staff, making sure they understand what you look for in a product.

2. Carry product lines or brands that are familiar to the consumer and have good reputations. Brands are those labels that are easily recognized by the consumer and are manufactured according to the strictest of quality guidelines.

3. Ask your customers the right questions to determine what lotions or skincare products are appropriate to their skin type and what their tanning expectations are.

4. Offer a range of tanning products that will have a wide appeal with your clients, and be sure to train your staff well so they can explain the features, advantages and benefits of all your products. Pass this knowledge on to your staff because their product knowledge will help sell more as well as provide you with feedback in terms of which products are not meeting your quality standard based on client responses.

5. Be confident in the products you are selling. If you’re not, consider changing or dropping lines. If you don’t believe in and stand by what you are selling, you will never be able to increase your retail profits.

6. The closer products are to the point-of-purchase the better. Customers do not want to have to go far to find and purchase something that interests them. Displays of products placed near the point-of-purchase are beneficial because they encourage impulse spending and make it easier for your staff to soft-sell or cross-sell different products. It also makes it easier for your staff to answer questions the customer may have about products.

7. Make your reception sales-oriented. To sell lotions and other retail products, salespeople are needed. Hire customer-oriented, outgoing staff members with a sales background and educate your existing staff on how to sell.

8. Set goals and offer commissions. Sales goals should be established for the salon by month and employee. Break the goal up into weekly and daily amounts. As with any sales goal, the numbers should be reviewed in a salon staff meeting. Review how the goal was reached, why lotions sales are important to the salon, how customers benefit from the right lotion advice and how being an expert builds client confidence (resulting in increased sales) and referrals. Set your prices on the merits of your equipment and the tanning experience they provide.

On Christmas Eve, the Senate passed the latest version of its health-care reform bill, which is predicted to cost approximately $871 billion in the course of the first 10 years. The bill includes the “11th hour” addition of a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services. The approval process took just 15 minutes, resulting in a “yes” vote of 60-39.

The House passed its $1.05 trillion version of the bill back in November. The next step is for the Senate and House versions to go to conference committee so the major differences can be reconciled. Besides the tanning tax discrepancy, there are also conflicts regarding the consequences of not participating, the costs – both overall and to the public, the level of government involvement, the funding of abortions, and coverage for illegal immigrants.

It’s estimated that the parties will work through the process in January, then sending the agreed-upon version to the president to sign in February. However, based on the conflicting views seen largely between Republicans and Democrats concerning the legislation, there’s no guarantee that the process will occur quickly or smoothly.

For information on how to make your voice heard in Washington, visit the article below; or for more information regarding the Senate bill, stop by the source links.

Sources:

Article source: Looking Fit

NowPublic: U.S. Senate Vote On Health Care Reform: New Health Bill Passed

Los Angeles Times: About the Senate’s healthcare vote

Fox News: RAW DATA: House and Senate Health Care Bills Contain Vast Differences

Over the weekend, U.S. Senate Democrats removed a proposed 5% tax on all elective cosmetic surgery, replacing it with a last-minute provision that would tax the use of tanning beds. Senate Democrats cite the reasoning for the “Tan Tax” is the increased risk of skin cancer associated with the use of indoor tanning beds.

Under the new proposal, individuals purchasing tanning services would be requires to pay the 10% Tan Tax. Over a 10-year span, this new tax is projected to produce $2.7 billion to help fund health care reform. The previously proposed elective cosmetic surgery tax, affectionately called the “Bo-Tax” was projected to contribute over twice that amount in the same 10-year span.

Allergan, the California-based maker of Botox and other firms that were to be affected by the “Bo-Tax” lobbied together to remove the proposed tax. Representative cosmetic surgeons also lobbied against the tax arguing that the tax was discriminatory, specifically against middle-class women.

In a statement released by John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association said, “It is not surprising that one primarily cosmetic business is trying to throw another under the bus by transferring a tax from rich doctors and their wealthy customers to struggling small businesses,” Overstreet said. “The irony is that ultraviolet light at least has proven health benefits where botox treatments have none.”

On their website, the Indoor Tanning Association states that a well-known side effect of exposing the skin to ultraviolent (UV) light is the production of Vitamin D.

Source: Examiner

Check this well known video of a hot girl getting ready to tan with a surprise ending you don’t want to miss!

With an estimated 70% of Americans having insufficient levels of Vitamin D and nearly 1 billion people worldwide are deficient in the nutrient, Oregon State University (USA) researchers warn of the impending public health problem of Vitamin D deficiency in both developed and developing nations. Oregon State University scientists have discovered that vitamin D induces the expression of cathelicidin, an antimicrobial peptide gene.

