Tanning goggles are federally required eye protection, not an accessory the front desk throws in. Under 21 CFR 1040.20, every sunlamp product sold in the United States has to ship with protective eyewear. Knowing you need a pair is the easy part. Finding one is not: drugstores rarely shelve them and big-box stock is inconsistent. The reliable sources are a salon counter for same-day need, and Amazon, Walmart.com, or the manufacturers for everything else.
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Do Tanning Goggles Really Protect Your Eyes? What They Are and Who Needs Them
Yes, when they meet the federal standard. The goggles are small UV-blocking eyeshields worn over closed eyes inside a tanning bed or booth, keeping ultraviolet radiation off the cornea, the lens, and the eyelid. The FDA, the federal agency that reclassified sunlamp products as Class II medical devices in 2014, enforces a sunlamp standard that requires a warning label that reads, in part: “Wear protective eyewear; failure to may result in severe burns or long-term injury to the eyes.”
The standard is specific. Compliant eyewear may transmit no more than 0.1 percent of UVB and short-wave UV (above 200 up to 320 nanometers) and no more than 1 percent of UVA (above 320 up to 400 nanometers), while still letting enough visible light through to see and reset the timer. That is where the “blocks over 99 percent” claims on packaging come from, and it is why a see-through lens can be just as safe as a dark one.
Who needs a pair: anyone using indoor tanning equipment at a salon or at home. Red light therapy panels and IPL devices need eyewear too, but the device maker specifies its own. Sunless tanning is the exception, since spray booth stickers block DHA solution rather than UVA. Sun exposure outdoors is a different problem, because sunlamp output is concentrated and close range, so the sunglasses in your bag are no substitute inside a bed.
Tanning Bed Goggles vs Red Light Therapy Glasses and Safety Glasses
These products look alike and are not interchangeable. Each one is rated for a different band of light, and the rating on the box is the only thing that tells you what it filters. Sort this out before you shop, because the wrong pair can look like the right one in a listing photo.
- Tanning bed goggles are built to the sunlamp standard for UVA and UVB. That is the right choice in a UV bed or booth, and only sunlamp eyewear carries that rating.
- Red light therapy glasses are rated for visible red and near-infrared output, often listed across a span such as 200-2000nm. Use the pair the panel maker specifies, because a UV shield is not built for bright red light or infrared treatment.
- IPL eyewear covers the intense pulsed light from at-home hair removal devices. The device manual names the shade or rating to use.
- Safety glasses are rated for impact. Some filter UV, but none are labelled as safety glasses for tanning use, and the frames leave gaps at the sides.
Which Stores Carry Tanning Bed Goggles
Studios are the only physical retailer that stocks them reliably. General-merchandise chains treat the category as marketplace inventory, so the box ships to you rather than sitting on a shelf. If your appointment is today, go to the counter; if it is next week, order online and pay less.
Palm Beach Tan, Sun Tan City, Zoom Tan, and Planet Fitness
Front desks sell eyewear because most studios will not start the timer without it. Palm Beach Tan, Sun Tan City, Zoom Tan, Planet Fitness Black Card areas, and independent studios keep reusable pairs and disposable sleeves at the counter, commonly $5 to $15 for an individual pair. Some locations lend sanitized shields, so ask when you book.
Walmart
Walmart, the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the United States, carries a wide range through Walmart.com rather than on supercenter shelves. Most of it is marketplace inventory, so orders ship home or to a pickup locker. Search their site and filter to items sold and shipped by Walmart for a firm delivery date.
Target, CVS, and Walgreens
Target.com lists the category online through marketplace partners, but store stock is rare enough that a trip is a gamble. CVS and Walgreens index UV eyewear on their sites without treating it as a sun care staple. Calling ahead saves the drive; ask for the item by brand name (Super Sunnies or Wink-Ease), since staff rarely recognize the generic term.
Best Places to Order Tanning Goggles Online
Amazon has the deepest catalog, the manufacturers sell by the case, and salon supply shops carry the professional quantities consumer channels skip.
