Something for everyone, plus a tan

There aren’t too many places one can buy golf clubs, pick up a DVD player and DVDs, stock up on barbecue and hot sauces and work on a suntan.

But these things are what Islands Tanning & Consignments near Lewes offers.

So why the unusual mix of tanning, hot sauces and consignment? Beth Burba, shop owner, said it’s an effort to soften the blow of what tanning salon owners are calling Obama’s tanning tax.

Beginning last year, the federal government tacked a 10 percent tax onto the price individuals receiving indoor tanning services must pay. The tax is intended to generate revenue to fund the national health care initiative.

“It’s the new wave. Tanning has diversified. I decided to have a little bit for everybody – new, used, antique and vintage. One-stop shopping,” said Burba.

Burba explains tanning beds are rated by the amount and type of ultraviolet light they emit and are described as low-, medium- and high-pressure beds.

“We start a person who has very light skin and has never tanned before in a low-pressure bed to start building a base. Once you’ve built that base, you go to a medium-pressure bed and keep stepping up,” she said.

Burba said tanning has legitimate medical uses and can help with mood and skin disorders. She said salon operators must inform clients about what to do, how it will affect them, and what to do after tanning.

“We try to educate people about tanning,” she said.

“I’ll ask my first-time tanners whether they’re on any medications and if they have any sensitivity to UV (ultra-violet) light.

“Every skin – whether you’re African-American, Hispanic or Caucasian – will tan, and it will burn. The biggest thing you have to watch out for is the burn. That’s how a lot of people get skin damage,” she said.

Burba said most skin damage is done when people are young adults. “You have to take care of your skin. Use good moisturizers, and use good tanning lotions to make sure you keep your skin healthy,” she said.

Tanning costs vary, starting at $9 for a single, 20-minute session in a low-pressure tanning bed without facial tanning, to $89 for 10 sessions, 12 minutes each in a high-pressure bronzing bed with facial tanning.

The salon also sells a variety of tanning lotions and moisturizers – some are organic – for various skin types.

Burba said using an appropriate sun protection factor (SPF) along with tanning lotions is important, especially when exposed to mid-day sun.

“I suggest people use a waterproof SPF. That way you won’t sweat it off, and you’re protected a little bit longer,” she said.

The store’s other items represent something for everyone.

There are has hundreds of hot sauces, dipping sauces and barbecue sauces. “Sauces are always hot,” Burba said.

Judging by their labels, many sauces are definitely not for wimps. But Burba said the store has milder ones, too.

The store’s selection of new, used and consignment items includes movies on VHS tape, DVDs, fishing rods, shotgun cases, collectibe games and toys, kitchenware and small appliances, a Bachmann’s model train set, television sets, cable television boxes, speakers, tools, and a selection of whimsical signs such as ‘Hand over the chocolate and nobody gets hurt.’

The shop also has several Tell City Furniture pieces, manufactured in the Indiana city with the same name.

“We’re the only ones who have it in the tri-state area,” Burba said, adding the furniture appeared on the set of the 1980s television series Murder She Wrote starring Angela Lansbury.

Visit Islands Tanning & Consignments, 33506 Crossing Ave., Lewes, Unit 5, in Five Points Square. For more information, phone 302-645-6060, or go to www.shoreconsignments.com.