The team posits that this mechanism is partly responsible for vitamin D’s capacity to function as one’s primary immune response, and that future advances in the use of cathelicidin may form the basis for new immune-based therapies. While Vitamin D can be obtained from the diet, experts suggest that food sources are rarely adequate. In fact, most people get the bulk of this fat-soluble vitamin from the UV-B radiation in sun exposure, which naturally causes the skin to produce it. However, people living north of about 40 degrees latitude – a geography encompassing a large portion of the United States and northern Europe –are often deficient after months of inadequate winter sunshine.

Read more…

Neither ETS, LLC nor its parent or affiliated companies operate or control, in any respect, any information, claims, representations, endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, products or services that third parties may provide on or through the website or on websites linked to by us. The inclusion of any link on this website does not, and shall not be construed, to imply any recommendation, approval, endorsement or testimonial of that third-party website by ETS, LLC. The views and opinions of authors expressed in any third-party website do not necessarily state or reflect those of ETS, LLC. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by ETS, LLC.

Just last week, Miley Cyrus was sunning herself in a skimpy pink bikini by the pool in Miami.

But after flying into wintry England on Friday, the teen star is clearly concerned about losing her healthy glow.

After arriving in Blackpool yesterday ahead of her performance at the Royal Variety Show tonight, the 17-year-old decided to top up her tan at a sunbed shop.

Accompanied by her mother Tish, the teenager spent half an hour at the Sunseekers tanning salon in Church Street, a short distance from her suite at the Hilton Hotel.

Despite the chilly 8C evening, Miley was wearing a leopard-print coat over bare legs and ankle boots.

Michelle Preston, 19, who works in the tanning salon said she was shocked to see the star in Blackpool.

Among the countless health subjects that are making national news, one that should be of particular interest to tanning bed owners and customers is Vitamin D. The UV Foundation had announced February is Vitamin D Deficiency Month. A little late for us now, but something to keep in mind for next year.

“New scientific studies continue to confirm the enormous health benefits of Vitamin D, while supporting significant health consequences of being deficient,” said Tim Miller, Communications Director for the UV Foundation. “We launched “Vitamin D Deficiency Month” to educate the public about the dangers of this growing problem and to ’shed some light’ on potential solutions.”

Dr. Nancy Snyderman, in a February interview on The Today Show, said many Americans suffer from a lack of Vitamin D. The negative health effects of Vitamin D can be devastating. Lack of Vitamin D can increase the risk of heart disease, the nation’s number one killer and also increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease, rickets, several types of cancers and can compound ailments like fatigue, depression and aches and pains.

And according to a Harvard Medical School study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 60 percent of Americans are Vitamin D deficient.

Wintertime is an especially vulnerable time as many people stay inside during the cold, snowy seasons in the Midwest, North and Northeast. And since it’s known that sensible exposure to sunlight or UV light is a good way to help the body manufacture Vitamin D, a solution would be to visit a local tanning salon in addition to eating the proper Vitamin D fortified foods.

For years, since the tanning industry began, dermatologists and the American Medical Association (AMA) have been talking about the harmful effects of ultraviolet sunlight and have continued to demean the industry nonstop without any real scientific research or evidence to the contrary to tie the harmful effects to cancer. Over the past few years, dermatologists and the AMA have said Vitamin D has proven to give significant health benefits.

Thousands of articles have been written, showing the mindset that we should hide under an umbrella or nearly-opaque SPF sunscreens. However, thousands more have been written showing that getting Vitamin D through UV rays is more beneficial than the detrimental effects that are still questionable.

Still, this raises the question: Can tanning beds offer some of the same health benefits as sunshine? The best source of Vitamin D is through ultra violet exposure which tanning bed lamps provide as well. Thus, tanning bed lamps provide tanners with similar ultra violet emissions as the sun but in a controlled environment under the guidance of salon professionals.

Tanning beds, while not as popular as the sun, still provide ultra violet exposure in a controlled environment, especially when the weather is too cold to be outdoors in the sun.

Neither ETS, LLC nor its parent or affiliated companies operate or control, in any respect, any information, claims, representations, endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, products or services that third parties may provide on or through the website or on websites linked to by us. The inclusion of any link on this website does not, and shall not be construed, to imply any recommendation, approval, endorsement or testimonial of that third-party website by ETS, LLC. The views and opinions of authors expressed in any third-party website do not necessarily state or reflect those of ETS, LLC. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by ETS, LLC.