Amazon
Amazon, the largest online retailer in the United States, puts every major brand and a long tail of generics side by side. Multi-packs drop the per-pair cost well below counter pricing, and review volume helps separate a real product from a relabelled import. Browse the current bestsellers to compare the selection, and read the listing for a stated standard before you add anything to the cart.
Lucas Products, Eye Pro, and URI direct
Three makers are worth knowing by name. Super Sunnies shields come from Lucas Products Corporation in Toledo, Ohio, Wink-Ease disposables from Eye Pro, Inc., and Ultraviolet Resources International, known as URI, supplies the professional salon channel. Buying direct is the surest route to authentic product and case pricing; check each site’s shipping minimum before you build an order.
Walmart.com, eBay, and supply shops
Walmart.com is worth a price check against Amazon on generic multi-packs. eBay is where discontinued models and bulk lots surface. Specialty suppliers such as Tanning Lotion Depot and Heartland Tan sell eyewear alongside lotions and bed parts. Marketplace sellers set their own return terms, so see our notes on stores with the best return policies.
Our Top Tanning Goggles Picks
These five cover compliance, frame style, and the fit problems covered below. All are marketed as meeting the FDA sunlamp standard, so verify the packaging.
Best overall: Super Sunnies Slim Flex UV Eye Protection. A widely stocked soft eyeshield with a slim high-rise bridge that shrinks the line between the eyes. Listings state UV blocking above 99 percent. Around $5 to $10. Check price on Amazon.
Best disposable: Wink-Ease Dark. Peel-and-stick disposable tanning eye protection from Eye Pro, and the pick for travel and zero frame pressure. Roughly $5 to $12 a box. Check price on Amazon.
Best strapped pair: Super Sunnies Evo UV Eyeshields with Strap. The same shields on an elastic band, sold in multi-packs. Worth the faint band line if you shift position. About $10 to $20. Check price on Amazon.
Best budget multi-pack: FDA compliant generic 3-packs. Fine for spares in the car and the gym bag. Buy only from listings that name 21 CFR 1040.20. Usually $10 to $20 for a compliant pack. Check price on Amazon.
Best for spray tans: adhesive eye stickers. Single-use shields that keep solution out of the eyes in a booth, and they sit flat under a sleep mask afterwards. Around $5 to $10. Check price on Amazon.
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How to Choose Tanning Bed Eyewear That Fits
Check the compliance statement first, then match the frame style to how often you tan. Comfort decides the rest.
A named standard. A legitimate listing cites 21 CFR 1040.20 or states a UV blocking figure. Vaguer than that and you are trusting a marketing photo.
Frame style. Flexible eyeshields seat in the eye socket with no strap. Strapped pairs use a thin elastic band. Soft material conforms to more face shapes and fogs less in a warm bed.
Nose bridge design. The part that decides comfort. A slim, high-rise bridge shrinks the untanned strip between the eyes, and a soft bridge is less likely to pinch when you turn your head mid-session.
Lens tint. Dark shields block the most visible light but leave you blind to the timer. See-through and transparent tints allow viewing the clock. Neither affects UV safety when the product is compliant, because the federal limits apply to ultraviolet, not to how dark the lens looks.
| Type | Stays on by | Tan line risk | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible eyeshields | Eye socket | Small ring outline | $3 to $8 a pair |
| Strapped pairs | Elastic band | Faint band line | $10 to $20 a multi-pack |
| Peel-and-stick disposables | Adhesive | Lowest | $5 to $12 a box |
| Spray tan stickers | Adhesive | None | $5 to $10 a box |
If you tan more than twice a week, a reusable flexible pair pays for itself within a month. If you tan a few times before a trip, disposables avoid the cleaning routine entirely. Run this fit check the first time you use a new pair:
- Inspect the shields. Cracks, scratched tint, or warping mean they no longer block UV reliably.
- Seat them against the orbital bone. Gaps at the temples let stray light reach the cornea.
- Turn your head side to side. If they shift or dig into the nose, the bridge is wrong for your face.
- Move them a few millimeters between visits. Shifting the position softens the outline instead of burning one hard border.
When Tanning Goggles Pinch, Fog, or Leave a Line
A comfortable pair is one you keep on the whole time, so diagnose each fit problem before you reorder.
