It’s great to be finally open again, isn’t it? Salons started reopening May 19^th in BC and now everyone is open across Canada. Talking with salon as they opened, there was good news. Clients were ready to return and sales are getting back to normal. Clients across the country could not understand why tanning salons were closed. They understand how clean we kept our salons. Social media was reporting on all the benefits from UV light and vitamin D, and clients were talking about it. They could tell their friends, “I told you so, there are benefits.”

Governments lumped us in with Personal Services and therefore it took a little longer for salons to get open. This normally would not have been a problem, except when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, where social distancing was so important to reduce transmission. Government did not understand that indoor tanning is a non-contact personal service and we could handle social distancing. The JCTA tried educating the government but was told they could not take us out of a group (Personal Services). After working with governments on reopening protocols, I believe they now understand that a tanning salon could be considered as a retail business (actually better than). Let’s hope we never have to live through this again.

But with a possibility of a second wave in October/November, we need to make sure there are no related outbreaks to a tanning salon. We need to make sure all our staff understand the importance of following government protocols even if we do not believe in them all. We need to show that we have made sure we use cleaning solution that is coronavirus approved. The good news is tanning suppliers have these products in stock now. Most have a 3-minute disinfection contact time now. That’s a great improvement from 10 minutes. So, keep up the great work you been doing and we will all get through this together.

Some update on government funding you should all know about: I would suggest you all check on provincial relief programs as well; there are new programs out in June. JCTA members have been getting weekly updates on the relief programs, both federal and provincial. CERB – $2000 per 4weeks has been extended for another 8 weeks and ends at the end of September. This may not help getting part-time help back. CEWS – 75% wage subsidy seems to be working well for everyone and is good until the end of August. Just remember to apply based on your average of January and February sales, you will find you will have no problem having reduced sales of 30%. The rent relief program has added July, so if your sales are down by 70% and you have already gotten rent relief from your landlord for April, May and June, you’ll be able to quality for July. Finally, the CEBA $40,000 interest free loan, and if paid back before Dec 31, 2021 you only have to pay $30,000, has now been updated and would now include most small businesses. You can apply for CEBA even if you did not pay out wages. You only have to prove you have non-deferrable expenses – rent, utilities, dividends and or contract workers for example. Now these non-deferrable expenses need to add up to more than $40,000 per year and you must be able to show documentation to prove expenses. You should apply right away just in case the funding runs out.

Do not forget about the NEW JCTA Member Insurance program. It has been saving members hundreds of dollars and the coverage is better.

This is an exclusive program for JCTA Members and only one broker, out of Calgary, can offer this program — that is BrokerLink Insurance. Some salon owners have asked why an exclusive broker. The reason is pricing is based on numbers: the more salons on the program, the better the price. Also, it allowed us to negotiate better coverage, based on members being certified and following the JCTA professional standards.

Hopefully, you’ve all been seeing all the positive news in both social and mainstream media on sunlight. It has been nonstop since COVID19 started to hit us. Not only has low vitamin D blood levels been talked about as related to getting COVID-19, also the severity of the illness. But now research is showing UV exposure can reduce the risk of exposure, by killing the virus quicker. Instead of the virus dying in days, it does it in minutes when you add UV exposure. I know most of us knew this already when it came to viruses and bacteria. I have never seen so much positive information come out. Let’s hope this continues. Canada is funding a $4.2 million research project on COVID-19 and vitamin D. It is too bad they will be using supplements, but this is the only way they can control the RCT study. Thanks to the JCTA members supporting research funding, we do know that following sunbed exposure schedules in a typical tanning salon, you can optimize your vitamin D blood levels. Just remember your sunbed must emit at least 2 to 4% UVB. Please make sure you share all of this on your personal social media pages and not your salon page. The exception is saying sunbeds that produce UVB make vitamin D, no pills required.

Steven Gilroy

VP for Smart Tan Canada

Executive Director JCTA