- Pinching at the bridge. The cups sit too close together for your face. Switch to a style with a softer or slimmer bridge, or to peel-and-stick disposables, which have no bridge at all.
- Shifting when you turn over. Strapless cups rely on the eye socket to hold them. If you change position during a session, a strapped pair stays put.
- Fogging. Heat from the lamps plus a tight seal traps moisture. Let the pair reach room temperature before you lie down, and dry it fully after washing.
- A hard ring outline. Rigid cups seated in the same spot every visit leave a sharp border. Shift placement slightly each time, or use disposables before an event.
Tanning Eyewear Buying Mistakes That End in Photokeratitis
The costly mistake here is not buying a bad pair. It is deciding you can improvise. Photokeratitis is a sunburn of the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye, and every shortcut below is a route to it.
Substituting towels, tissues, or cotton balls. None are rated for UV transmittance or tested against sunlamp output. The American Academy of Ophthalmology, the professional body for U.S. eye physicians, lists tanning lamps and tanning beds among the man-made UV sources that cause photokeratitis, and the FDA’s page on the risks of tanning links UV exposure to cataracts and to cancer around the eyes.
Grabbing whatever eyewear is nearby. Safety goggles from the workshop, swim goggles, and drugstore sunglasses are built for impact, water, or glare. The safe assumption is that anything not sold as tanning eye protection was never tested for sunlamp output.
Skipping protection “just this once.” Photokeratitis often is not noticed until well after the damage is done, so a session that felt fine at noon can turn into a gritty, light-sensitive night.
Sharing a pair. Shared eyewear can pass along eye infections such as conjunctivitis. Wash reusable shields between users, and keep a first aid kit nearby for a home bed.
Keeping a pair past its life. Flexible shields that have gone cloudy, stiff, or cracked at the bridge should be replaced. The plastic ages with heat and cleaning, and a hairline crack is a UV leak sitting directly over the cornea.
Aftercare is a separate shopping list. A plain moisturizer such as Dermasil lotion or a skincare line like Kiehl’s handles dry skin after a session, but no lotion near the eyes replaces a shield.
The fastest route to tanning goggles you will actually wear: order a flexible multi-pack online before your next appointment, run the bridge check the first time, and keep a spare in your gym bag. If your appointment is today, buy a pair at the salon counter and order the multi-pack tonight.
Common Questions About Tanning Eye Protection
Do you really need tanning goggles?
Yes. The federal sunlamp standard requires every bed to ship with protective eyewear, and its mandatory warning label says skipping it may result in severe burns or long-term injury to the eyes. Closing your eyes is not an alternative the standard recognizes. Most studios will refuse the session rather than let you tan bare-eyed.
What kind of goggles do I need for tanning?
You need eyewear sold specifically for sunlamp use and labelled as compliant with 21 CFR 1040.20. Flexible eyeshields, strapped pairs, and peel-and-stick disposables all qualify when the packaging names that standard. Swim goggles, sunglasses, and workshop safety goggles do not.
What can I use if I don’t have tanning goggles?
Nothing improvised works, and the honest answer is to buy a pair at the counter. Spray tan stickers are the common mix-up, since they keep out solution rather than UV. If the front desk is out of stock, a disposable box from a supply shop ships faster than most people expect.
Why do salons charge more than a multi-pack costs?
Counters charge $5 to $15 because you are paying to have it in hand. Ordered online, expect $3 to $8 for a single reusable pair, $10 to $20 for a three to five pack, and $5 to $12 for a box of disposable sleeves. A five-pack lands near $3 a pair. Planet Fitness clubs set their own counter prices, so ask at the front desk before your first Black Card session.
How do you clean and store a reusable pair?
Mild soap, warm water, and air drying. Skip alcohol wipes and abrasive cleaners on tinted plastic, because they can haze the surface over time. Store them flat in a small case instead of loose in a bag, where keys and zippers scratch the tint faster than the bed does.
Editorial Review
This guide is maintained by the wheretobuyguides.com editorial team, with reference to the federal sunlamp standard and guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Prices are typical ranges and change often. Shopping for outdoor UV eyewear? See our guide on where to buy sunglasses.